Broadcasting Techniques for Video-on-Demand in Wireless Networks

Today's wireless technologies such as IEEE 802.16 (a.k.a., WiMAX) [3] for long-haul communications and IEEE 802.11 (e.g., WiFi) [15] and Bluetooth [5] for short distances are widely deployed. While WiFi is suitable for a small local wireless network, WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) allows for communications over tens of kilometers and, thus, can be used to provide a high-speed wireless " last-mile " service to local networks. As beneficiaries, users can move freely without disconnection from the network. Wireless networks are, therefore, an excellent infrastructure for important applications such as disaster relief efforts and military col-laborative networks. Being wireless and mobile also means that users may enjoy ubiquitous entertainment services. For example, they may play game or watch videos of their interest online wherever they are. This chapter focuses on technologies that enable mobile video-on-demand (VOD) services. A VOD system is an interactive multimedia system working like cable television, the difference being that the client can select a movie 2 CONTENTS 3 from a large video database stored at a distant video server. Unlike other video services such as pay-per-view (PPV) and video in demand (VID), individual VOD clients in an area are able to watch different programs whenever they wish to, not just in time as in VID or pre-scheduled as in PPV. A VOD system is, therefore, a realization of the video rental shop brought into the home. A mobile wireless VOD a system has many practical applications. For instances, airlines could provide VOD services in airport lounges to entertain passengers on their own PDA (personal digital assistant) while they are waiting for a flight; a museum could provide video information on the exhibits on demand over the wireless network; in education, a university could also install such a system on campus to allow students to watch video recorded earlier from lectures they were not able to attend. VOD services are already available on the Internet. News video clips can be rendered on demand on most Web media outlets in business areas ranging from automotive to real estate to health and travel can also be played on demand via a product of Comcast called ComcastSpotlight [7]. The major server providers for VOD deployment include Motorola On-Demand Solutions [19], SeaChange International [23], and Concurrent Corp. [8]. Informa Telecom 1 predicted a revenue of more than 10.7 billion US dollars from VOD services offered to more than 350 million …