Wireless World Research Forum ( WWRF ) 1 ( a ) Title of the research item : Ambient Media Delivery

Description: Distribution of multimedia content is expected to take a leading role in the service portfolio of future communication networks. People are assumed to require access to multimedia content of various nature and format through different end devices and access networks. Especially within the context of cooperative networks, multimedia content distribution will face a number of challenges, as content should reach the consumers regardless of the available networks to deliver the content data and devices to display. Heterogeneity is though not only a matter of the content delivery paths and display devices, also the user himself will have different preferences concerning the content quality and media selection. It is commonly accepted that due to the above-mentioned circumstances content will need to be available in various formats or allow for adaptation. Still, the solutions available today or currently under investigation follow a vertical approach and are limited in scope as either the list of supported networks, devices or media types is limited. Aiming at a non-restrictive solution to content delivery in heterogeneous environments, the overview given in Figure 1 structures the problem area in a generic fashion. Considering the multimedia service provider two decisions need to be taken when selecting the most appropriate content distribution scheme and content type. First, the distribution service type has to be selected. Content might either be made available for non-real-time distribution, e.g. for messaging of download services, or the content might be delivered in an real-time fashion, e.g. by using streaming services or establishing a conversational service between content provider and content consumer. Secondly, the content provider needs to be aware of the number of interested consumers, as this will influence the choice of the communication topology, which might be either unicast or multicast/broadcast. The consumer on the other hand is more concerned with the available access networks and the W Wi ir re el le es ss s W Wo or rl ld d R Re es se ea ar rc ch h F Fo or ru um m ((W WW WR RF F)) 2 devices he can access to view the content. The number of available networks and devices is supposed to further increase making the decision process too complex to be left for the end-user. The objective of the required research is thus to develop a solution which abstracts network and device heterogeneity as well as content characteristics in order to create …