Video On Demand

Video on Demand http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~nd/surprise_95/journal/vo...
Video on Demand
© Harindra Rajapakshe,
© Derek Paul Quek,
June, 1995.
CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. VIDEO ON DEMAND : A Brief Look
3. INTO THE DETAILS..
3.1 Set-Top Box

3.2 Video Server
Hierarchical storage scheme
Scalable Architecture
Storage Subsystem
Expanded Storage
3.3 Audio/Video Standards
Apple Quicktime
Motion Picture Experts Group
3.4 Transmission Protocols
ISDN
ADSL
ATM
4. SUMMARY
4.1 Video/audio compression & standards

4.2 Transmission protocols
5. THE FUTURE : Developments, Concerns and Fears
6. CONCLUSION
7. APENDIX A : Case Studies

Pacific Bell : California First
Interactive Movie Making
CellMaster : ATM-ADSL Interconnections
APPENDIX B : Acronyms
1 of 16 Wednesday 10 November 2010 03:58 PM

APPENDIX C : References
1 : Introduction
You are in the future. It is a weekend and you're home for the day. You've just had your
usual lunch and sit in front of the television. You switch it on. Some boring show. You recall a
good movie Dave mentioned at the bar, and punching a few buttons on your remote control,
the movie starts and you lie back in your couch, Martini in hand and relax for the next couple
of hours....
The future is not very far. In fact, we have already laid down the foundations to this exciting idea
of Video on Demand.
Video on Demand (VoD) is an interactive multimedia system that works like cable Television,
the difference being that the customer can select a movie from a large video database. Individual
customers in an area are able to watch different programmes when they wish to, making the
system a realisation of the video rental shop brought into the home.
As the underlying technologies are relatively new, Video on Demand still lacks a universal
standardisation. Nevertheless, many research institutes and commercial organisations have
established de-facto standards and consequently, there are many operational VoD-related services
available today. Some of the key areas of today's VoD-related applications are,
Providing Video Films on Demand

Local News and Weather Forecasting
Games, Music and Leisure
Education and Remote Learning Facilities
Home Shopping and Other Consumer Services
Banking
Fig : An interactive user

interface under development by BT
The rest of this article explains the important issues and concerns behind the realisation of Video
on Demand and Interactive Multi-Media Systems in general. Different perspectives on
technological, economical and social aspects are also emphasised. The case studies in the end
describe the work done in today's multi-media arena, and will give a flavour of what will be
available in near future.
2 : Video on Demand : a Brief Look
The Setup...
The main components of a video on demand service are shown in figure: The video server to store
and provide access to programmes, the data delivery network to interconnect the subscriber and
the user-end set-top box to interface home TV equipment with the VoD services.
Formats...
Prerecorded videos be digitally stored in a video server. These videos are then transmitted in a

coded, compressed format. After the videos are ordered (either via interactive voice response or
two-way remote control), they are decoded and decompressed by set-top converters in individual
homes. In preliminary demonstrations, picture quality has been equal to standard VHS.
Functionality...
The customer can call on a range of services. While watching movies, performing operations such
as video selection, pause, rewinding etc. can be selected as if it were a video player. These are
processed by the set-top-box and sent to the local server. The local server processes the request if
possible, otherwise it relays the request to a video archive server, much as a hierarchy system.
Digital video/audio can be compressed and stored on

hard disk and advertised for users on the network.
Multiple archive servers can simultaneously be
running over the network, depending on the
bandwidth available.
Network..
Video-on-Demand currently runs over cabled
networks, the most widespread being the standard
telephone line. The difficulty in this, though, is the
relatively low transmission speed of the telephone
line.
To overcome this shortfall, there are several viable

networking standards, developed for multimedia transmission over the Internet as explained later.
We will now examine the roles of the set-top-box, video server storage, Media compression
standards and Transmission protocols. Following that, we shall see how these relate to VoD.
3 : Into the Details..
3.1 : Set-Top Box
The Set-top box, interfaces the home TV into the video subscriber network,
decompresses video and converts into a standard TV transmission format. A
VoD set-top box will provide VCR-like functionality, allowing the user to rewind,
fast-forward, pause, slow-motion play etc., by sending user commands upstream via the channel.
To minimise the cost, it should contain a minimal amount of solid-state storage, only enough to
compensate for network jitters, essentially to compete with its existing rivals: CATV & DSB (Direct
Satellite Broadcast) services and VCRs. Consequently, the set-top box does not provide excessive
buffering and gives hardware support to decompress video in real time.
3.2 : Video Server
Implementing a cost-effective and efficient video server is one of the most demanding
engineering hurdles to be overcome. Such a server should have the following
characteristics:
Capacity to hold hundreds of Mbytes (or perhaps order of Terabytes) of digital information

Provide simultaneous access to several hundreds (or thousands) of subscribers on real-time,

giving each one an appropriate bandwidth (usually in the order of 1.5-6 Mbps)
Make economical use of resources by dynamically allocating programmes into different
media such as Magnetic tape, optical W/R disks, hard disks, by considering the relative usage
and level of interactivity supported.
Table 1: Cost comparison of currently available storage

options
Storage Cost/Mbyte Sessions/Device Cost/Movie
RAM $ 50.00 200 $ 50,000.00
Hard Disk $ 0.50 5 $ 500.00
R/W Optical $ 0.20 2 $ 200.00
Magnetic Tape $ 0.01 1 $ 10.00
As the table 1 highlights, solid-state storage as RAM is prohibitively expensive. On the other hand,
cheap alternatives such as tapes limits the sessions per device and also impose difficulties in
virtual VCR functioning.
There are several important considerations in designing a feasible video server:
1. Hierarchical storage scheme

2. Scalable Architecture
3. Storage Subsystem
4. Expanded Storage
1. Hierarchical storage scheme :

Here, a hybrid of RAM, hard disk and a tertiary storage like optical R/W disks and Magnetic tape is
used. An important concern here is to develop an efficient medium allocating algorithm to
migrate programmes from one medium to another by considering the relative demand for
programmes. As the figure shows, a set of intelligent storage subsystems, loosely coupled by a
software controlled switching node is an ideal implementation to cater for variable demand/user
conditions.
Fig : A loosely coupled implementation of a Video storage system

2. Scalable Architecture :
The server system should be expandable both
in terms of the number of titles held and the
number of subscribers. This can be achieved
by incoorporating set of parallel data servers
and a name server to store the location and
access control information of the
programmes, as shown in the figure. Thus any
user request is served by first accessing the
Name Server to locate the appropriate Data
Server.
3. Storage Subsystem :
The storage subsystem consists of control
units, disk/tape storage and access
mechanism.
There are several techniques to increase the

performance by interleaving digital data of a
programme on multiple disks:
Striping involves interleaving portions

of disk blocks on multiple disks. The aim
here is to reduce the latency for block
access by parallel reading of the complete block.
Declustering, on the other hand, distributes blocks of files on several disks, thus allowing
parallel block access from the same file and increasing the rate of the video stream.
The overall performance can also be enhanced by replicating files among the servers by
considering the demand for a programme, relative dispersion of subscribers and the access
patterns (eg: time/day of peak access, average number of simultaneous viewers..)
SCSI interface is currently under consideration by Hewlett-Packard to be used in their video

servers, allowing 8 devices in the bus giving 20 Mbps bandwidth.
4. Expanded Storage (ES) (ie. solid-state memory) containing RAM modules would be the
best for storing programmes with the highest demands, as in theory, ES has infinite
bandwidth; and in practice the transfer rate is only limited by the system bus speed.
3.3 : Audio/Video Standards
The main multimedia protocols used on internet are the compressed digital video standards of
Motion Picture Experts Group(MPEG), which is almost becoming the digital audiovisual de-facto
and Apple Quicktime video. Digital video enables us to transmit higher rates of information in a
given bandwidth.
Apple Quicktime
Apple Quicktime is a motion picture compression standard which is currently used for video
conferencing. Quicktime provides constant play speed, but when transmission rates slow down,
picture quality is compromised: the images blur, frame skipping occurs, causing jerkiness.
Fig : A Quick-Time Tele Conferencing

interface developed by Apple.
(© Apple Computer Inc., 1995)
Quick-Time is being used for media-compression by several firms

including BT, MGM and Bell Atlantic (US). Apple is working with a
number of partners on the development of an interactive television
set-top box, based on the PowerPC processor. Apple is also developing
a proprietry set-top-box based on PowerPC processor for Quick-Time compatibility.
Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG)
MPEG is a group of people that meet under ISO (the International Standards Organization). They
generate standards for digital video (sequences of images in time) and audio compression. MPEG
works closely with many international standards bodies:
jointly with the ITU-TS for ATM Video Coding.

collaborates with representatives from EBU, ITU-RS, SMPTE, and the North American High
Definition TV community.
MPEG-1 was originally designed for delivery of video to consumer devices at single speed
CD-ROM data rates (1.5 Mbit/s), supporting Super-VHS quality video. MPEG-2 has better
resolution and quality than MPEG-1, being designed for delivery of broadcast and HDTV quality
video. MPEG-2 is already being used for Direct Satellite Broadcast, CATV (Cable Television) and
HDTV. MPEG-4 is an ongoing Very-Low-Bitrate coding that explores new algorithms, including
fractal compression and morphing.

MPEG standards comparison

Bitrate Range Typical Bitrate Application Implemented
MPEG-1 1.15 - 1.862 1.50 CD-ROM video (150kbytes/sec)
MPEG-2 2.00 - 6.00 4.00 broadcast and HDTV video 1993
MPEG-3 20 - 40 - discarded (HDTV) -
MPEG-4 0.0048 - 0.064 &lt0.064 Very-Low-Bitrate applications TBA 1997

*Rates in Mbps.
MPEG video has a compression ratio of about 26:1 while that for audio goes up to 7:1.
Real time MPEG encoding (and decoding, of course) hardware exist, costing from US$10,000.
There are several MPEG decoding chips available since 1993, such as;
SGS-Thompson STi-3500 - The first MPEG-2 chip on market

LSI Logic L64112 successor - capable of 15Mbit throughput
IBM Single-chip decoder (http://www.crs4.it/~luigi/MPEG/ibmchip.html)
MPEG is currently being adapted to many applications:
MPEG-2 video and audio will be soon used in DSB (Direct Satellite Broadcast) with
Thomson's STi-3500 architecture in DirecTV in N. America.
The Cable Industry has more or less settled down for MPEG-2, but with conflicting options
for audio standards. (Eg: Generl Instruments, US's lagrest cable TV set-top box
manufacturer, has announced the Dolby AC-3 as thier future audio standard.)
The US Grand Aliance, a consortium for US terrestrial HDTV standard, has already agreed
to use MPEG-2 Video and System Syntax.
Comparison of Quicktime and MPEG compressions
Click here for Quick-Time

Click for an MPEG encoded
video clips from Speechless
movie clip from Under Siege
and Tankgirl.
Caution : The movies are over 1 Mbyte in length. This may
take a considerable time in heavy traffic periods.
3.4 : Transmission Protocols
We shall next examine some common transmission protocols that are appropriate for multimedia
transmission. Because the media is contained digitally, the protocol must support digital data
transfer. As such, many of these are closely related and are likely to be compatible with Local Area
Networks (LAN) and Wide Area Networks (WAN).
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)
ISDN is a set of communications standards allowing a single wire or optical fiber to carry voice,
digital network services and video. ISDN is intended to replace POTS (Plain Old Telephone
System) and differs in the telephone company central switches, software and other equipment. Its
bandwidth standards range from 64 kps up to 2.0 Mbps. ISDN is the current affordable alternative
to POTS and is avaliable readily in Australia, France, Japan and Singapore, with the UK somewhat
behind and availability in the USA rather spotty.
An ISDN-2 BRI (Basic Rate Interface) line consists of two B-channels (Bearer) that provide 64
kbps transmission speed. It also has a 16 kbps D-channel (Delta) for control and synchronisation,

providing a total of 144 kbps data per BRI line. The popular V.32bis modem operates at 14.4 kbps
or approximately one-tenth the speed of ISDN. With the same modem, ISDN, being digital (POTS
is analogue) provides a clearer signal than analogue. "Noisy" POTS analogue lines reduce 14.4
maximum modem bandwidth.
The highest bitrate for ISDN is seen in ISDN-30. This consists of 30 B-channels of 64 kbps and a
D-channel of 64 kbps, giving a bandwidth of 1.984 Mbps.
(However, US has a slightly a different standard of ISDN PRI (Primary Rate Interface), with 23
B-channels and a D-channel.)
ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Loop)
ADSL has the advantage that it runs over the current twisted pair copper (POTS) phone lines
addressing the problem with changing to coax/fiber: For example, in New Jersey, Telcos phone
company installs new cabling up to 7% of their installed access line base per year, itself growing at
about 3% annually. Hence, the net upgrade to overhaul the network at 4% annual would take 25
years, after Telcos reach top speed. ADSL presents the solution using POTS.
The technology for ADSL involves carving up the

bandwidth of the medium into different layers to
accomodate voice, data and control information. In this
way, it supports up to 6 Mbps (simplex) or 576 Kbps
(duplex), allowing a voice call (or fax), Video-on-Demand,
Internet access and video conferencing over a common,
single line.
Regional fibre lines won't be available for another 40

years, as laying new cables take time. This makes ADSL an important component in VoD.
Companies researching on VoD are taking ADSL very seriously.
ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode)
ATM is a current research hot topic. It is a method for dynamic allocation of bandwidth using a
fixed 53 byte packet (cell), known also as "fast packet".
The cells use characteristics of both time-division-

multiplexing of transmission media, and packet
switching of data networks. A "virtual path" is set up
through the involved switches when two endpoints
wish to communicate. This provides a bit-rate
independent protocol that can be implemented on
several network types.
Charactoristics of ATM:
1. Scalable technology; potential for extremely

high speeds.
2. Cell switching, a compromise between delay-
sensitive and conventional data transmissions.
3. Flexible implementation on many media (copper,
coax, fibre).

The encryptor operates at speeds ranging from 1.544

Mbps, with a capability to evolve to 622 Mbps. Eg. In
USA, SONET (Synchronous Optical Net) operates at
155 Mbps. ATM speeds could operate up to 2.2 Gbps
over a cell-switched network, being limited to the
medium, since its scalable technology is not tied to any
specific data rate. However, ATM requires wideband
fiber/coax cables to exploit it's capacity. ATM is being implemented for national back-bone and
long-distance carriers.
Types of Communications Networks

Copper Bitrate Fiber Bitrate
Type Cable requirements
(Mbit/s) (Mbit/s)
ISDN-2 0.128 (BRI) 0.128 (BRI) Copper/Coax/Fibre
ISDN-30 2.00 (PRI) 2.00 (PRI) Copper/Coax/Fibre
HDSL 0.800 2.00 Copper/Coax/Fibre
ADSL 1.536 - Copper
ADSL 2 6.00 - Copper
ATM ?51.0 155 (?future 2500) Copper/Coax/Fibre
4 : Summary
Video/audio compression & standards
Quicktime has not been very popular for Video-on-Demand, although it is quite widely used for
video conferencing.
MPEG-1 is actually inadequate because it does not contain timing information to regulate frame
rate. It assumes synchronous delivery, hence applicable to home CD-ROM video only. MPEG-2, on
the other hand, is used extensively for VoD trials, being designed specifically for broadcast and
HDTV video.
MPEG-2 becomes the Standard
The Grand Alliance was formed in May 1993 by seven organisations (AT&T Corp., General
Instrument Corp. (GI), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Philips Consumer Electronics,
David Sarnoff research center, Thomson, Zenith Electronics Corp.) to evaluate technologies and to
decide on key elements that will be at the heart of the best of the best HDTV system. They agreed
on the MPEG-2 Video and Systems syntax with interlaced and progressive modes.
A consortium of 85 European companies also signed an agreement in 1993 to fund a video

broadcasting project using MPEG-2. It is likely that MPEG-2, and possibly MPEG-4 (when released)
will become international standards for full-motion video.

Transmission protocols
The types of network suitable for Video-on-Demand are ADSL and ATM. ISDN (the current highest
being 2 Mbps) does not meet VoD bandwidth, but it is suitable for video conferencing.
A major problem in implementing the transmission protocols is the limitation of bandwidth of the
medium. Copper lines exist; fiber/coax lines are rare, yet. As it will be several years before fibre is
laid to the home, protocols have to run over twisted copper or in the urban areas, co-axial cable.
ATM is ideal for its high bitrate. A shortfall for linking ATM all the way to the home is
the enormous cost of the equipment and the sheer size (currently the size of a
medium TV). This makes ATM an unfeasible solution for the time being.
ADSL is currently rather popular with the developing companies for the very reason that it can
run over the Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS). ADSL meets bandwidth requirements for NTSC,
broadcast and HDTV transmissions.
To date, trials are conducted fairly extensively on ADSL and ATM, with ATM forming the
backbone from the video servers to the local exchange/curb, and ADSL linking that to the
individual homes.
5 : The Future : Developments, Concerns and Fears
The quest towards interactivity has already taken initiative in many countries. For example, 97%
of US households have cabe TV access, and 36% of them have PPV (Pay-per-View) with automatic
number identification (ANI) facilities, where the viewer can use an automated phone link to order
PPV on-line. Another 12% have Addressible Impulse Controllers in set-top boxes and can use the
remote control to send requests upstream via the TV cable.
Fig: An HDTV with 3D displaying developed by NHK, the telecomm

giant in Japan. Such products have a great potential to make fully
operational IMMSs a reality in the near future.
© NHK, Japan
Customer drift
As the total subscriber population is almost constant, the revenues for VoD services largely
depends upon whether it is implemented jointly with CATV or as a rival alternative; In the latter
case, the drift of viewers from conventional media to interactive services would cause less
revenue for both.
Role of Advertising
Broadcasting companies get the bulk of income from advertisers. No doubt that the
VoD system coming will still contain advertisement of some kind, possibly interactive.
Highlights of advertisements may be screened on regular media as they are currently.
Issues on Copyright

Copyrights and piracy may prove to be something difficult to enforce once VoD is born.
There is little doubt that people will record movies using home VCRs and lend them to
friend or neighbours. Illegal video shops could flourish when it becomes much easier for
them to obtain movies, and sell these to residents not willing to pay for overheads of installing
VoD.
"Do the viewes want to be libetared to be interactive ?"

An ordinary viewer sticks to an average of 7 channels, regardless of the sheer availability
of 50-plus alternatives in CATV. Viewers also show strong habits of watching a "strip" of
programs and flipping through channels. Consequently, VoD applications need well
structured indexes and user friendly menus for quick browsing.
6 : Conclusion
The presence of potential technologies for audiovisual information transmission, encoding and
storage has made transition to interactive media systems almost inevitable, justifying the criticism
that "Interactive Multi-Media is a technology looking for applications". The boundaries of many of
the current forms of information services and media will soon get blurred away, when the
discrimination of the Television and a "Home shopping channel" would be somewhat analogous to
the difference between radio FM and AM taday.
Video on Demand is an important aspect of this interactive media technology that is currently
conquering the information systems worldwide. VoD systems will definitely add a new meaning to
the home entertainment, and also will change many aspects of public media such as programme
making and advertising.
Looking at current research and trials, VoD is likely to be initially implemented over ADSL
technology until ATM becomes available. MPEG has conquered huge grounds as far as standards
go and make great efforts to ensure that they remain as international standards for moving
picture coding.
Video-on-Demand is set to become the future home entertainment system, though it isn't about to
happen 'by storm' before ATM is realized. Much work is ongoing, and we should expect to see
results within the next two years!
APPENDIX A : CASE STUDIES

This type of an Interactive Multi-Media Interface would be a commonplace in future homes..
The figure shown here is an Algebraic Video Systems Browser

facility for digital video presentations.
Although not fully compatible with True-VoD, there are several operational VoD-related services
available, mainly in US and also in some other countries.
Table 2: VoD-related operational services

Location Company Services
Orlando, Fla. Time Warner Limited VoD to mores via cable
Cerritos, Calif. GTE Primitive VoD trial using VCRs
Montreal, Canada Videoway Quasi-VoD via cable
N.Virginia Bell Atlantic VoD using ADSL
Calif., US Pacific Bell Full package of interactive Services (see below.)
New York NYNEX VoD trials in Manhattan
Cambridge, UK. Continental Cable Connection to CompuServe via Cable
Calif. Sega Interactive games
PACIFIC BELL : The California First Plan
In 1994, Pacific Bell, a regional subsidiery of Bell Operating

Companies, US, announced the plans to build an interactive video
platform throughout California at a cost of $16 billion. With
partnership with AT&T, Pac-Bell was expected to provide a full range of interactive services,
including movies on-demand, time-shifted TV, interactive news, tele-education, home shopping,
video games, and electronic citizenship. The company might also develop "an interactive home
improvement channel" and "access to community experts on a wide range of issues." The initial
implementation was carried out in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego.

Essentially, the upgrade will add ATM capabilities to its existing fiber-coaxial trunk, and transport
broadband services to powerful 750 MHz digital nodes serving 500 homes apiece. It will also
replace the copper wire that leads to most residences with coaxial cable.
More than two million homes and one million businesses will be served after the first phase of
construction, in 1996. More than 5.5 million homes-or roughly 50 percent of Pac Bell's customers
will ultimately be served, by the end of this decade.
[source : Interactive Television Testbeds, Working Paper #7, Benton Foundation. ]
Interactive Movies : Making of World's First Interactive TV Series
With the aid of one of their own budding CD-i technology, Philips Interactive Media Inc., made
another revolution in games industry: Creating a hybrid movie-game version of Hulk Hogan's
Thunder in Paradise on CD, making in the first ever interactive movie.
Directed by two people, one for the TV series and the other for the "interactive" version, Thunder
would really involve the player into the sequel, by giving him the opportunity to determine the
subesequent events in the game /movie.
With picture quality better than VHS, Philips hopes to sell around 500,000 copies of Thunder
worldwide: "At least one per every CD-i unit" David McElhatten, president of Philips Media Games
says, "We have further plans for 3 other major interactive movies with Paramount Pictures,
including a version of Star Trek... We explore a whole new technology here, and as far as I can
see, the sky's the limit...!"
The boys will go where none has ventured before...

But better still, you will be able to determine
their destiny with Philips' Interactive Movie..
CellMaster : ATM-ADSL Interconnections
Cellware, in Germany, has been at work on ATM-ADSL interfaces, adaptors between ATM and
LAN/PABX/FDDI-LANS.
Cell-Master is one such product and is installed in the local exchange. It

can accept an ATM input (e.g. at 155 Mbit/s) and to regenerate forty E1
data-streams from this single ATM connection. With two CELL-MASTERs you could thus
regenerate eighty 2 Mbit/s data-streams. These steams are connected to lots of ADSL modems in
the exchange, then linked to individual homes via telephone wires. There, an ADSL modem
receives the signal, which is passed on to the set-top-box, regenerating the video images.
The reverse, control channel produced by the set top box when the user operates the remote
control, is passed back through the ADSL modems and then back to the CELL-MASTER via an
RS232 serial interface (typically at 9600 Baud).

Cellware has set the bitrate of Cell-Master to 2 Mbps as the distance between the exchange and
the home limits the bandwidth. However, this 2 Mbps stream is expected to support Video-
on-Demand, though not at broadcast/HDTV quality :
"Quality is a matter of opinion. E1 rate MPEG-2 is OK but nowhere near BBC broadcast
quality."
- Kim Booth, Cellware.
APPENDIX B :
Acronyms
ADSL : Asymetric Digital Subscriber Loop

AES : Audio Engineering Society
ATM : Asynchronous Transfer Mode
CATV : Community Antenna (Cable) TV
SCSI : Small Computer System Interface
DSB : Direct Satellite Broadcast
EBU : European Broadcast Union
HDSL : High speed Digital Subsriber Loop
HDTV : High Definiion TV
ITU-T : International Telecommunications Union, Telecommunication standardisation sector
IMMS : Interactive Multi-Media Systems
ISDN : Integrated Services Digital Network
ISO : International Organization for Standardization
MPEG : Moving Pictures Expert Group
NTSC : National Television Systems Committe
POTS : Plain Old Telephone System
SMPTE : Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers
S-VHS : Super Video Home System
VHS : Video Home System
VoD : Video-on-Demand
APPENDIX C
References :
1. 1993-94 Annual Review of Communications:

1. Prospects of Video on Demand, August E. Grant, Univ. of Texas
2. A Hewlett-Packard Video Server, Daniel Pitt & Manu Thapar, HP Labs.
3. 21st century TV: Cable TV and the Information Age, Roger Pience, NCTA Science &
Technology
2. Computer Weekly, April 27, 1995

3. First Interactive Movie, CD-ROM Magazine, August 1994.

4. IEEE Multimedia, Fall 1994

5. Making a Cost-Effective Video Server, Y. Doganata & A.Tantawi, IEEE Multimedia, Winter
1994.
6. I nteractive Television Testbeds, Working Paper 7, by Peter Krasilovsky,Benton Foundation.
(http://www.cdinet.com/benton/Catalog/Working7/working7.html)
7. IBM Introduces MPEG-2 Decompression Device, FISHKILL, N.Y., July 26, 1994
(http://www.crs4.it/~luigi/MPEG/ibmchip.html)
8. CellWare Information Service, Germany. (http://www.cellware.de/systems/vod.html)
9. ADSL Forum, Jason Dominguez, On-Line Publishing Specialist (http://www.sbexpos.com
/sbexpos/associations/adsl/home.htm)
10. ISDN (http://www.combinet.com/ISDN1.html)
11. ATM applications, Allen Robel, Senior Network Engineer, Indiana University
(http://www.telematrix.com/vendor/igi/publications/atm1294.html)
12. Quicktime Conferencing, Apple Computer, Inc. (http://quicktime.apple.com/qtconf.html)
13. MPEG Standards, Cho Han Wook, Scientific Visualization Group, CRS4.
(http://vod.isl.goldstar.co.kr/doc/mpeg/mpeg.html)
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Video on Demand http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~nd/surprise_95/journal/vo...

2. VIDEO ON DEMAND : A Brief Look

3. INTO THE DETAILS..

3.1 Set-Top Box

3.3 Audio/Video Standards

3.4 Transmission Protocols

4.1 Video/audio compression & standards

5. THE FUTURE : Developments, Concerns and Fears

7. APENDIX A : Case Studies

1 of 16 Wednesday 10 November 2010 03:58 PM

Providing Video Films on Demand

Fig : An interactive user

2 : Video on Demand : a Brief Look

2 of 16 Wednesday 10 November 2010 03:58 PM

Digital video/audio can be compressed and stored on

To overcome this shortfall, there are several viable

3 : Into the Details..

3.1 : Set-Top Box

3.2 : Video Server

3 of 16 Wednesday 10 November 2010 03:58 PM

Provide simultaneous access to several hundreds (or thousands) of subscribers on real-time,

Table 1: Cost comparison of currently available storage

There are several important considerations in designing a feasible video server:

1. Hierarchical storage scheme

1. Hierarchical storage scheme :

Fig : A loosely coupled implementation of a Video storage system

4 of 16 Wednesday 10 November 2010 03:58 PM

There are several techniques to increase the

Striping involves interleaving portions

SCSI interface is currently under consideration by Hewlett-Packard to be used in their video

5 of 16 Wednesday 10 November 2010 03:58 PM

servers, allowing 8 devices in the bus giving 20 Mbps bandwidth.

3.3 : Audio/Video Standards

Fig : A Quick-Time Tele Conferencing

Quick-Time is being used for media-compression by several firms

Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG)

jointly with the ITU-TS for ATM Video Coding.

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MPEG standards comparison

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SGS-Thompson STi-3500 - The first MPEG-2 chip on market

MPEG is currently being adapted to many applications:

Comparison of Quicktime and MPEG compressions

Click here for Quick-Time

3.4 : Transmission Protocols

ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)

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ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Loop)

The technology for ADSL involves carving up the

Regional fibre lines won't be available for another 40

ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode)

The cells use characteristics of both time-division-

1. Scalable technology; potential for extremely

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The encryptor operates at speeds ranging from 1.544

Types of Communications Networks

Video/audio compression & standards

MPEG-2 becomes the Standard

A consortium of 85 European companies also signed an agreement in 1993 to fund a video

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5 : The Future : Developments, Concerns and Fears

Fig: An HDTV with 3D displaying developed by NHK, the telecomm