We are also interested in video broadcasting to mobile devices in systems such as DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast--Handheld). These systems provide TV services to mobile devices. We are working on algorithms to broadcast IP packets to mobile devices such that their wireless reception components can sleep for the longest possible period of time (and hence save energy) while maintaining good video quality.
People
- Cheng-Hsin Hsu (PhD student)
- Yi Liu (MSc student)
Publications
- M. Hefeeda, C. Hsu, and Y. Liu, Testbed and Experiments for Mobile TV (DVB-H) Networks, ACM Multimedia'08 Technical Demonstration, Vancouver, Canada, October 2008.
- M. Hefeeda and C. Hsu, On Burst Transmission Scheduling in Mobile TV Broadcast Networks, School of Computing Science, Simon Fraser University, August 2008.
- C. Hsu and M. Hefeeda, Bounding Switching Delay in Mobile TV Broadcast Networks, School of Computing Science, Simon Fraser University, July 2008.
Mobile TV (DVB-H) Testbed and Experiments
This testbed is used to evaluate several of our algorithms that aim to improve mobile TV quality and usability. We configure a commodity Linux workstation as our streaming server as well as IP encapsulator that converts a video over IP stream into a MPEG-2 transport stream. This Linux workstation also hosts a PCI-based DVB-H modulator card that is connected to an in-door antenna. We currently use Nokia N92 mobile phone as TV receivers, which enables us to gather several performance metrics such as video quality, CPU loads, and energy consumption (battery-life). In particular, this testbed consists of:
- An Intel Quad-Core Xeon E5420 (2.5 GHz) PC running Ubuntu Linux.
- A Dektec DTA-110T DVB-T/H Modulator and UHF Upconverter for PCI Bus.
- A Nokia N-92 mobile TV phone.
- Open source IP encapsulator software from http://amuse.ftw.at/downloads/encapsulator .
Discussion and Ideas
- Extend power awareness to WiMax and TDMA networks.
References and Links
- Wing-TV Project: Docs to test and to verify in detail the DVB-H specification.
- J. Wang, M. Venkatachalam, and Y. Fang, System Architecture and Cross-Layer Optimization of Video Broadcast over WiMAX, IEEE JSAC 25(4), pp. 712--721, MAY 2007. (Check this special issue of JSAC as well.)
- G. Gardikis, G. Xilouris, C. Skianis, Broadband multimedia on the move with DVB-H, Multimedia Tools and Applications, 36(1-2), January 2008. (DVB-H tutorial in inter-active mode.)
