A Novel Feedback Controlled Multimedia Transmission Scheme

The number of multimedia transmissions over the existing network infrastructure is continually increasing. This leads to longer periods of network congestion which affects these transmissions and hence their playout. We propose a novel feedback controlled multimedia transmission scheme in order to ensure continuous stream delivery and play-out, even in the case of network congestion. Data transmission and the exchange of control information are done via a doublechannel (TCP and UDP) link. A special protocol (Client Initiated Protocol) has been defined to provide the transmission mechanism with a reduced overhead. We describe both its components, the Client Initiated Streaming Protocol (CISP) used for control and the Client Initiated Transport Protocol (CITP) used for data transmissions. We also present the feedback scheme and describe the server's possible state transitions. A multicast approach is explored and its advantages and disadvantages outlined. We present some experimental results to show the functionality of our scheme. I