This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investigate the use of Forward Error Correction and robust fault handling in order to improve the performance of MPEG-1 encoded audio and video transport in multicast computer networks. The advent of MPEG-1 has resulted in a standard method for compressing audio and VCR-quality, 30-frame/s, full-motion video information to 1.5 Mbits/sec for CD-ROM usage. The natural extension to the transport of MPEG-1, and in particular the multicast of MPEG-1, over computer networks reveals a new set of issues. Decoding of compressed audio and video is extremely sensitive to lost data. Selective retransmission may result in latencies which are incompatible with interactive applications such as virtual reality. An innovative approach is required which combines Forward Error Correction and robust lost data handling to achieve the multiple goals of low latency, minimal lost data, maximum bandwidth utilization, and highest possible image quality. This Phase I effort will design a transport protocol based on an analysis of the characteristics of MPEG-1 traffic and experiments into the effects of errors on MPEG-1 image quality. The project will also include a development plan for testing in a multicast network to verify performance and robustness under multimedia applications.
