“Media quality optimisation over networks” addresses a number of issues related with the transfer of multimedia content across networks (and especially those arising from the use of wireless access links). On one hand, it is necessary to set-up the required resources so that the expected end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS) may be achieved; negotiation of suitable traffic and QoS parameters and optimization of network resources should take into account the available information (descriptors) concerning the multimedia content and the communications context. On the other hand, dynamic adaptation mechanisms that take into account the time-varying characteristics of wireless channels as well as the dynamics of the networks are also required.
The work carried out in this activity is based on the results achieved in VISNET I, and is aimed at extending them and fulfilling the overall goal of media quality optimisation in dynamic network environments that include heterogeneous wireless access networks. Problems are approached from both the network and applications’ point of view, in order to exploit interaction and cooperation of different protocol layers.
This theme covers aspects like QoS in and across wireless networks, stereoscopic video communications, wireless mesh access networks and end-to-end QoS models.