Improving Scalable Video Transmission over IEEE 802.11e through a Cross-Layer Architecture

The scalable extension of H.264/AVC, called H.264/SVC, is a current standardization project of Joint Video Team (JVT). An encoded SVC bitstream consists of an H.264/AVC-compatible base layer and one or more scalable enhance layers. In order to meet requirements of various clients, some scalable enhance layers can be truncated. This paper focuses on the investigation of H.264/SVC transmission over IEEE 802.11e through a cross-layer architecture. The cross-layer architecture, enabling interaction between Network Abstraction Layer (NAL) and IEEE 802.11e MAC layer, provides differentiated services according to the importance of scalable video packets. The simulations are conducted with Qualnet 4.0. The simulation results show that our approach provides better video quality.