Communicating pictures: The test of future wireless networks

Before wireless multimedia applications can be truly successful, a number of technologically demanding problems must still be resolved. For example, future services will need to be delivered at a range of bit rates, dependent on network and channel characteristics, platform type, application and material content. End to end provision of multimedia information across network components of varying capability and performance will therefore impose the need for coding regimes which are inherently robust to different forms of loss and error. This paper addresses one of the most challenging coding problems- associated with the delivery of real time video over wireless communication networks. Specific examples will be based on H.264 transport over the 802.11 family of wireless LAN standards. The lecture will also describe how aspects of wireless video research in the University of Bristol have been successfully extracted from the laboratory and commercially exploited through a spin-out company, Provision Communications.