On a theory of media processing systems behavior, with applications

In this article we provide a model for the dynamic behavior of media processing chains of tasks communicating via bounded buffers. The aim is to find the overall behavior of a chain from which performance parameters (such as start time and response time of individual tasks, chain end-to-end response time, number of context switches and resource utilization) follow. This behavior is characterized in terms of the elementary actions of the tasks that make up the chain. From this we derive corollaries that give design guidelines, supporting the goal of improving chain end-to-end response time and the optimization of resources, which is achieved by minimizing context-switching overhead and buffer sizes