Dynamic quality-of-service framework for video in broadband networks

A dynamic framework for quality-of-service (QoS) control of video in distributed multimedia applications is presented The framework allows flexible and efficient video delivery with application-level QoS support. Key components of the framework are: client QoS renegotiation, server source rate control and dynamic bandwidth allocation. The soft-QoS requirements of the application are communicated among the framework components using distributed software objects, called service contracts. A proof-of-concept prototype of a video browser with user-level control of soft-QoS is implemented within the proposed framework. Experiences with the prototype and its performance are discussed. Results suggest that the framework is particularly suitable for the mobile multimedia scenario allowing mobile applications to maintain soft-QoS while roaming without compromising network utilization