Video Traces for Network Performance Evaluation: A Comprehensive Overview and Guide on Video Traces and Their Utilization in Networking Research

Multimedia networking, especially the delivery video over the Internet, accounts for a large fraction of today’s and future computer networks. Working with actual video provides several challenges on different technical and social levels. Video traces - a representation of video data and video quality in textual format - present a different approach to facilitate studies with video traffic. Video Traces for Network Performance Evaluation provides a comprehensive introduction to video traces and their use in networking research. After first providing the basics of digital video and video coding, video traces are introduced, covering the metrics captured in the traces, the trace generation, as well as the statistical characteristics of the video characterized in the traces. Attention is then turned to the use of the video traces in networking research, examining the practical aspects of transporting video over Internet Protocol (IP) networks and the simulation of video transport using traces, including the simulations that incorporate the impact of transmission errors using offset distortion traces. Software tools and utilities that facilitate the use of video traces in network simulations and other video networking related software tools are also presented.