TABLE OF CONTENTS Multimedia streaming is a method of delivering synchronized multimedia content such that the recipient can begin to play the content during the course of the transmission. Multimedia streaming is further divided into two types: on-demand streaming and live streaming. In on-demand streaming, the content (data file) as a whole is generated at a server and is delivered it to a client upon request. Many websites offer on-demand video news, movie trailers, etc. In live streaming, however, the content is a datastream that is being generated and delivered to a client simultaneously. Live streaming is often used in live broadcasting of an event on the web (webcast). Multimedia streaming is by definition unidirectional in that the stream is sent from a content server to the client only. Some applications such as video telephony and video conferencing require two live streams for both directions between two parties.
Traditional mobile wireless networks are primarily voice based because of limited wireless link bandwidth, which makes it impossible to deliver high-quality video content. This situation is changing as 2.5G and 3G cellular systems and other wireless data technologies such as wireless LANs and wireless metropolitan area networks (MANs) begin to proliferate, rendering effective delivery of multimedia steaming content, especially video content. In light of the rapidly growing mobile user community and the need for rich content over high-resolution, color cell phones, mobile service providers are exploring the opportunity to offer a new set of value-added applications that combine multimedia streaming, location-based...
