Resilient P2P Video Streaming over an Urban VANET

Abstract

This Chapter proposes the concept of resilient multi-source streaming using a peer-to-peer overlay network over an urban vehicular ad-hoc network. Peer-to-peer overlay networks with multiple sources have proven to be robust, distributed solutions to multimedia transport, including streaming. To achieve video streaming over a vehicular ad-hoc network overlay, the Chapter introduces spatial partitioning of a video stream based on flexible macroblock ordering. Flexible macroblock ordering is an error resilient feature of an H.264 video codec in which macroblocks can be assigned to slices in non-raster scan order. Furthermore, the Chapter examines the impact of differing traffic densities and road layouts upon a peer-to-peer overlay network’s performance when streaming video. The research demonstrates that the vehicles’ mobility pattern and their drivers’ behaviors need to be carefully modeled to determine signal reception. The Chapter also considers the impact of the wireless channel, which also should be more realistically modeled, compared to the usual two-ray path loss model.