A Latency-Estimation Method for Software-Based MPEG-4 Video Streaming Systems using Gigabit Ethernet

In response to development of the communication environment, this, we previously developed a software-based real-time MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) system for streaming live video. We are now implementing this system in a videoconference system in our laboratory. For this system, we proposed a VOP decision-making algorithm that can adaptively choose the arrangement of VOPs (Video Object Planes) according to the CPU power of a terminal. When live movies from video cameras are streamed in real-time environments, such as a videoconference system, low latency is necessary so that users are not bothered by system latency. This means that the total latency of the system must be estimated, and the display time must be set accurately. In this paper, we report how to estimate the cost for time of encoding and communication when transmitting MPEG-4 objects in a real-time videoconference system using Gigabit Ethernet. For experiments, our results showed that our method can accurately estimate the encoding and communication latency.