Prefetching protocols for VBR video on demand

In this paper we outline several high-performance prefetching protocols for the transport of VBR-encoded video on demand. For the same image quality and cost, our protocols allow a VoD service provider to provide significantly more video connections than what is possible with CBR-encoded videos. The protocols therefore allow VoD service providers to earn significantly more revenue without increasing cost. The protocols require each client to have about 10 Mbytes of memory dedicated to the VoD application. Our protocols are particularly well-suited for the provision of VoD from a cable headend or from an ADSL switch over a community network to household PCs or to Web-TVs. The protocols are designed for high-performance video-on-demand: They give immediate commencement of playback upon user request, they allow for instantaneous user interactivity, and they promise consistently high image quality. We present two protocols. The first protocol is appropriate for when all of the videos emanate from a single server. The second is appropriate for when the videos emanate from multiple servers.