Providing VCR functionality in a constant quality video-on-demand transportation service

Bandwidth smoothing techniques for the delivery of prerecorded compressed video have been shown to be effective in reducing the network bandwidth required for video playback, however, they can limit the ability of the user to interactively modify the playback in the manner familiar from VCR operations. We examine the impacts that VCR functions have on the smoothed delivery of stored video. We introduce the notion of VCR window, which allows users to have full VCR functionality in a limited window while not requiring increases in the bandwidth reservations. In addition, we introduce a resource reservation scheme that can be used with the VCR window for the delivery of stored video. To test the applicability of the VCR window in video on demand systems, we have digitized 15 full length movies for experimental data. Our results indicate that time limited VCR functionality can be provided while retaining a fairly high network utilization.