A proposed method for creating VCR functions using MPEG streams

The development of video-on-demand (VOD) systems for movie delivery requires that the user be able to perform VCR functions over a broadband network system. These functions include Play, Pause, Fast Forward, and Fast Rewind. No standard method exists between content developers, server manufacturers and client applications to provide these functions. This paper proposes a standard method for implementing these functions using MPEG streams and discusses some of the important tradeoffs. The encoding and distribution of content has become one of the most important issues facing video information providers. Today, in the case of movies, every service provider must encode the material for the specific equipment being deployed in the network. Therefore, the ease of use and speed of the algorithms employed to encode the material are extremely important. In the future, the creator of the content may encode the material once and distribute it to the service providers in compressed form, but this is not the case today due to the lack of standards.