Video aggregation: an integrated video compression and multiplexing scheme for broadband networks

This paper investigates video aggregation, a concept that integrates compression and multiplexing of video information. We focus on the transmission of a group of video sessions as a bundle, the practical examples of which include entertainment-video broadcast and video-on-demand. The shortcomings of the approaches that separate the processes of compression and multiplexing are explained from the viewpoints of image quality, bandwidth usage, network management and operation. We argue that it is better to perform compression and multiplexing together before the bundle of video traffic enters the network. This paper presents preliminary experimental results which indicate that video aggregation can provide better image quality for a given bandwidth than traditional statistical multiplexing.