A rich media framework for communication-broadcasting converged IPTV

As the trend toward communication and broadcasting convergence grows, a hybrid Internet Protocol television (IPTV) that supports both IP network-based video and traditional TV broadcast is attracting increasing attention. This paper proposes a rich media framework for hybrid IPTV with support of the latest H.264 codec. The problem of software incompatibility along with the resource constraints of IPTV set-tops limits the adoption of rich media technologies in IPTV environment. Aiming for portability and performance, we propose a media component for hybrid IPTV that features an efficient application interface and sophisticated media processing schemes. Using the media interface, we developed a rich media runtime whose design enables it to fully utilize the built-in graphics acceleration hardware. Through demonstration and experiments, we validate the performance and flexibility of the proposed framework. Our schemes that include ring-structured media stream abstraction, I-frame prefetch via vectored I/O, and adaptive I-frame search proved to greatly enhance the VCR functions in respect of the fulfillment of the requested playback speed and the download throughput. The proposed framework is believed to provide a useful insight into the design of vector graphics and the playback of hybrid media in the applications of IPTV-based advertising, education, and Video-on-Demand (VoD).