Issues in multimedia synchronization over broadband networks

Distributed, networked multimedia information systems will be a critical component of technology-based information infrastructures in the future. Several ground-breaking applications have already appeared, and more are many are expected to follow. Innovations in hardware and software are feeding this revolution. In this paper, the notion of "quality of presentation" (QOP) for multimedia data transferred over the networks is developed. Multimedia data synchronization requirements are studied, and several synchronization protocols are presented. We discuss the management of pre-orchestrated as well as live multimedia data. It is anticipated that, with proper research breakthroughs, broadband multimedia networking technologies will bring about spectacular changes in the ways that we store, process and use information.