Broadband MPEG-2 client with network configuration capability

We describe the operation and performance of a broadband video client, an MPEG-2 transport stream decoder with network interfaces implemented on a Sun UltraSparc processor using the VIS multimedia instruction set. The decoder performs demultiplexing, synchronized video and audio decompression, and display in real time. It is implemented as a Netscape plug-in and it has a network interface allowing one to configure it for different broadband networks which might be available: ATM PVC, SVC, IP over ATM and Fast Ethernet. Implementation of the decoder in multithreaded and multiprocessing environments is described. Experimental data regarding the performance of the decoder in different conditions are presented and conclusions for the processing power requirements are formulated.