Adaptive IPTV services based on a novel IP Multimedia Subsystem

Heterogeneous communication devices are emerging and changing the way of communication. Innovative multimedia applications are now accessible through these embedded systems. The 3GPP IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) provides a basic architecture framework for the Next Generation Network (NGN) supporting the convergence platform for service provisioning in heterogeneous networks. ETSI TISPAN standardization effort focuses on delivering IPTV services on such platform. Nevertheless, IPTV on IMS standardization suffers from a lack of efficient user-centric network management mechanisms as the end-user may consume IPTV service from different access networks, on different mobile devices, at anytime. User’s Perceived Quality of Service (PQoS) or Quality of Experience (QoE) of IPTV service may also suffer from wireless access network impairments. This paper introduces new functionalities in IPTV over IMS architecture which optimize satisfaction of the end-user and resource utilization of the operator’s networks. A context-sensitive User Profile (UP) model is used to deliver IPTV streams adapted to the user’s environment. In order to optimize the operator network usage, the impact of spatiotemporal dynamics of the video content on the deduced perceptual quality is considered. A Multimedia Content Management System (MCMS) is proposed to perform dynamic cross-layer adaptation of the IPTV stream based on PQoS measurements at the end-user side.