Transport of MPEG-2 video in a routed IP network : Transport stream errors and their effects on video quality

The effects of packet network error and loss on MPEG-2 video streams are very different from those in either wireless bitstreams or cell-based networks (ATM). We report a study transporting high-quality MPEG-2 video over an IP network. Our principal objective is to investigate the effects of network impairments at the IP layer, in particular packet loss in congested routers, on MPEG-2 video reconstruction. We have used an IP testbed network rather than simulation studies in order to permit evaluation of actual transmitted video quality by several means. We have developed a data-logging video client to permit off-line error analysis. Analysis requires video stream resynchronization and objective quality measurement. We have studied MPEG-2 video stream transport errors, error-affected video quality and error sources. We have also investigated the relationship of packet loss to slice loss, picture loss, and frame error. We conclude that slice loss is the dominant factor in video quality degradation.