Catching and selective catching: efficient latency reduction techniques for delivering continuous multimedia streams

Abstract

We present a novel video streaming technique called catching for on-demand delivery of “hot” (i.e., frequently accessed) video objects to a large number of clients. This technique not only significantly reduces the server and network resource requirements but also is capable of providing near-instantaneous service to a large number of clients. By combining this technique for delivery of “hot” video objects with controlled multicast [4] for delivery of “cold” video objects, we design an efficient video delivery scheme referred to as selective catching. Through empirical studies, we demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed video delivery schemes.