Multimedia, network protocols and users—bridging the gap

In this paper we present the case for using specifically configured protocol stacks geared towards human requirements in the delivery of distributed multimedia. We define Quality of Perception (QoP) as representing the user side of the more technical and traditional Quality of Service (QoS). QoP is a term which encompasses not only a user's satisfaction with the quality of multimedia presentations, but also his/her ability to analyse, synthesise and assimilate the informational content of multimedia displays. The Dynamically Reconfigurable Protocol Stacks (DRoPS) architecture supports low cost reconfiguration of individual protocol mechanisms in an attempt to best maintain QoP in connections where the provided QoS fluctuates unpredictably. Results show that DRoPS can be used to improve on the QoP provided by legacy protocol stacks (TCP/IP, UDP/IP), especially in the case of dynamic and complex sequences.