Adaptive playout control for intra-/inter-client synchronization in multicast media streaming

Recently we have proposed a multicast media streaming framework that enhances the media synchronization by employing a server-client coordinated adaptive playout and error control. Focusing on the adaptive playout with time-scale modification, we adopt the adaptive playout to help both intra-client and inter-client synchronization in a multicast streaming environment. However, only the usability of adaptive playout in assisting the synchronized multicast streaming is demonstrated while leaving several detailed issues untouched. As an effort to enhance the proposed framework, in this paper, we concentrate on refining the adaptive playout between two (i.e., intra/inter) synchronization modes. We attempt to enhance each synchronization mode and enable appropriate switching between them. More specifically, we zoom into the tradeoff of adaptive playout for buffer control and playout time control by adopting a dynamic playback factor adjustment. To evaluate the proposed scheme, network simulation and analysis (performed in NS2 simulator over the PIM-SSM multicast network) are conducted. Results show that the proposed scheme can enhance the performance of intra-client as well as inter-client synchronization.