IP-HDTV multicast distribution system architecture with nonstop service availability

This paper proposes a new system architecture which achieves stable HDTV distribution service using ISP multicast networks. With the recent spread of broadband access networks including FFTH, the distribution of broadcasting contents using IP multicast is becoming indispensable in the ISP service menu. The important issues in the development of such a content distribution service are to provide high service availability and to construct a highly flexible distribution system that can handle various distribution formats. The authors have proposed a nonstop IP multicast technique without modification of router implementation intended for the ISP network, and also a packet transmission control procedure which works independently of the distribution format. A prototype was implemented and a video distribution experiment is performed on an IP multicast network corresponding to digital HDTV broadcasting by satellite. It is shown that nonstop service can be provided using the prototype system, compensating the loss of approximately 27,500 packets, accompanied by detection and recovering of network failure at the router. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 1, 90(12): 73–85, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecja.20346