Content
Nearly everybody knows and consumes video content via the Internet, and more and more frequently especially over wireless and mobile networks. As a computer scientist we even know how video transmission works in theory and we are able to distinguish applications like video conferencing, video streaming as well as the related protocols. But how is the implementation realized in practice, and in particular over wireless and mobile networks? In this lab course (Praktikum) we will examine how video clips can be encoded and transmitted via an IP network. We will carry out experiments with leading video services like YouTube as well as with Linux PCs in a lab environment. The experiments start with an introduction into the handling of the components and range from principles of video encoding and their impact on the respective video quality up to state-of-the-art video streaming standards like MPEG-DASH. Furthermore, performance issues and the user-perceived quality Quality-of-Experience (QoE) can be looked into. Goal of this lab course is to intensively become acquainted with the workings today’s video streaming services, and a deep understanding of the underlying protocols, with a special focus on challenges in wireless and mobile contexts. Attentive participation in this lab course is a perfect foundation for doing projects or master theses in the area of computer networking.