| CODE | CCE5405 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Multimedia Networks and Systems | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 10 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Communications and Computer Engineering | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The study-unit first overviews Multimedia 福利在线免费 - Audio, Video, Graphic, and Textual - and the Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE) targets required for acceptable delivery over Multimedia networks. The study-unit then explores the basic principles behind Text, Voice, Image and Video coding with special attention to the DPCM, MP3, JPEG, JPEG 2000 and H.264/AVC standards. It then expands into more complex video coding architectures including stereoscopic, and multi-view video coding. Multimedia Networks including Terrestrial - fixed, wireless and mobile; and Satellite are then introduced and their characteristics studied with a view to understand their multimedia delivery capabilities. The distribution of multimedia content over TCP/IP with QoS guarantees will be studied using RTP/UDP/IP and Reservation Protocols. Current Multimedia Systems such as Satellite Broadcasting, Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting, Digital Mobile Systems, and OTT systems will be covered in some depth. This study-unit covers theoretical and practical concepts in broadcasting, overlay and peer-to-peer networks. It covers a number of protocols and architectures used to deliver data over such networks. The study-unit will then focus on audio (both speech and music) representation and coding. The transmission of digital audio will be studied as a real-time service posing stringent latency QoS requirements on multimedia networks. SIP and H323 VoIP protocols will be studied and analyzed. Their use in supporting Unified communications will also be studied. Finally the role of the IMS in next generation multimedia networks will be introduced, including VoLTE, VoNR and the delivery of video content. Study-unit Aims: This study-unit aims at introducing the common standards used in voice, image and video coding. It highlights the need for voice and video coding and its relation to the human audio and vision systems. Furthermore, it provides the theoretical background necessary to understand the use of prediction, transforms and coding in lossless and lossy compression. It also gives insight to error correction techniques and image/video quality assessment methods. It then reviews the multimedia information that is transacted over telecommunications networks, and studies the requirements for the various components. Then, generic properties of multimedia networks are introduced, followed by a description of current networks and how these support multimedia transmission. The study-unit also overviews the work on future multimedia systems such as Multimedia transmission over IPv6, HDTV, 3D TV and multimedia in 4G 5G and 6G mobile networks. This study-unit will provide a sound understanding of modern broadcasting networks, overlay networks and peer-to-peer networks. This includes the congestion control and flooding, network design and management, and scalability and stability issues. Moreover, the study-unit aims at providing a solid understanding on quality of service and experience that communication systems have to provide. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - discuss the state-of-the-art audio, image and video coding standards; - explain the purpose and function of the main functional blocks forming a typical audio, image and video codec; - compare the performance of audio and video coding algorithms; - discuss the current audio and video coding technology trends; - explain the nature of multimedia information sources and the QoS demands each places on the network; - distinguish the types of broadcasting channels available, modes of transport and the protocols that support multimedia transmission, rather than just best-effort traffic; - explain multimedia transmission in terrestrial, satellite, fixed, mobile, and IPv4 and IPv6 nets; - analyse how new techniques stress telecom networks and how these will evolve to meet the challenges; - identify how RTP/UDP/IP and reservation protocols transport multimedia traffic with QoS guarantees; - explain how audio signals are digitized, compressed and transmitted in current and future networks; - appraise the role of SIP and H323 protocols in delivery of multimedia services in TCP/IP networks; - outline Unified Communications services and systems; - evaluate the role of the IMS in next generation multimedia networks - distinguish the differences between peer-to-peer architectures and algorithms employed. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - identify the audio and video coding structure needed to compress the captured audio and video; - select the appropriate audio and video codec for a given application; - apply and conduct audio/image/video quality assessments; - characterise and describe the properties of multimedia information sources; - characterise and describe the characteristics of current and future multimedia networks; - predict, characterise and measure the interaction between multimedia and current and future multimedia networks; - describe Audio representation and coding techniques in detail; - design real time multimedia network using SIP protocols; - describe the role of UC and IMS in defining current and future multimedia communications networks; - design single-frequency networks for broadcasting systems; - design algorithms that are scalable with the network and ensure Stability; - select appropriate overlay and peer-to-peer architectures and protocols. - plan a broadcasting single-frequency network. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts - Fred Halsall, Multimedia Communications: Applications, Networks, Protocols and Standards, Addision-Wesley. - K. R. Rao, Zoran S. Bojkovic, Dragorad A. Milovanovic, Multimedia Communication Systems: Techniques, Standards, and Networks Pearson Education. - S. Tarkoma, 鈥淥verlay Networks: Toward 福利在线免费 Networking,鈥� CRC Press, Auerbach Publications, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC, USA, 2010, ISBN: 978-1-4398-1373-7. - A. Kondoz, "Visual Media Coding and Transmission," John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Supplementary Readings - R.C. Gonzalez, R.W. Woods, 鈥淒igital Image Processing,鈥� Third Edition, Pearson International Edition. - A.M. Bock, 鈥淰ideo Compression Systems,鈥� The Institution of Engineering and Technology, 2009. - I.E.G. Richardson, 鈥淗.264 and MPEG-4 Video Compression,鈥� Wiley and Sons. - IEEE Journal Papers. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Independent Study, Project and Tutorial | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Carl James Debono Saviour Zammit (Co-ord.) |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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