Multimedia Storage and Retrieval: An Algorithmic ApproachUpplaga 1

The success of multimedia information systems to adequately meet the needs of accessing and presenting audio/video information from a large multimedia server, depends heavily on the proper use of storage and retrieval algorithms suitable for this task. This book describes various algorithms from simple to sophisticated:  from single user to multiple users, from constant-bit-rate to variable-bit-rate streams, and from single disk to multiple disks. It emphasises storage and retrieval of video data using magnetic disk systems, thereby concentrating on the fundamental algorithms that underlie these systems and pursuing an elementary mathematical approach. *Provides those new to the subject with the basic principles of the design and analysis of video on demand systems and guides the reader towards a thorough understanding of the field. *Offers an extensive overview of the work that has been carried out in the area of video-on-demand systems. *Comprehensively covers disk scheduling algorithms, ranging from serving a single, constant-bit-rate client to serving multiple, variable-bit-rate clients, using only a single disk. *Guides the reader through associated storage strategies along with a transition to multiple disk systems. This introduces additional degrees of freedom and associated storage strategies. *Concludes with further optimizations in the area of video transmission, covering bit-rate smoothing and near video-on-demand strategies.