An expanded patching technique using four types of streams for true VoD services

In this paper, we propose an expanded patching technique in order to reduce the server network bandwidth requirements to support true VoD services in VoD Systems. Double Patching, which is a typical multicast technique, ensures that a long patching stream delivers not only essential video data for the current client but also extra video data for future clients. Since the extra data may include useless data, it results in server network bandwidth wastage. In order to prevent a server from transmitting useless data, the proposed patching technique uses a new kind of stream called a linking stream. A linking stream is transmitted to clients that have received short patching streams, and it plays a linking role between a patching stream and a regular stream. The linking stream enables a server to avoid transmitting unnecessary data delivered by a long patching stream in Double Patching, so the server never wastes its network bandwidth. Mathematical analysis shows that the proposed technique requires less server network bandwidth to support true VoD services than Double Patching. Moreover, simulation results show that it has better average service latency and client defection rate compared with Double Patching.