Robust video broadcasting over 802.11a/g in time-correlated fading channels

In order to deliver video streams efficiently over WiFi to many thousands of consumer handheld devices, broadcast protocols must be employed. In this mode of operation the received video quality can deteriorate rapidly as a result of high application layer packet loss which occurs because MAC frame retransmission cannot be used. In this paper we develop a robust video solution that is used in conjunction with broadcast transmission over 802.11a/g. Using a cross-layer WiFi simulator in combination with an accurate time-correlated fading channel, the received video quality is evaluated for broadcast H.264 video sequences. Application layer cross-packet forward error correction is then used together with error concealment at the video client. The methods developed can be used to successfully broadcast video to many thousands of handheld terminals at large-scale spectator events.