Scalable multi-media information distribution architecture

Representation methods for all kinds of information is quickly becoming entirely digital. Two of the most important standards representing this process, MPEG and ATM, are proceeding very successfully. In order to adapt to the wide range of new data types and applications, scalable multimedia information distribution architectures will become far more important than before. The authors have studied basic architecture of each of these key systems, and are currently developing prototypes of system components. The paper describes the concepts behind the architecture and performances required for the basic protocol functions of a scalable multi-media distribution architecture