Scalable Video Multicast Using Expanding Window Fountain Codes

Fountain codes were introduced as an efficient and universal Forward Error Correction (FEC) solution for data multicast over lossy packet networks. They have recently been proposed for large scale multimedia content delivery in practical multimedia distribution systems. However, standard fountain codes, such as LT or Raptor codes, are not designed to meet Unequal Error Protection (UEP) requirements typical in real-time scalable video multicast applications. In this paper, the authors propose recently introduced UEP Expanding Window Fountain (EWF) codes as a flexible and efficient solution for real-time scalable video multicast.