Skip to main content

RTCP XR Report Block for Loss Concealment Metrics Reporting on Video Applications
draft-ietf-xrblock-rtcp-xr-video-lc-00

The information below is for an old version of the document.
Document Type
This is an older version of an Internet-Draft that was ultimately published as RFC 7867.
Authors Rachel Huang , Alan Clark
Last updated 2015-02-25
RFC stream Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
Formats
Reviews
Additional resources Mailing list discussion
Stream WG state WG Document
Document shepherd (None)
IESG IESG state Became RFC 7867 (Proposed Standard)
Consensus boilerplate Unknown
Telechat date (None)
Responsible AD (None)
Send notices to (None)
draft-ietf-xrblock-rtcp-xr-video-lc-00
XRBLOCK                                                         R. Huang
INTERNET-DRAFT                                                    Huawei
Intended Status: Standards Track                                A. Clark
Expires: August 29, 2015                                        Telchemy
                                                       February 25, 2015

    RTCP XR Report Block for Loss Concealment Metrics Reporting on 
                           Video Applications
                 draft-ietf-xrblock-rtcp-xr-video-lc-00

Abstract

   This draft defines a new video loss concealment block type to augment
   those defined in [RFC3611] and [RFC7294] for use in a range of RTP
   video applications.

Status of this Memo

   This Internet-Draft is submitted to IETF in full conformance with the
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups.  Note that
   other groups may also distribute working documents as
   Internet-Drafts.

   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
   and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
   time.  It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

   The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at
   http://www.ietf.org/1id-abstracts.html

   The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at
   http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html

Copyright and License Notice

   Copyright (c) 2015 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors. All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
 

<Huang, et al.>         Expires August 29, 2015                 [Page 1]
INTERNET DRAFT       <Video LC Metrics for RTCP XR>    February 25, 2015

   (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
   publication of this document. Please review these documents
   carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
   to this document. Code Components extracted from this document must
   include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
     1.1 RTCP and RTCP XR Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
     1.2 Performance Metrics Framework  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
     1.3 Applicability  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
   2  Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
   3  Video Loss Concealment Methods  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
   4.  Video Loss Concealment Report Block  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
   5 SDP Signaling  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
     5.1 SDP rtcp-xr-attrib Attribute Extension . . . . . . . . . . .  7
     5.2 Offer/Answer Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
   6 Security Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
   7 IANA Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
     7.1 New RTCP XR Block Type Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
     7.2 New RTCP XR SDP Parameter  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
     7.3 Contact Information for registrations  . . . . . . . . . . .  9
   8 Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
   9  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
     9.1  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  9
     9.2  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
   Appendix A. Metrics Represented Using the Template from RFC 6390 . 10
   Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

 

<Huang, et al.>         Expires August 29, 2015                 [Page 2]
INTERNET DRAFT       <Video LC Metrics for RTCP XR>    February 25, 2015

1  Introduction

   Multimedia applications often suffer from packet losses in IP
   networks. In order to get a reasonable degree of quality in case of
   packet losses, it is necessary to have loss concealment mechanisms at
   the decoder. Video loss concealment is a range of techniques to mask
   the effects of packet loss in video communications. 

   In some applications, reporting the information of receivers applying
   video loss concealment could give monitors or senders useful
   information on application QoE. One example is no-reference video
   quality evaluation. Video probes located upstream from the video
   endpoint or terminal may not see loss occurring between the probe and
   the endpoint, and may also not be fully aware of the specific loss
   concealment methods being dynamically applied by the video endpoint.
   Evaluating error concealment is important in the circumstance in
   estimating the subjective impact of impairments.  

   This draft defines one new video loss concealment block type to
   augment those defined in [RFC3611] and [RFC7294] for use in a range
   of RTP video applications. The metrics defined in this draft belong
   to the class of transport-related terminal metrics defined in
   [RFC6792].

1.1 RTCP and RTCP XR Reports

   The use of RTCP for reporting is defined in [RFC3550]. [RFC3611]
   defines an extensible structure for reporting using an RTCP Extended
   Report (XR). This draft defines a new Extended Report block that MUST
   be used as defined in [RFC3550] and [RFC3611].

1.2 Performance Metrics Framework

   The Performance Metrics Framework [RFC6390] provides guidance on the
   definition and specification of performance metrics. The RTP
   Monitoring Architectures [RFC6792] provides guidelines for reporting
   block format using RTCP XR. The XR block type described in this
   document are in accordance with the guidelines in [RFC6390] and
   [RFC6792].

1.3 Applicability

   These metrics are applicable to video applications of RTP and the
   video component of Audio/Video applications in which packet loss
   concealment mechanisms are incorporated into the receiving endpoint
   to mitigate the impact of network impairments on QoE. For example, in
   an IPTV system Set Top Boxes could use this RTCP XR block to report
   loss and loss concealment metrics to an IPTV management system to
 

<Huang, et al.>         Expires August 29, 2015                 [Page 3]
INTERNET DRAFT       <Video LC Metrics for RTCP XR>    February 25, 2015

   enable the service provider to monitor the quality of the IPTV
   service being delivered to end users.

2  Terminology

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in [KEYWORDS].

3  Video Loss Concealment Methods

   Video loss concealment mechanisms can be classified into 4 types as
   follow:

   a) Frame freeze

   The impaired video frame is not displayed, instead, the previously
   displayed frame is frozen for the duration of the loss event.

   b) Inter-frame extrapolation

   If an area of the video frame is damaged by loss, the same area from
   the previous frame(s) can be used to estimate what the missing pixels
   would have been. This can work well in a scene with no motion but can
   be very noticeable if there is significant movement from one frame to
   another. Simple decoders may simply re-use the pixels that were in
   the missing area while more complex decoders may try to use several
   frames to do a more complex extrapolation.

   c) Interpolation

   A decoder may user the undamaged pixels in the video frame to
   estimate what the missing block of pixels should have.

   d) Error Resilient Encoding

   The sender may encode the message in a redundant way so that receiver
   can correct errors using the redundant information. The redundant
   data useful for error resiliency performed at the decoder can be
   embedded into the compressed image/video bitstream. For example, the
   encoder may select an important area of an original video frame,
   extract some important characteristics of this area, e.g., motion
   vector of each macroblock, and imperceptibly embed them into other
   parts of the video frame. FEC is also another error resilient method.

   In this document, we differentiate between frame freeze and the other
   3 concealment mechanisms described.

 

<Huang, et al.>         Expires August 29, 2015                 [Page 4]
INTERNET DRAFT       <Video LC Metrics for RTCP XR>    February 25, 2015

4.  Video Loss Concealment Report Block

   This block reports the video loss concealment metrics to complement
   the audio metrics defined in [i.d-ietf-xrblock-rtcp-xr-loss-
   concealment]. This block may be stacked with other RTCP packets to
   form compound RTCP packets and share the average reporting interval
   calculated by the RTCP method described in [RFC3550]. It should be
   noted that the metrics in this report block are based on measurements
   that are typically made at the time that a video frame is decoded and
   rendered for playout. The metrics in this block MUST be measured at a
   consistent point.

   The video loss concealment report block has the following format:

    0               1               2               3
    0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |    BT=VLC     | I | V |  RSV  |       block length=6          |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |                         SSRC of Source                        |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |                       Impaired Duration                       |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |                      Concealed Duration                       |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
   |    MIFP       |    MCFP       |     FFSC      |      MFFD     |
   +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

      Figure 1: Format for the Video Loss Concealment Report Block

   Block Type (BT): 8 bits

      A Video Loss Concealment Report Block is identified by the
      constant VLC.

      [Note to RFC Editor: Please replace VLC with the IANA provided
      RTCP XR block type for this block.]

   Interval Metric Flag (I): 2 bits

      This field indicates whether the reported metric is an interval,
      cumulative, or sampled metric [RFC6792]:

         I=10: Interval Duration - the reported value applies to the
         most recent measurement interval duration between successive
         metrics reports.

         I=11: Cumulative Duration - the reported value applies to the
 

<Huang, et al.>         Expires August 29, 2015                 [Page 5]
INTERNET DRAFT       <Video LC Metrics for RTCP XR>    February 25, 2015

         accumulation period characteristic of cumulative measurements.

         I=01: Sampled Value - this value MUST NOT be used for this
         block type.

         I=00: Reserved.

   Video Loss Concealment Method Type (V): 2 bits

      This field is used to identify the video loss concealment method
      type used at the receiver. Each bit indicates one method type, as
      follow:

        V=10 - Frame freeze
        V=11 - Other Loss Concealment Method
        V=01&00 - Reserved

   block length: 16 bits

      This field is in accordance with the definition in [RFC3611]. In
      this report block, it MUST be set to 6. The block MUST be
      discarded if the block length is set to a different value.

   SSRC of source: 32 bits

      As defined in Section 4.1 of [RFC3611].

   Impaired Duration: 32 bits

      The total time length, expressed in units of RTP timestamp, of
      video impaired by  transmission loss before applying any loss
      concealment methods. 

      Two values are reserved: A value of 0xFFFFFFFE indicates out of
      range (that is, a measured value exceeding 0xFFFFFFFD) and a value
      of 0xFFFFFFFF indicates that the measurement is unavailable.

   Concealed Duration: 32 bits

      The total time length, expressed in units of RTP timestamp, of
      concealed damaged video pictures on which loss concealment method
      corresponding to V is applied.

      Two values are reserved: A value of 0xFFFFFFFE indicates out of
      range (that is, a measured value exceeding 0xFFFFFFFD) and a value
      of 0xFFFFFFFF indicates that the measurement is unavailable.

   Mean Impaired Frame Proportion (MIFP): 8 bits
 

<Huang, et al.>         Expires August 29, 2015                 [Page 6]
INTERNET DRAFT       <Video LC Metrics for RTCP XR>    February 25, 2015

      Mean Impaired Frame Proportion is the mean proportion of each
      video frame impaired by loss before applying any loss concealment
      method during the interval, expressed as a fixed point number with
      the binary point at the left edge of the field. It is equivalent
      to taking the integer part after multiplying the loss fraction by
      256. If a video frame is totally lost, a value of 0xFF shall be
      used for the frame when calculating the mean value.

   Mean Concealed Frame Proportion (MCFP): 8 bits

      Mean Concealed Frame Proportion is the mean proportion of each
      video frame to which loss concealment (using V) was applied during
      the interval, expressed as a fixed point number with the binary
      point at the left edge of the field. It is equivalent to taking
      the integer part after multiplying the loss fraction by 256. If a
      lost video frame is totally concealed, a value of 0xFF and if
      there are no concealed macroblocks, a value of 0, shall be used
      for the frame when calculating the mean value.

   Fraction of Frames Subject to Concealment (FFSC): 8 bits

      Fraction of Frames Subject to Concealment is calculated by
      dividing the number of frames to which loss concealment (using V)
      was applied by the total number of frames and expressing this
      value as a fixed point number with the binary point at the left
      edge of the field. It is equivalent to taking the integer part
      after multiplying the loss fraction by 256. A value of 0 indicates
      that there were no concealed frame and a value of 0xFF indicates
      that the frames in the entire measurement interval are all
      concealed.

   Mean Frame Freeze Duration (MFFD): 8 bits

      Mean Frame Freeze Duration is the mean duration of the frame
      freeze events. The value of MFFD shall be calculated by summing
      the total duration of all frame freeze events and dividing by the
      number of events. A value of 0xFF shall be used to indicate a
      value in excess of 12700 milliseconds. A value of 0 MUST be set
      when V=11.

5 SDP Signaling

   [RFC3611] defines the use of SDP (Session Description Protocol) for
   signaling the use of RTCP XR blocks. However XR blocks MAY be used
   without prior signaling (see section 5 of [RFC3611]).

5.1 SDP rtcp-xr-attrib Attribute Extension

 

<Huang, et al.>         Expires August 29, 2015                 [Page 7]
INTERNET DRAFT       <Video LC Metrics for RTCP XR>    February 25, 2015

   This session augments the SDP attribute "rtcp-xr" defined in Section
   5.1 of [RFC3611] by providing an additional value of "xr-format" to 
   signal the use of the report block defined in this document.

   xr-format =/ xr-vlc-block

   xr-vlc-block = "video-loss-concealment"

5.2 Offer/Answer Usage

   When SDP is used in offer-answer context, the SDP Offer/Answer usage
   defined in [RFC3611] for unilateral "rtcp-xr" attribute parameters
   applies.  For detailed usage of Offer/Answer for unilateral
   parameter, refer to section 5.2 of [RFC3611].

6 Security Considerations

   It is believed that this RTCP XR block introduces no new security
   considerations beyond those described in [RFC3611]. This block does
   not provide per-packet statistics, so the risk to confidentially
   documented in Section 7, paragraph 3 of [RFC3611] does not apply.

   An attacker may put incorrect information in the Video Loss
   Concealment reports, which will be affect the estimation of video
   loss concealment mechanisms performance and QoE of users.
   Implementers should consider the guidance in [RFC7202] for using
   appropriate security mechanisms, i.e., where security is a concern,
   the implementation should apply encryption and authentication to the
   report block. For example, this can be achieved by using the AVPF
   profile together with the Secure RTP profile as defined in [RFC3711];
   an appropriate combination of the two profiles (an "SAVPF") is
   specified in [RFC5124]. However, other mechanisms also exist
   (documented in [RFC7201]) and might be more suitable.

7 IANA Considerations

   New block types for RTCP XR are subject to IANA registration. For
   general guidelines on IANA considerations for RTCP XR, refer to
   [RFC3611].

7.1 New RTCP XR Block Type Value

   This document assigns the block type value VLC in the IANA "RTP
   Control Protocol Extended Reports (RTCP XR) Block Type Registry" to 
   the "Video Loss Concealment Metrics Report Block".

   [Note to RFC Editor: please replace VLC with the IANA provided RTCP
   XR block type for this block.]
 

<Huang, et al.>         Expires August 29, 2015                 [Page 8]
INTERNET DRAFT       <Video LC Metrics for RTCP XR>    February 25, 2015

7.2 New RTCP XR SDP Parameter

   This document also registers a new parameter "video-loss-concealment"
   in the "RTP Control Protocol Extended Reports (RTCP XR) Session
   Description Protocol (SDP) Parameters Registry".

7.3 Contact Information for registrations

   The following contact information is provided for all registrations
   in this document:

   Rachel Huang (rachel.huang@huawei.com)

   101 Software Avenue, Yuhua District
   Nanjing, Jiangsu 210012
   China

8 Acknowledgements

   The author would like to thank Colin Perkins, Roni Even for their
   valuable comments.

9  References

9.1  Normative References

   [KEYWORDS] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.

   [RFC3550]  Schulzrinne, H., Casner, S., Frederick, R., and V.
              Jacobson, "RTP: A Transport Protocol for Real-Time
              Applications", STD 64, RFC 3550, July 2003.

   [RFC3611]  Friedman, T., Ed., Caceres, R., Ed., and A. Clark, Ed.,
              "RTP Control Protocol Extended Reports (RTCP XR)",
              RFC 3611, November 2003.

   [RFC4566]  Handley, M., Jacobson, V., and C. Perkins, "SDP: Session
              Description Protocol", RFC 4566, July 2006.

   [RFC3711]  Baugher, M., McGrew, D., Naslund, M., Carrara, E., and K.
              Norrman, "The Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP)",
              RFC 3711, March 2004.

   [RFC5124]  Ott, J. and E. Carrara, "Extended Secure RTP Profile for
              Real-time Transport Control Protocol (RTCP)-Based Feedback
              (RTP/SAVPF)", RFC 5124, February 2008.

 

<Huang, et al.>         Expires August 29, 2015                 [Page 9]
INTERNET DRAFT       <Video LC Metrics for RTCP XR>    February 25, 2015

   [RFC5105]  Lendl, O., "ENUM Validation Token Format Definition",
              RFC 5105, December 2007.

   [RFC4588]  Rey, J., Leon, D., Miyazaki, A., Varsa, V., and R.
              Hakenberg, "RTP Retransmission Payload Format", RFC 4588,
              July 2006.

   [RFC7201]  Westerlund, M. and C., Perkins, "Qptions for Securing RTP
              Sessions", RFC 7201, April 2014.

   [RFC7202]  Perkins, C. and M., Westerlund, "Securing the RTP
              Framework: Why RTP Does Not Mandate a Single Media
              Security Solution", RFC 7202, April 2014.

   [RFC7294] Clark, A., Zorn, G., Bi, C. and Q., Wu, "RTCP XR Report
              Block for Concealment Metrics Reporting on Audio
              Applications", April 2014.

9.2  Informative References

   [RFC6390]  Clark, A. and B. Claise, "Guidelines for Considering New
              Performance Metric Development", BCP 170, RFC 6390,
              October 2011.

   [RFC6792]  Wu, Q., Hunt, G., and P. Arden, "Guidelines for Use of the
              RTP Monitoring Framework", RFC 6792, November 2012.

Appendix A. Metrics Represented Using the Template from RFC 6390

   TBD.

Authors' Addresses

   Rachel Huang
   Huawei
   101 Software Avenue, Yuhua District
   Nanjing 210012
   China

   EMail: rachel.huang@huawei.com

   Alan Clark
   Telchemy Incorporated
   2905 Premiere Parkway, Suite 280
 

<Huang, et al.>         Expires August 29, 2015                [Page 10]
INTERNET DRAFT       <Video LC Metrics for RTCP XR>    February 25, 2015

   Duluth, GA  30097
   USA

   Email: alan.d.clark@telchemy.com

<Huang, et al.>         Expires August 29, 2015                [Page 11]