A framework of cross-layer superposition coded multicast for robust IPTV services over WiMAX

A cross-layer design (CLD) framework for robust and efficient video multicasting over IEEE 802.16 (or WiMAX) is introduced. In the framework, multiple description coding on scalable video bitstreams at the source for achieving multi-resolution robustness is jointly designed with superposition coding (i.e., multi-resolution modulation) on multicast signals at the channel to overcome the channel diversity problem in wireless multicast. The resulting cross-layer coded multicast signals enable us to recover some lost bitstreams in high quality layers, which is not possible if multi-resolution modulation is used alone for multicasting as in previous works. Simulation results show that indeed our joint design outperforms the scheme using only superposition coded multicast by achieving better video quality for users under multi-user channel diversity.