The perceived quality during a multi-media communication on an IP network depends on a certain number of factors, such as for example the available bandwidth, the processing power of the terminals or else the quality of the wireless transmissions implemented. In addition, the transmission quality in the course of a multi-media communication is not always symmetrical and, because of this, participants in one and the same multi-media communication can encounter different inconveniences in the event of poor transmission quality.
Certain communication applications can nonetheless supply information on the quality of service, or QoS. This information is often depicted on the terminal by a pictogram associated with a color code (for example red, orange or green) or else by a histogram reflecting the quality of the transmission.
Real-time IP communication applications using the RTP (Real-Time Transport Protocol) protocol to transmit and receive media streams (audio, video etc.) and its complementary RTCP (Real-Time Transport Control Protocol) protocol as described in IETF standard RFC3550 to transmit and receive quality of service information (number of IP packets lost, delay, jitter etc.) can in particular give users an indication of the quality of the transmission. Unfortunately this information is not very useful when it comes to diagnosing the cause of the problem, since it is a question of an item of information measured from end to end, from terminal to terminal. When the quality is detected as being poor at the level of the multi-media communication, this only confirms what the users have observed (pixellated or jerky video, degraded sound etc.) and does not contribute any information as to the location of the problem. Now, if the user had access to information allowing him to identify the location of the problem, he could attempt to remedy it (for example by coming closer to his WiFi access point or by freeing up memory on his terminal).
A need therefore exists for the user to be able to locate the origin of a communication quality problem. This need should be on the increase inasmuch as the terminals of users are more and more connected using various access networks (Edge, 3G, 4G, home WiFi, community WiFi etc.), the latter offering very variable and fluctuating bandwidths and QoS.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds