Network considerations
The delivery system for VOD is the network that connects the server to the clients.
It must satisfy a variety of requirements, for example the network must be able
to deliver each frame of the video with very tight limits on delay and delay variation.
Most digital networks, such as shared Ethernet, have been developed for data applications
and handle video poorly. New network technologies, such as switched Ethernet and
ATM need to be used to deliver high quality video. Following are discussions of
particular networks and their characteristics with emphasis on their impact on
the performance of VOD systems.