Under the Plastic: A Quantitative Look at DVD Video Encoding and Its Impact on Video Modeling

In this paper, we examine the DVD encoding process and the implications this process has video modeling and network traffic analysis. We have assembled a system that allows us to extract the video data from the DVDs as they were encoded for distribution. Analyzing the resulting video trace data, we describe how DVD encodings have evolved over time. In addition, our findings show that the underlying video content is fundamentally different than those produced by basic consumer video capture boards. We demonstrate how this affects current video modeling proposals and their affect on network traffic characterization. This research is based upon the analysis of over 100 DVD video streams, whose statistics will be made available after the Packet Video workshop.