A client side buffer management algorithm to improve QoE

Abstract

In networks, streaming of multimedia content is a challenging issue. Video streaming services make up a large proportion of Internet traffic throughout the world. Adaptive streaming allows for dynamical adaptation of the bitrate with varying network conditions, to guarantee the best user experience. Recently, to guarantee a promised quality of experience (QoE), multiple rate adaptive algorithms have been proposed. In this paper, a rate adaptive algorithm is proposed that improves video quality by observing the available throughput and managing the playback buffer. The existing schemes download the segments quickly to avoid playback interruption which may fill the buffer with low quality segments and degrade the user experience. The proposed scheme manages the playback buffer and keeps the buffer filled with high quality segments. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm randomizes the segment request time to mitigate the client's biased view of network conditions in the presence of competing TCP traffic. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm significantly improves the video streaming quality.