Dynamic Block-Based HTTP Adaptive Streaming Scheme in Multiple Wireless Networks

Abstract

Multipath-based hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) adaptive streaming (MPHAS) has been studied due to the increasing use of mobile devices equipped with multiple network interfaces and the prevalence of high-quality video streaming services. However, the existing MPHAS schemes undergo a degraded quality of experience (QoE) in multiple wireless networks. The segment request-based MPHAS (SR-MPHAS) encounters frequent quality switching, and the block request-based MPHAS (BR-MPHAS) causes results in playback stalling and inefficient bandwidth utilization, according to slow responsiveness. In this paper, we propose a dynamic block-based MPHAS (DBAS) to improve the QoE by overcoming the limitations of the existing schemes in multiple wireless networks. We propose buffer-based block length adaptation and QoE-based block quality adaptation to reduce the frequency of quality switching and to improve the responsiveness to network changes. Moreover, we propose a partial request-based block scheduler to mitigate segment reordering. The experimental results show that the DBAS improves the QoE by reducing the quality switching frequency and rapidly adapting to abrupt changes in the bandwidth.