Geometrically determining leaky bucket parameters for video streaming over constant bit-rate channels

Abstract

For streaming of pre-encoded bitstreams over constant bit-rate (CBR) channels, the channel bandwidth, the receiver buffer capacity as well as the latency requirement vary greatly from application to application. We propose an algorithm to determine the minimum buffer size and the minimum start-up delay required for streaming a pre-encoded bitstream over CBR channels at any specific bit rate. The proposed method employs geometric operations to derive the optimal determination for low or high bit rates and sub-optimal determination for medium bit rates. The results have been compared with the H.264/AVC hypothetical reference decoder. The proposed approach provides a theoretical insight and a simple but effective algorithm for determining the leaky bucket parameters for video streaming over CBR channels.