A receiver-centric rate control scheme for layered video streams in the Internet

We present a new end-to-end protocol, namely Dynamic Video Rate Control (DVRC), which operates on top of UDP and enables the adaptive delivery of layered video streams over the Internet. The protocol optimizes the performance on video delivery with concern to friendliness with interfering traffic. DVRC enables a closed-loop control between server and client, where the receiver detects the state of congestion, determines the proper transmission rate, and eventually opts for the optimal number of layers that should be delivered according to this rate. The protocol relies on a hybrid Additive Increase Additive Decrease (AIAD)/Additive Increase Multiplicative Decrease (AIMD) algorithm (namely AIAMD) that manages to differentiate congestive and non-congestive loss by utilizing history in its control rules. AIAMD combines the most desirable features of AIAD and AIMD, reacting gently to random loss and more aggressively to congestion and adapting effectively to the dynamics of the network. Therefore, DVRC enables the desired smoothness for video streaming applications and at the same time avoids significant damage during congestion. Exploring DVRC’s potential through extensive simulations, we identify notable gains in terms of bandwidth utilization and smooth video delivery. Furthermore, our results indicate that the protocol allocates a well-balanced amount of network resources maintaining friendliness with corporate TCP connections.