Statistical QoS-Guaranteed Traffic Rate Adaptation for Wireless Scalable Video Streaming

Provisioning multiple statistical QoS for real-time scalable video streaming over wireless fading channels is addressed in this article. A traffic rate adaptation (TRA) strategy is presented to minimize the video quality variation while keeping satisfactory average video quality by selectively delivering encoding layers of video streaming depending on dynamic channel conditions. The QoS-guaranteed TRA policy optimization is formulated based on Markov decision processes. A vector-composed policy gradient algorithm that combines gradient estimate and stochastic approximation is developed to solve the constrained mean-variance optimization problem online. It is attractive for online control and optimization with high computational efficiency and adaptability to unknown environments. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the presented strategy.

Automated summary

This article addresses the provisioning of multiple statistical Quality of Service (QoS) for real-time scalable video streaming over wireless fading channels. It presents a traffic rate adaptation (TRA) strategy that delivers encoding layers selectively based on dynamic channel conditions, minimizing video quality variation while maintaining satisfactory average video quality. The QoS-guaranteed TRA policy optimization is formulated using Markov decision processes, and a vector-composed policy gradient algorithm is developed for online mean-variance optimization. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented strategy.