Next-Generation Video Coding and Streaming

CHAPTER 8VIDEO DISTRIBUTION AND STREAMING

Adaptive bit rate or adaptive streaming is the most efficient and convenient way to transmit video entertainment to many users. Varying network conditions and computing resources of the user device are taken into account before the appropriate quality profile is requested by the device and the video is sent by the server. Devices with high-speed connectivity may receive high-quality streams while others with lower speeds may receive lower quality streams. Thus, users of multiscreen devices may enjoy an uninterrupted and stutter-free streaming experience without service providers catering to the lowest common denominator in the quality level or display resolution. Adaptive video streaming is superior to delivering a video at a single bit rate because the quality of the video can be adjusted midway to be as good or bad as the client's available network speed instead of buffering or interrupting playback that can happen when a client's network speed cannot support the quality of video. Adaptive streaming has been adopted on a wide scale and has been demonstrated by ESPN3 to be robust enough to broadcast over 10 million simultaneous live streams at the 2010 World Cup. In this chapter, we will evaluate important metrics (e.g., video chunk duration and bit rate) that impact the efficiency of adaptive streaming. An in-depth review on the practical performance of popular adaptive streaming platforms (Apple's Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol Live ...