Intrinsic flexibility exploiting for scalable video streaming over multi-channel wireless networks

Abstract

Scalable video has natural advantages in adapting to the multi-channel wireless networks. And some existing works tried to further optimize the scalable video transmission by combining the crude layer-importance mapping with some extrinsic techniques, such as Forward Error Correction (FEC) and Adaptive Modulation and Coding (AMC). However, the intrinsic flexibility of scalable video streaming over the multichannel wireless networks was neglected. In this paper, we try to exploit the intrinsic flexibility by firstly analyzing the priorities of H.264/SVC video data at the network abstraction layer unit (NALU) level, and then designing the priority-validity delivery scheme for the scalable video streaming. With this strategy, the sub-stream extraction is intelligently adjusted according to the delivery history, and the more important data in a group of pictures (GOP) will be delivered through the more reliable channels. Experimental results also validate the strategy's effectiveness in improving the objective quality and perceptual experience of the received video.