Integrated Bandwidth Variation Pattern Differentiation for HTTP Adaptive Streaming over 4G Cellular Networks

HTTP adaptive streaming (HAS) is the state-of-the-art technology for improving the quality of user experience under conditions of time-varying available bandwidth. Developing the bitrate adaptation algorithm becomes more challenging with the transition to 4G cellular networks. The features of bandwidth variation caused by changes in radio channel quality are significantly different from the pattern caused by changes in radio channel resources. In this paper, we propose a bitrate adaptation algorithm for 4G cellular networks with bandwidth variation pattern differentiation. By investigating the bandwidth data profiles collected from an actual 4G cellular network with the field test approach, we distinguish the pattern of bandwidth capacity variations as sustained fluctuations and instantaneous hopping. With bandwidth variation pattern differentiation, the proposed algorithm performs a smoothed bitrate adaptation to sustained fluctuations and an instant bitrate adaptation to instantaneous hopping. Performance evaluations obtained on a 4G cellular network testbed demonstrate that the algorithm achieves reductions in bitrate switching frequency and playback stalls while increasing the average bitrate.