TV on the move: How the growth in Internet streaming influences the video quality on your mobile device.

Abstract

Every day, millions of people logon to the Internet to view their favorite TV show on Netflix, or similar streaming services, or to watch the latest viral video on YouTube. Two things are paramount, 1) that they receive the best streaming quality available, and 2) the video starts to play as quickly as possible. There is nothing worse than a video that stops and starts, takes forever to view or constantly changes between viewable qualities (resolutions). Due to our limited download speeds (bandwidth), in most houses it is not uncommon to hear “Stop downloading, I’m trying to watch something on Netflix”. When we couple this rise in online streaming with the growing number of portable devices (smart phones, tablets, laptops) we see an ever-increasing demand for high-definition online videos while on the move. This demand for mobile streaming highlights the need for adaptive video streaming schemes that can adjust to ...