An efficient playout smoothing mechanism for layered streaming in P2P networks

Layered video streaming in peer-to-peer (P2P) networks has drawn great interest, since it can not only accommodate large numbers of users, but also handle peer heterogeneity. However, there’s still a lack of comprehensive studies on chunk scheduling for the smooth playout of layered streams in P2P networks. In these situations, a playout smoothing mechanism can be used to ensure the uniform delivery of the layered stream. This can be achieved by reducing the quality changes that the stream undergoes when adapting to changing network conditions. This paper complements previous efforts in throughput maximization and delay minimization for P2P streaming by considering the consequences of playout smoothing on the scheduling mechanisms for stream layer acquisition. The two main problems to be considered when designing a playout smoothing mechanism for P2P streaming are the fluctuation in available bandwidth between peers and the unreliability of user-contributed resources—particularly peer churn. Since the consideration of these two factors in the selection and scheduling of stream layers is crucial to maintain smooth stream playout, the main objective of our smoothing mechanism becomes the determination of how many layers to request from which peers, and in which order. In this work, we propose a playout smoothing mechanism for layered P2P streaming. The proposed mechanism relies on a novel scheduling algorithm that enables each peer to select appropriate stream layers, along with appropriate peers to provide them. In addition to playout smoothing, the presented mechanism also makes efficient use of network resources and provides high system throughput. An evaluation of the performance of the mechanism demonstrates that the proposed mechanism provides a significant improvement in the received video quality in terms of lowering the number of layer changes and useless chunks while improving bandwidth utilization.