Rate-distortion based path selection for video streaming over wireless ad-hoc networks

In wireless ad-hoc networks with low bandwidth, high bit error, and node mobility, the quality of streaming video is highly dependent on the quality of routing paths. Most of existing ad-hoc routing algorithms select the path according to network parameters. However, the selected path may not be the best path for video applications. This paper proposed a rate-distortion based (RD) path selection algorithm for video streaming over wireless networks. The video distortion on application layer is used as path metric. On each link, the rate-distortion due to transmission error and congestion is estimated using queuing theory. The algorithm selects the path with the minimum expected rate-distortion as the routing path. Extensive experiments are carried out over NS-2 simulation environment. Simulation results demonstrate that RD routing algorithm can improve the quality of video streaming significantly as compared to the conventional shortest-path routing algorithm.