A Method for Extremely Scalable and Low Demand Live P2P Streaming Based on Variable Bitrate

P2P streaming today uses constant bit rate video, primarily because it is easier to cut such video into fixed-throughput sub streams and deliver it via multiple peers. This approach suffers from low reliability of end-to-end throughput which can cause playback freezes. It also suffers from extreme variation in throughput across peers. This paper proposes a variable-bit rate method for P2P streaming which solves these problems. The proposed method is designed for scalability as well as spontaneous network organization because of its low demand on resources.