Real-time video transport optimization using streaming agent over 3G wireless networks

Feedback adaptation has been the basis for many media streaming schemes, whereby the media being sent is adapted in real time according to feedback information about the observed network state and application state. Central to the success of such adaptive schemes, the feedback must: 1) arrive in a timely manner and 2) carry enough information to effect useful adaptation. In this paper, we examine the use of feedback adaptation for media streaming in 3G wireless networks, where the media servers are located in wired networks while the clients are wireless. We argue that end-to-end feedback adaptation using only information provided by 3G standards is neither timely nor contain enough information for media adaptation at the server. We first show how the introduction of a streaming agent (SA) at the junction of the wired and wireless network can be used to provide useful information in a timely manner for media adaptation. We then show how optimization algorithms can be designed to take advantage of SA feedbacks to improve performance. The improvement of SA feedbacks in peak signal-to-noise ratio is significant over nonagent-based systems.