Adaptive H.264/MPEG-4 SVC video over IEEE 802.16 broadband wireless networks

In this paper we present a solution for delivering streaming video-on-demand to subscribers via an 802.16 broadband wireless access network. The solution leverages the forthcoming H.264/AVC Scalable Video Coding (SVC) scheme and a mechanism to perform rate adaptation based on monitoring changes to the amount of flow traffic in the network at any time. A simulation-based approach is used to determine how the system performs in a rural deployment. Results show that the scheme provides high utilization of the wireless access system, at over 96%. Further, it maintains smooth transmission rate for the video applications, and ensures that no interruptions in continuous video playback occur during the streaming session. Lastly, a comparison with single-layer H.264/AVC is performed, showing how the proposed solution performs better with respect to both system utilization and the fact that no clients suffer interruptions in continuous playback.