Performance analysis of network-level QoS with encoding configurations for unicast video streaming over IEEE 802.11 WLAN networks

Video streaming has a large impact on the resource requirements of the WLAN. However, there are many variables involved in video streaming, such as the video content being streamed, how the video is encoded and how it is sent. This makes the role of radio resource management extremely difficult. In this paper we investigate the effect that video encoding configurations has on the network resource requirements for unicast video streaming in a WLAN environment. We compare the network resource requirements of several content types encoded at various encoding configurations with varying I-frame frequencies, target encoding bit rates and hint track settings. We present two key findings. We show that by halving the hint track MTU values, the access requirements of the WLAN are increased by 20%. Furthermore, we show how the I-frame frequency of the encoded file relates to the resource requirements of the WLAN.