A Flexible Starting Point Based Partial Caching Algorithm for Video on Demand

In this paper, we propose a novel proxy caching scheme for Video on Demand (VoD) services. Our approach is based on an observation we have made during subjective VoD performance evaluation tests. We have found that when users are seeking for some specific content, they pay most attention to the initial delay, while a small shift of the starting point is acceptable. Based on this observation as well as the dynamic popularity of video segments, we propose an efficient segment based caching algorithm. The approach is applied on a proxy and minimizes the average initial playout delay at the clients. Our experimental results show a significant reduction of the average initial waiting time compared to conventional caching approaches.