Propagation of Low Variability in Video Traffic

Currently popular HTTP-based video delivery services generate highly variable video traffic over small time scales. This paper confirms that with sufficient transmission bandwidth available to the video traffic, small time scale variations can be reduced to a level approaching the Poisson arrivals without experiencing degradation in the video quality. The primary result in this paper is that upon establishment of a low variability state, this state shows stable behavior. The state remains intact even under a high network load, a high packet loss rate, or a long propagation delay. Furthermore, the state traverses wired/wireless LANs and the Internet. This attractive feature can facilitate the development of more basic and efficient traffic control schemes. The feasibility of this approach to reducing video traffic variability is discussed from the viewpoint of the perceived video quality.