A game theoretic approach to video streaming over peer-to-peer networks

We address the problem of content-aware, foresighted resource reciprocation for media streaming over peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. The envisioned P2P network consists of autonomous and self-interested peers trying to maximize their individual utilities. The resource reciprocation among such peers is modeled as a stochastic game and peers determine the optimal strategies for resource reciprocation using a Markov Decision Process (MDP) framework. Unlike existing solutions, this framework takes the content and the characteristics of the video signal into account by introducing an artificial currency in order to maximize the video quality in the entire network.