Low-Complexity Packet Scheduling Algorithms for Streaming Scalable Media Based on Time Utility Function

We propose a time-utility function (TUF)-based packet scheduling algorithm for streaming scalable media. In the proposed system, the scalable media is partitioned into data units of different quality layers, which are then prioritized and transmitted according to their TUFs that capture both their quality contributions to the decoded media and urgencies with respect to their playback schedule. For optimal streaming quality while maintaining a reasonable computational complexity, packet transmissions are scheduled using a low-complexity algorithm based on utility accrual maximization. The computational complexity can be further reduced by considering the look-ahead window and a modified utility function. Simulation results show that the proposed scheduling algorithms achieve near-optimal performance when compared with the operational rate distortion bound of the stream source at any given bandwidth budget.