Bandwidth allocation for multiple IPTV users sharing the same link: a case study of Telecom of Kosovo

Authors: ARIANIT MARAJ, ADRIAN SHEHU, DARDAN MARAJ, RUZHDI SEFA

Abstract: Almost all operators today are facing constant requests for multiple video services in a single household. In these situations, video services have to compete for finite network bandwidth and other equipment resources. Each of them requires different bandwidth capacities. This dynamic behavior can jeopardize both quality of service and quality of experience. One should keep in mind that some video channels require more bandwidth than others. Telecom of Kosovo (TK) is facing the same issues. The encoders at TK are not scalable and they treat all video streams equally, without taking into consideration the fact that some video streams require higher bit rates than others. This is the reason why there is a need to implement new and intelligent algorithms that would help fairly share bandwidth between different users, depending on the requests for different video streams. In this paper, we present a new algorithm for rate allocation that optimizes a weighted sum of the perceptual quality of all video streams subject to bandwidth constraints. We try to come up with concrete suggestions for a practical implementation of this algorithm, focusing on implementation costs and improving the quality. The proposed algorithm will consider the impact of spatial, temporal, and amplitude resolution (STAR) of a coded video on both bit rate and quality. This algorithm will also determine the optimal rate and corresponding STAR for each video.

Keywords: Internet protocol television, quality of service, quality of experience, spatial, temporal, and amplitude resolution

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