Utility based video scheduling for quality maximization in 4G WiMAX wireless networks

Abstract

In this work we propose a novel utility based algorithm for dynamic frame scheduling of a scalable video stream for video transmission over a 4G OFDMA wireless network. We consider the GOP structure of a temporally scalable video sequence and derive a scheme to compute the average utility and packet sizes of the frames belonging to the base and enhancement layers. This scheme is based on the rate models derived employing the H.264 joint scalable video model (JSVM) developed by the JVT and MPEG groups, and is hence readily applicable in practical scenarios. Based on the above rate models and standard video quality models existing in literature, we propose a utility index based optimal scheme for time-frequency (TF) resource scheduling in 4G OFDMA wireless systems towards video quality maximization. Simulation results in the context of 4G WiMAX cellular networks clearly demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed scheme compared to competing scheduling schemes existing in literature.