Energy Minimization for Quality-Constrained Video with Multipath TCP over Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

Abstract

The advancements in wireless infrastructures and communication technologies prompt the bandwidth aggregation for mobile video delivery over heterogeneous access networks. Multipath TCP (MPTCP) is the transport protocol recommended by IETF to enable concurrent data transmissions over multiple communication paths. However, it still remains problematic to deliver user-satisfied video services with the existing MPTCP schemes due to the contradiction between mobile device energy and video distortion. To enable the energy-efficient and quality-guaranteed video streaming, this paper presents an Energy-Distortion Aware MPTCP (EDAM) solution. First, we develop an analytical model to capture the energy-distortion tradeoff for multipath video transmission over heterogeneous wireless networks. Second, we propose a video flow rate allocation algorithm to minimize the energy consumption while achieving target video quality based on utility maximization theory. The performance of the proposed EDAM is evaluated through extensive emulations in Exata involving real-time H.264 video streaming. Evaluation results demonstrate that EDAM outperforms the reference MPTCP schemes in reducing energy consumption, as well as in improving video PSNR (Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio).