Analyzing TCP Throughput Stability and Predictability with Implications for Adaptive Video Streaming

Abstract: Recent work suggests that TCP throughput stability and predictability within a video viewing session can inform the design of better video bitrate adaptation algorithms. Despite a rich tradition of Internet measurement, however, our understanding of throughput stability and predictability is quite limited. To bridge this gap, we present a measurement study of throughput stability using a large-scale dataset from a video service provider. Drawing on this analysis, we propose a simple-but-effective prediction mechanism based on a hidden Markov model and demonstrate that it outperforms other approaches. We also show the practical implications in improving the user experience of adaptive video streaming.