Enhanced QoE-oriented packet scheduling scheme for HTTP video streaming in LTE networks

Hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) video streaming is a growing and increasingly important data traffic type in wireless and mobile networks. Experiments have shown that the quality of experience (QoE) of this service strongly depends on the number of playback interruptions. This paper proposes a QoE-oriented packet scheduling algorithm to reduce the pauses during video playback in a wireless environment. Both channel quality and the amount of video data stored in the player buffer are considered in the process of resource allocation. The proposed scheme is simulated and examined in an LTE mobile network. Simulation results show a significant improvement of the QoE, and the number of pauses during video playback decreases by 50% in the proposed scheme compared with that in the other solutions.