A game theoretic approach to minimum-delay scalable video transmission over P2P

In this paper we describe a game theoretic framework for scalable video streaming over a peer-to-peer network. The proposed system integrates minimum delay functionalities with an incentive provision mechanism for optimal resource allocation. First of all, we introduce an algorithm for packet scheduling that allows users to download a specific sub-set of the original scalable bit-stream, depending on the current network conditions. Furthermore, we present an algorithm that aims both at identifying free-riders and minimising the transmission delay. Uncooperative peers are cut out of this system, while users upload more data to those which have less to share, in order to fully exploit the resources of all peers. Experimental evaluation shows that the proposed model can effectively cope with free-riders and minimise the transmission delay for scalable video transmission by exploiting a packet scheduling algorithm, game theory, and a minimum-delay algorithm.