Improving Streaming Video with Deep Learning-Based Network Throughput Prediction

Video streaming represents a significant part of Internet traffic. During the playback, a video player monitors network throughput and dynamically selects the best video quality in given network conditions. Therefore, the video quality depends heavily on the player's estimation of network throughput, which is challenging in the volatile environment of mobile networks. In this work, we improved the throughput estimation using prediction produced by LSTM artificial neural networks (ANNs). Hence, we acquired data traces from 4G and 5G mobile networks and supplied them to two deep LSTM ANNs, obtaining a throughput prediction for the next four seconds. Our analysis showed that the ANNs achieved better prediction accuracy compared to a naive predictor based on a moving average. Next, we replaced the video player's default throughput estimation based on the naive predictor with the LSTM output. The experiment revealed that the traffic prediction improved video quality between 5% and 25% compared to the default estimation.