Dynamic adaptive HTTP streaming of live content

MPEG has recently released a first public draft of the new Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) specification. The new streaming technique is based on the 3GPP and partly also on the Open IPTV Forum (OIPF) specifications. In this paper, we give an overview about the new DASH specification with a special focus on Live streaming services. In order to re-use existing web content distribution schemes, the new streaming technique provides the live stream as a sequence of files, which are continuously downloaded by the streaming client. This way of streaming introduces new delay components into the system streaming. Live Streaming technology is often used for events like sport events to allow other users to virtually participate. It is generally preferred to minimize the end-to-end delay for live services. In the paper, we identify and analyze the different delay components of the new adaptive HTTP streaming technique and how they contribute to the end-to-end delay of live services. We also discuss the dependencies and system implications when minimizing the end to end delay. The evaluation principles are also applicable for other adaptive HTTP streaming formats.