On the Complexity of Rate-Distortion Optimal Streaming of Packetized Media

We consider the problem of optimal rate-distortion streaming of packetized multimedia data in the context of sender-driven transmission over a single-QoS network using feedback and retransmissions. For a single data unit, we prove that the problem is NP-hard and provide efficient branch and bound algorithms that are much faster than the previously best solution based on dynamic programming. For a group of data units, we show how to compute optimal solutions with branch and bound algorithms. The branch and bound algorithms for a group of data units are much slower than the current state of the art, a heuristic technique known as sensitivity adaptation. However, in many real-world situations, they provide a significantly better rate-distortion performance