Improving 360-degree Video Streaming with Adaptive Path Scheduling

360-degree video has been steadily gaining popularity in recent years for its ability to offer users a more immersive viewing experience. However, streaming 360-degree video over the current best-effort Internet with a single network path poses challenges in meeting the high bandwidth and low motion-to-photon (MTP) delay requirements.This paper addresses these challenges by advocating for the adoption of multi-path (multiple access network) approaches to enhance the performance of 360-degree video streaming. The proposed solution introduces a multi-path scheduling algorithm, using SVC (Scalable Video Coding), which distributes requests across suitable paths. This distribution considers various factors such as the condition of the paths and request attributes, including request type, requested chunk size, and whether it involves retransmission. Moreover, acknowledging the variability in path performance, the system reallocates requests from disconnected or deteriorating paths to alternative paths with better network conditions. This proactive approach aims to minimize quality switches and playback stalls, ensuring a smoother streaming experience. To further refine request selection, the paper introduces an adaptive sliding window and retransmission mechanism.The culmination of these strategies is the Adaptive Path Scheduler, designed and implemented to optimize 360-degree video streaming. Experimental results confirm that in networks with heterogeneous paths, this scheduler significantly enhances the playback quality of 360-degree video content.