Evaluating Wi-Fi Performance for VR Streaming: A Study on Realistic HEVC Video Traffic

2025-11-25

International Conference on Performance Evaluation and Modeling in Wired and Wireless Networks

AI Summary

This study addresses the dual challenges of high throughput and low latency in cloud-based VR streaming over Wi-Fi networks, where concurrent multi-user access often leads to channel saturation. The authors develop a simulation framework based on the ALVR system, injecting real HEVC-encoded video traffic into an 802.11 network model to systematically evaluate performance under varying frame rates, bitrates, encoding parameters, and user scales. For the first time under realistic HEVC traffic conditions, the work reveals anomalous Wi-Fi performance behaviors and demonstrates that Intra-refresh encoding significantly reduces latency jitter and improves Quality of Service (QoS). Experimental results show that, at a constant bitrate of 100 Mbps, this technique can support up to four concurrent VR users without causing channel saturation.

Technology Category

• Computer Vision: Motion & Tracking
• Humans and AI: Game Design — Virtual Humans, NPCs and Autonomous Characters
• Application Domains: Mobility, Driving & Flight

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Virtualization and resource management in Web systems and infrastructures
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Web evaluation methodologies and metrics
• Responsible Web: Data and user privacy-enhancing technologies for the Web

Abstract

Cloud-based Virtual Reality (VR) streaming presents significant challenges for 802.11 networks due to its high throughput and low latency requirements. When multiple VR users share a Wi-Fi network, the resulting uplink and downlink traffic can quickly saturate the channel. This paper investigates the capacity of 802.11 networks for supporting realistic VR streaming workloads across varying frame rates, bitrates, codec settings, and numbers of users. We develop an emulation framework that reproduces Air Light VR (ALVR) operation, where real HEVC video traffic is fed into an 802.11 simulation model. Our findings explore Wi-Fi’s performance anomaly and demonstrate that Intra-refresh (IR) coding effectively reduces latency variability and improves QoS, supporting up to 4 concurrent VR users with Constant Bitrate (CBR) 100 Mbps before the channel is saturated.

Problem

• Wi-Fi performance
• VR streaming
• HEVC video traffic
• 802.11 networks
• QoS

Innovation

• HEVC
• Intra-refresh coding
• Wi-Fi performance anomaly
• VR streaming
• 802.11 emulation