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QuickStream: Rethinking Live Video Streaming: Towards Achieving Low-Latency Delivery

Doctoral Training Grant Funding Information 

This funding model includes a 36 month fully funded PhD Studentship, set in-line with UK Research & Innovation values. For 2025/6, this will be £20,780 per year. The tax-free stipend will be paid monthly. This PhD Studentship also includes a Full-Time Fee Scholarship for up to 3 years. The funding is subject to your continued registration on the research degree, making satisfactory progression within your PhD, as well as attendance on and successful completion of the Postgraduate Certificate in Research Practice.    

All applicants will receive the same stipend irrespective of fee status. 

Application Closing Date: 


Midday (UK Time) on Wednesday 17th September 2025 for a start date of 2nd February 2026.  

How to Apply 

To apply, please follow the below steps:  

  1. Complete the BCU Online Application Form. 
  2. Complete the Doctoral Studentship Proposal Form in full, ensuring that you quote the project ID. You will be required to upload your proposal in place of a personal statement on the BCU online application form.  
  3. Upload two references to your online application form (at least one of which must be an academic reference). 
  4. Upload your qualification(s) for entry onto the research degree programme. This will be Bachelor/Master’s certificate(s) and transcript(s). 
  5. International applicants must also provide a valid English language qualification. Please see the list of English language qualifications accepted here. Please check the individual research degree course page for the required scores. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

To help support you to complete your application, please consult the frequently asked questions below: 

Project title: ​​Rethinking Live Video Streaming: Towards Achieving Low-Latency Delivery​ 

Project Lead: ​​Dr Waqas ur Rahman​ 

Project ID: ​​22 - 46460130​ 

Project description:

​​Over the past decade, live video streaming over the Internet has experienced substantial growth, with live video traffic increased from less than 1% in 2015 to nearly 20% today. In 2023, the global live streaming market was valued at $1.49 billion and is projected to grow to $3.21 billion by 2027. A key challenge for live streaming service providers is balancing Quality of Experience (QoE) with latency, as efforts to reduce latency often increase the risk of playback interruptions. A study by Phenix Real Time Solutions on Super Bowl 2024 revealed that streaming platforms over the Internet experienced latency averaging up to 60 seconds behind real-time action on the field. However, in contrast, cable and satellite channels are delivered to homes with an average delay of about five seconds behind the live feed. This growing latency disparity highlights a critical barrier for the widespread adoption of live Internet streaming over conventional broadcast delivery. The high latency associated with live streaming has discouraged viewers from transitioning from traditional broadcast services to internet-based streaming platforms and impeded the revenue growth of broadcast service providers. The live streaming latency is impacted by various stages in the live video workflow such as video capturing, encoding, packaging, media delivery protocols, and media players.  

​To address the issue of high latency in live streaming, this project will focus on two key objectives: 

  • ​To investigate the critical performance bottlenecks that contribute to latency in low-latency live video streaming with a particular focus on the impact of bitrate ladder selection, media delivery protocols, and video players. 
  • ​Based on the investigation, design and develop end-to-end latency optimization strategies targeting these key stages of the media delivery chain while ensuring a consistently high Quality of Experience (QoE). 

​The proposed approaches will be validated in a real-world live video streaming testbed. This project will make a significant contribution by providing valuable insights to address the challenges associated with achieving latency targets comparable to traditional broadcast standards.​ 

Anticipated findings and contributions to knowledge:

​​The Internet was originally designed for data transmission with little consideration given to the delivery of video content. Early Internet protocols prioritized reliable data delivery over latency considerations. While this approach worked well for data transfer, it proved to be a poor fit for multimedia applications. This research aims to address these challenges by producing new insights and practical contributions across the video delivery pipeline. The anticipated findings and contributions to knowledge include: ​ 

  1. ​In-depth analysis of latency sources: A systematic investigation into the factors contributing to latency in live video delivery systems with a particular focus on video encoding techniques, media delivery protocols, and player behaviours. 

  1. ​Given the continued reliance on legacy systems, HTTP/1.1 remains widely used for web communication. The project will investigate the impact of stream multiplexing and prioritization features of HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 on latency reduction. 

  1. ​Design and develop latency-aware media players: A significant limitation of existing media players lies in adaptive bitrate algorithms (ABR) and playback speed mechanism. Existing ABR algorithms and playback speed mechanisms each offer distinct strengths with some performing better under specific requirements and network conditions.  

​The findings from this research will directly inform the design of efficient and responsive video streaming technologies, with potential applications in areas such as live sports and event broadcasting, live betting platforms, telemedicine, and real-time media communication. 

Person Specification:

​​Entry Requirements: 

  • ​To apply for our Computing PhD Research Degree you should have, or expect to be awarded, a Master’s degree in a relevant subject area from a British or overseas university.  
  • ​Exceptional candidates without a Master’s degree, but holding a first class or upper second class Bachelor’s degree in a relevant subject area, may be considered.  
  • ​We also welcome enquiries from potential PhD researchers with appropriate levels of professional experience. 

​Essential Criteria: 

  • ​Proficiency in a programming language such as Python, JavaScript is required. 

​Desirable Criteria: 

  • ​Practical research experience in video streaming systems is desirable.  

  • Previous experience of publishing papers is also an advantage.​ 

Overseas applicants:

International applicants must also provide a valid English language qualification, such as International English Language Test System (IELTS) or equivalent with an overall score of 6.5 with no band below 6.0.

Contact:

If you have any questions or need further information, please use the contact details below: 

- For enquiries about the funding or project proposal, please contact: waqas.rahman@bcu.ac.uk

- For enquiries about the application process, please contact:research.admissions@bcu.ac.uk