BALANCE: Bitrate-Adaptive Limit-Aware Netcast Content Enhancement Utilizing QUBO and Quantum Annealing

Abstract: In an era of increasing data cap constraints, optimizing video streaming quality while adhering to user-defined data caps remains a significant challenge. This paper introduces Bitrate-Adaptive Limit-Aware Netcast Content Enhancement (BALANCE), a novel Quantum framework aimed at addressing this issue. BALANCE intelligently pre-selects video segments based on visual complexity and anticipated data consumption, utilizing the Video Multimethod Assessment Fusion (VMAF) metric to enhance Quality of Experience (QoE). We compare our method against traditional bitrate ladders used in Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) streaming, demonstrating a notable improvement in QoE under equivalent data constraints. We compare the Slack variable approach with the Dynamic Penalization Approach (DPA) by framing the bitrate allocation problem through Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization (QUBO) to effectively enforce data limits. Our results indicate that the DPA consistently outperforms the Slack Variable Method, delivering more valid and optimal solutions as data limits increase. This new quantum approach significantly enhances streaming satisfaction for users with limited data plans.