user1570: I am interested about reading material on rate adaptation, by which I mean the process of adapting the bandwidth/rate allocated for a streaming application, ranging from services such as YouTube, to Netflix or Skype calls. 
I would like to have references to papers or any kind of material where are described practical solutions that adapt the rate of the media to network and environmental conditions.
I am especially interested about algorithms that can be applied from the perspective of the end user. 

user2297: You may want to read the spec for Apple's HTTP Live Streaming
and see their recommended settings.
While the standard seems to be quite well thought through, its real-world performance on iOS still needs some improvement. Switching qualities and streams (for ads) often results in less than stellar experiences. Encoder support also needs to be more accessible, I think.

1570: <p>I am interested about reading material on rate adaptation, by which I mean the process of adapting the bandwidth/rate allocated for a streaming application, ranging from services such as YouTube, to Netflix or Skype calls. </p>

<p>I would like to have references to papers or any kind of material where are described practical solutions that adapt the rate of the media to network and environmental conditions.</p>

<p>I am especially interested about algorithms that can be applied from the perspective of the end user. </p>
 2297: <p>You may want to read the spec for Apple's <a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-pantos-http-live-streaming-07" rel="nofollow noreferrer">HTTP Live Streaming</a>
and see their <a href="https://developer.apple.com/resources/http-streaming/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">recommended settings</a>.</p>
<p>While the standard seems to be quite well thought through, its real-world performance on iOS still needs some improvement. Switching qualities and streams (for ads) often results in less than stellar experiences. Encoder support also needs to be more accessible, I think.</p>
