Layered video streaming in peer-to-peer (P2P) networks has drawn greatinterest, since it can not only accommodate large numbers of users, but alsohandle peer heterogeneity. However, there's still a lack of comprehensivestudies on chunk scheduling for the smooth playout of layered streams in P2Pnetworks. In these situations, a playout smoothing mechanism can be used toensure the uniform delivery of the layered stream. This can be achieved byreducing the quality changes that the stream undergoes when adapting tochanging network conditions. This paper complements previous efforts inthroughput maximization and delay minimization for P2P streaming by consideringthe consequences of playout smoothing on the scheduling mechanisms for streamlayer acquisition. The two main problems to be considered when designing aplayout smoothing mechanism for P2P streaming are the fluctuation in availablebandwidth between peers and the unreliability of user-contributedresources--particularly peer churn. Since the consideration of these twofactors in the selection and scheduling of stream layers is crucial to maintainsmooth stream playout, the main objective of our smoothing mechanism becomesthe determination of how many layers
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