Performance Analysis of Video Transmission Protocols

Abstract - The exponential rise in multimedia data has reshaped the architecture of the modern Internet. Video streaming, once limited by bandwidth and infrastructure constraints, now constitutes over 80 % of total Internet traffic. Efficient transmission protocols are the foundation for this digital transformation, influencing latency, quality of service (QoS), and end-user experience. This study presents a comprehensive experimental and analytical evaluation of major video transmission protocols Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP) and Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol Live Streaming (HLS), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH), Secure Reliable Transport (SRT), Faster-Than-Light (FTL), Microsoft Smooth Streaming (MSS), and Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC). An experimental testbed was implemented using Docker-based NGINX servers and OBS Studio for live and on-demand content generation. Latency, jitter, bandwidth utilization, and adaptability under variable network conditions were systematically analyzed. WebRTC demonstrated superior performance with sub-second latency suitable for real-time interactive applications, whereas HLS and DASH offered robust adaptive bitrate streaming ideal for content delivery networks. RTMP maintained steady throughput under stable network environments but lacked scalability. Emerging protocols such as SRT and FTL achieved notable improvements in reliability and encryption but displayed sensitivity to congestion. The results identify key performance trade-offs, establishing a decision framework for selecting appropriate protocols in diverse multimedia environments. This work contributes a unified comparison of both traditional and modern streaming protocols under identical experimental conditions, providing reproducible insights that inform the design of next-generation low-latency, adaptive streaming systems.