Adaptive Bitrate Streaming Simulator

Every mobile video app — YouTube, Netflix, TikTok — plays video that arrives as a stream of short segments, each of which can be requested at a different quality level. This simulator models that pipeline directly: a fluctuating (and sometimes collapsing) simulated network feeds a segment downloader, an adaptive bitrate controller picks the quality for each upcoming segment, and a client buffer drains at real-time playback speed. Switch between a buffer-based controller (which reacts purely to how full the buffer is) and a throughput-based controller (which reacts to a moving average of measured download speed), then trigger a network drop and watch which one keeps playback smooth and which one stalls.