In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a processor operative to determine a plurality of bitrate options for downloading video content to a client device and rendering by the client device over future successive timeslots, the video content being encoded as a plurality of bitrate streams, each one bitrate stream being encoded at a different bitrate and being associated with a media distortion value, each one bitrate option including a different selection from the bitrate streams for rendering by the client device over the timeslots so that the bitrate options include different combinations of the bitrate streams for rendering by the client device over the timeslots, and select one bitrate option, from the bitrate options yielding a selected bitrate option, to provide a lowest media distortion result across the timeslots, or a lowest media distortion result across the timeslots subject to at least one other constraint.