Video delivery control device and video delivery control method

Abstract

This video delivery control device comprises: a video information acquisition unit configured to acquire, for each of a plurality of video qualities relating to a video to be delivered to a terminal via a network, information indicating a wireless resource and a computational resource that are required by the video quality; a selection unit configured to select, on the basis of the information, the video quality to be delivered within the range of restrictions of the wireless resource that can be allocated in a wireless base station accommodating the terminal in the network and the computational resource that can be allocated in the network; and a notification unit configured to notify a delivery source of the video of the video quality selected by the selection unit, thereby improving the quality of experience of a viewer of the video delivered via the network.

Description

Video distribution control device and video distribution control method

[0001] The present invention relates to a video distribution control device and a video distribution control method.

[0002] For a VR video distributed by a cloud server, video processing such as rendering is performed using computing resources in a network, and the VR video is transmitted to a terminal using radio resources allocated by a radio base station. A content distribution system in a mobile network has been proposed.

[0003] In such a system, conventionally, a technique for determining the video quality to be distributed from the communication quality achievable by a user has been proposed (Non-Patent Document 1).

[0004] X. Hou, S. Dey, J. Zhang and M. Budagavi, "Predictive Adaptive Streaming to Enable Mobile 360-Degree and VR Experiences", in IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, vol. 23, pp. 716-731, 2021

[0005] However, in the prior art, since available computing resources are not considered, there are cases where communication resources and computing resources cannot be fully utilized. For example, when a high-quality video is selected as the distribution target based only on communication resources, a processing delay may occur due to insufficient computing resources, and the perceived quality of the viewer may decrease.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to improve the perceived quality of a viewer of a video distributed via a network.

[0007] To solve the above problems, the video distribution control device includes: a video information acquisition unit configured to acquire information indicating the wireless resources and computing resources required for each of several video quality levels for video distributed to a terminal via a network; a selection unit configured to select the video quality to be distributed based on the information, within the constraints of the wireless resources that can be allocated at the wireless base station that accommodates the terminal in the network and the computing resources that can be allocated in the network; and a notification unit configured to notify the video distributor of the video quality selected by the selection unit.

[0008] This can improve the perceived quality of video delivered over a network for viewers.

[0009] This figure shows an example configuration of a video distribution system in an embodiment of the present invention. This figure shows an example hardware configuration of the controller 10 in an embodiment of the present invention. This figure shows an example functional configuration of the controller 10 in an embodiment of the present invention. This is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure performed in the video distribution system. This figure shows the transmission of a viewing start request from the terminal 50 to the video distribution device 20. This figure shows the transmission of a requirements list from the video distribution device 20 to the controller 10. This figure shows the acquisition of information indicating the available wireless bandwidth and computing resources. This figure shows the selection of video quality. This figure shows the allocation instructions for wireless resources and computing resources according to the selected video quality and notification of the selection. This figure shows the allocation of wireless resources and computing resources. This figure shows the distribution of video data.

[0010] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example configuration of a video distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In Figure 1, the controller 10, video distribution device 20, wireless base station 40, and terminal 50 are connected to the core network N1. The core network N1 is a network used for video distribution and includes a computing infrastructure 30.

[0011] The video distribution device 20 is one or more computers that store video data and distribute the video data via the core network N1. In this embodiment, the video data distributed is, strictly speaking, data that requires computational processing (video processing) using computing resources for the playback of VR video (hereinafter simply referred to as "video"). For example, the video data is the material necessary for generating the video (3D spatial data, music, etc.). The video distribution device 20 stores multiple video data with different video qualities as options (candidates) for distribution of the same video.

[0012] The computing platform 30 is a device that has computing resources (such as a processor) to perform video processing on video data. For example, a computer that previously performed communication processing, such as a switch or router located within the core network N1, may function as the computing platform 30. An example of video processing is rendering (processing such as drawing 3D objects, reflecting and transmitting light sources, and performing physics calculations). By having the computing platform 30 perform the video processing, the terminal 50 does not need to perform the video processing, thereby reducing the processing load on the terminal 50. As a result, video playback can be made even if the terminal 50 is not equipped with an expensive processor.

[0013] The wireless base station 40 is a wireless base station 40 that connects the terminal 50 to the core network N1. The wireless base station 40 allocates (deploys) wireless resources for the distribution of video to the terminal 50 and transmits the video to the terminal 50 using the allocated wireless resources.

[0014] Terminal 50 is a device that receives and plays back video generated by the computing board 30 based on video data distributed from the video distribution device 20, via the wireless base station 40. In other words, terminal 50 is a device used by viewers of the video. For example, a PC (Personal Computer), smartphone, tablet terminal, etc., may be used as terminal 50.

[0015] The controller 10 is one or more computers that select a video quality from among multiple video quality levels for video data distributed by the video distribution device 20 that can satisfy constraints based on the available computing and wireless resources, notify the video distribution device 20 of the selected video quality, and control the allocation of wireless and computing resources required for the selected video quality. The video distribution device 20 distributes video data related to the video quality notified by the controller 10. The controller 10 may be deployed as a VNF (Virtualized Network Function) within the core network N1.

[0016] Figure 2 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the controller 10 in an embodiment of the present invention. The controller 10 in Figure 2 includes a drive device 100, an auxiliary storage device 102, a memory device 103, a processor 104, and an interface device 105, etc., which are all interconnected by bus B.

[0017] The program that enables processing by the controller 10 is provided on a recording medium 101 such as a CD-ROM. When the recording medium 101 containing the program is set in the drive device 100, the program is installed from the recording medium 101 to the auxiliary storage device 102 via the drive device 100. However, the program does not necessarily have to be installed from the recording medium 101; it may also be downloaded from another computer via a network. The auxiliary storage device 102 stores the installed program as well as necessary files and data.

[0018] The memory device 103 reads and stores a program from the auxiliary storage device 102 when a program startup command is received. The processor 104 is either a CPU or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or both a CPU and a GPU, and executes functions related to the controller 10 according to the program stored in the memory device 103. The interface device 105 is used as an interface for connecting to a network.

[0019] The computing platform 30 may also have the same hardware configuration as shown in Figure 2.

[0020] Figure 3 shows an example of the functional configuration of the controller 10 in an embodiment of the present invention. In Figure 3, the controller 10 includes a video information acquisition unit 11, a network information acquisition unit 12, a selection unit 13, and a notification unit 14. Each of these units is realized by processing that one or more programs installed on the controller 10 cause the processor 104 to execute.

[0021] The video information acquisition unit 11 acquires information from the video distribution device 20 indicating the wireless resources and computing resources required for each of the multiple video quality options (choices) related to the video distributed to the terminal 50 via the core network N1.

[0022] The network information acquisition unit 12 acquires information from the wireless base station 40 indicating the amount of wireless resources that can be allocated, and acquires information from the computing infrastructure 30 indicating the amount of computing resources that can be allocated.

[0023] The selection unit 13 selects the video quality to be distributed, within the constraints of the available radio resources and available computing resources at the wireless base station 40, based on the information obtained from the video information acquisition unit 11.

[0024] The notification unit 14 notifies the video distribution source (video distribution device 20) of the video quality selected by the selection unit 13, and controls the allocation of wireless resources required by the selected video quality and the allocation of computing resources required by that video quality.

[0025] The following describes the processing procedures performed in the video distribution system. Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the processing procedures performed in the video distribution system.

[0026] In step S101, the video distribution device 20 receives a request from the terminal 50 to start viewing the video, as shown in Figure 5. This request to start viewing includes an identifier for the video to be viewed (hereinafter referred to as "target video").

[0027] Next, the video distribution device 20 transmits to the controller 10 information indicating the wireless resources (wireless quality) and computing resources required for each of the pre-prepared video quality options (resolution, frame rate (fps), etc.) for the target video (hereinafter referred to as the "requirements list"). The video information acquisition unit 11 of the controller 10 then receives (acquires) the requirements list (S102).

[0028] Figure 6 shows the transmission of a requirements list from the video distribution device 20 to the controller 10. In Figure 6, there are three options for the video quality of the target video: high-quality video, medium-quality video, and low-quality video, and information indicating the required wireless resources and computing resources for each is shown. In Figure 6, an example is shown where the bandwidth (wireless bandwidth) (Mbs) that the wireless base station 40 allocates (deploys) for the distribution of the target video to the terminal 50 is the wireless resource, and the amount of GPUs (hereinafter referred to as "GPU units") that the computing infrastructure 30 allocates (deploys) for the distribution of the target video is the computing resource.

[0029] Note that one GPU unit is, for example, the smallest unit of computing resources (GPU resources) allocated in video distribution, and one GPU may be considered one unit. In other words, the number of GPUs may be the number of GPU units. In this case, a computing infrastructure 30 with 1000 GPUs will have 1000 units of computing resources. If rendering a certain video requires 5 GPUs, then the computing infrastructure 30 will allocate (deploy) 5 units of GPUs out of the 1000 units for that rendering.

[0030] Alternatively, a technique called MIG (Multi-Instance GPU), which logically divides a single GPU into multiple instances, may be used. With MIG, for example, one GPU can be made into 10 virtual GPUs (instances). When using MIG, for example, a computing infrastructure 30 having 1000 GPUs and being able to divide each GPU into 10 instances will have 10,000 units of computing resources. If rendering a certain image requires 45 instances, the computing infrastructure 30 will allocate (deploy) 45 units out of the 10,000 units for that rendering. By using MIG, it becomes possible to provide computing resources at a finer granularity.

[0031] Next, the network information acquisition unit 12 of the controller 10 acquires information indicating the available radio resources (radio bandwidth) from the radio base station 40 that accommodates the terminal 50 to which the target video is distributed, and also acquires information indicating the available computing resources from the computing board 30 that performs video processing on the target video (S103).

[0032] Figure 7 shows how to obtain information indicating the available radio bandwidth and computing resources. In Figure 7, an example is shown where the available radio bandwidth is 100 Mbps and the available computing resources (number of GPU units) are 7 units.

[0033] Next, the selection unit 13 of the controller 10 selects one option (video quality) from the requirements list based on the available wireless resources (wireless bandwidth) and available computing resources (S104). First, the selection unit 13 sets constraints on both the available wireless resources (wireless bandwidth) and available computing resources, and selects an option from the requirements list that satisfies these constraints (S104). For example, an option is selected in which the required wireless resources (wireless bandwidth) are less than or equal to the available wireless resources (wireless bandwidth), and the required computing resources are less than or equal to the available computing resources. If multiple options satisfy the constraints, the selection unit 13 selects the option with the highest quality among the multiple options. On the other hand, if there are no options that satisfy the constraints, the selection unit 13 selects the option with the lowest video quality.

[0034] Figure 8 shows the selection of video quality. In the example in Figure 8, the options that satisfy the available wireless bandwidth and available computing resources are "medium-quality video" and "low-quality video". Therefore, the selection unit 13 selects "medium-quality video", which is relatively high quality.

[0035] Next, the notification unit 14 of the controller 10 instructs the wireless base station 40 to allocate (deploy) the wireless resources (wireless bandwidth) required by the selected option (hereinafter referred to as "target video quality") to the target video (S105).

[0036] Next, the notification unit 14 instructs the computing infrastructure 30 to allocate (deploy) the computing resources required for the target video quality to the target video (S106).

[0037] Furthermore, in the instruction to allocate wireless resources or computing resources for the target video, the correspondence between the target video and the wireless resources or computing resources may be, for example, a 5-tuple of the source (video distribution device 20) and destination (terminal 50) in the distribution of the target video used as the identifier for the target video. That is, the notification unit 14 may instruct the wireless base station 40 or computing resources to allocate wireless resources or computing resources along with the identifier. Alternatively, an identifier assigned for each video distribution (hereinafter referred to as "distribution ID") may be used as the identifier for the target video. In this case, the video distribution device 20 only needs to include the distribution ID in the header of the packet for distributing the video data of the target video.

[0038] Next, the notification unit 14 notifies the video distribution device 20 of the selected option (target video quality) (S107). Such notification corresponds to an instruction to distribute the target video with that option.

[0039] Figure 9 shows the allocation instructions for wireless and computing resources according to the selected video quality, as well as the notification of that video quality.

[0040] Figure 9 shows an example in which the wireless base station 40 is instructed to allocate the 80 Mbps equivalent wireless bandwidth required for medium-definition video, the computing board 30 is instructed to allocate 5 GPU units required for medium-definition video, and a notification that medium-definition video has been selected (instruction to distribute in medium-definition video) is sent to the video distribution device 20.

[0041] Subsequently, the radio base station 40 allocates (deploys) the instructed radio resources (radio bands) for the wireless transmission of the target video, and the computing infrastructure 30 allocates (deploys) the instructed computing resources for the video processing of the target video among the computing resources it has (S108).

[0042] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the allocation of radio resources and computing resources. In FIG. 10, an example in which GPU 5 units are allocated in the computing infrastructure 30 is shown. Also, in FIG. 10, for example, an example in which a radio band equivalent to 80 Mbps is allocated by controlling the allocation amounts of RB (Resource Block) and RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface) is shown. RB refers to the basic unit of band allocation. RIS is a metasurface that can reflect and transmit radio waves in a non-normal direction. In RIS, since each element can control the direction in which the radio wave is reflected, by reflecting the radio wave in the direction of the terminal 50, the received signal strength (RSSI) of the terminal 50 can be improved, and thus the throughput can be improved. Also, when each element in RIS reflects a radio wave, it is possible to arbitrarily control the phase of the radio wave. Therefore, by performing appropriate phase control, interference that strengthens the radio waves can be generated at the terminal 50, and it is also possible to improve the received signal strength (RSSI) of the terminal 50 and thus the throughput.

[0043] Subsequently, the video distribution device 20 distributes the video data corresponding to the target video quality for the target video to the terminal 50 as the destination (S109).

[0044] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the distribution of video data. In FIG. 11, an example in which the video data of the medium-quality video is being distributed is shown. For the said video data, video processing (rendering, etc.) is performed in the computing infrastructure 30 using GPU 5 units. Also, the video generated by the video processing is transmitted to the terminal 50 using the band equivalent to 80 Mbps allocated by the radio base station 40.

[0045] As described above, according to this embodiment, in a series of processes in which the computing infrastructure 30 in the core network N1 processes the video data (VR video) distributed by the video distribution device 20 and transmits the results of the video processing to the terminal 50 via a wireless line, it is possible to distribute video with appropriate video quality to the terminal 50 within the range of the available wireless and computing resources. Therefore, it is possible to avoid selecting an excessive video quality relative to the available computing resources. As a result, the perceived quality of the video distributed over the network can be improved for viewers.

[0046] In this embodiment, the controller 10 is an example of a video distribution control device.

[0047] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention as described in the claims.

[0048] 10 Controller 20 Video distribution device 30 Computing board 40 Wireless base station 50 Terminal 11 Video information acquisition unit 12 Network information acquisition unit 13 Selection unit 14 Notification unit 100 Drive device 101 Recording medium 102 Auxiliary storage device 103 Memory device 104 Processor 105 Interface device B Bus

Claims

1. A video distribution control device comprising: a video information acquisition unit configured to acquire information indicating the radio resources and computing resources required for each of several video quality levels related to video distributed to a terminal via a network; a selection unit configured to select the video quality to be distributed based on the information, within the constraints of the radio resources that can be allocated at the radio base station that accommodates the terminal in the network and the computing resources that can be allocated in the network; and a notification unit configured to notify the video distributor of the video quality selected by the selection unit.

2. The video distribution control device according to claim 1, characterized in that the notification unit is configured to control the allocation of wireless resources required by the video quality selected by the selection unit and the allocation of computing resources required by the video quality.

3. A video distribution control method characterized in that a computer executes the following steps: a video information acquisition step for acquiring information indicating the radio resources and computing resources required for each of several video quality levels related to video distributed to a terminal via a network; a selection step for selecting the video quality to be distributed based on the information, within the constraints of the radio resources that can be allocated at the radio base station that accommodates the terminal in the network and the computing resources that can be allocated in the network; and a notification step for notifying the video distributor of the video quality selected by the selection step.

Images