ABR Manifest Pacing for Pause-Aware Segment Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing adaptive bitrate (ABR) multimedia streaming systems face inefficiencies due to viewer interactions like pausing or trick plays, leading to unnecessary processing and resource consumption.
Innovation Solution
A manifest manipulator controls the pacing of content segment delivery to client devices based on feedback, altering the temporal window of content provision to optimize resource use and network bandwidth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If content segments are pre-processed and delivered at a fixed pace regardless of client interactions, then the system maintains simple manifest structure and easy operation, but unnecessary processing occurs when clients pause or fast-forward content
Solution Approach 1:
The manifest manipulator dynamically adjusts the pacing of content segment delivery based on client device feedback. Instead of a fixed delivery schedule, the system modifies manifest update timing and content provisioning rate in response to client interactions such as pausing or fast-forwarding, optimizing resource utilization according to actual playback needs
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the client device communicates its playback state (pausing, fast-forwarding, etc.) to the manifest manipulator. This feedback loop enables the server to adapt its content delivery pace, processing segments only when needed and avoiding unnecessary preprocessing and resource consumption
2Speed
If the system processes all content segments in advance at high speed, then network bandwidth is efficiently utilized, but CPU and memory resources are consumed during client pauses and trick plays
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary processing and delivers content segments to the client device buffer in advance during active playback. This allows the client to have content ready for immediate playback without requiring continuous server processing during pauses, reducing server CPU and memory consumption while maintaining efficient content delivery speed during active viewing
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of continuous processing, the manifest manipulator implements periodic content delivery synchronized with client playback state. Content segments are processed and delivered in periodic batches aligned with manifest update cycles, allowing the system to pause processing when the client pauses playback, thereby reducing resource consumption while maintaining delivery efficiency during active playback
3Adaptability or versatility
If manifests are updated frequently to provide new content segments, then the client can adapt quickly to bandwidth changes, but network efficiency decreases due to excessive manifest requests
Solution Approach 1:
The manifest manipulator dynamically controls the update frequency of manifests based on client playback state and network conditions. During stable playback, manifests are updated at optimized intervals to reduce unnecessary network requests. When bandwidth changes are detected or client interactions occur, the update frequency adjusts accordingly, maintaining adaptability while minimizing network overhead
Data Source
AI summary
Devices, systems, and methods for providing sequential manifests by which a client device may requests chunks of audiovisual content identified in the sequential manifests. The sequential manifests provided to the client device may be modified relative to an input manifest from an origin content provider, to modulate the rate at which the input manifest is updated.