ABR Media Play Duration Estimation via Manifest Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current adaptive bit rate (ABR) media streaming technologies lack a method to estimate the play duration of ABR presentations before actual media segments are delivered, which can lead to inefficient bandwidth management and user experience issues.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that determine the play duration estimate of an ABR media presentation by receiving a media playlist manifest file, calculating the data size of the manifest file, and using specific values for individual segment sizes and durations to estimate the total play duration, allowing for pre-delivery bandwidth management and control policies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If ABR streaming allows dynamic quality selection based on bandwidth, then media playback smoothness is improved, but the ability to estimate play duration before delivery is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary analysis of the manifest file to estimate play duration before actual media segments are delivered. By calculating the number of segments and their individual durations from the manifest metadata, the system obtains play duration information in advance, enabling proactive bandwidth management and control policies.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the manifest file as an intermediary data structure that contains metadata about all media segments. By analyzing this intermediary representation rather than waiting for actual segment delivery, the system can estimate play duration without requiring complete media delivery, thus resolving the contradiction between smooth playback and timely estimation.
2Loss of energy
If ABR streaming delivers segments sequentially based on bandwidth availability, then network resource consumption is optimized, but bandwidth management efficiency decreases due to lack of upfront information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary analysis of the manifest file to estimate play duration before actual media segments are delivered. By calculating the number of segments and their individual durations from the manifest metadata, the system obtains play duration information in advance, enabling proactive bandwidth management and control policies.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables feedback mechanisms by providing play duration estimates upfront. Network entities can use this information to adjust bandwidth allocation, apply throttling policies, or prioritize traffic based on the known duration and characteristics of the media presentation, thereby improving bandwidth management efficiency while maintaining optimized network resource consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
There is described a method for determining a play duration estimate of an adaptive bit rate (ABR) media presentation. The method comprises receiving at a network entity a media playlist manifest file of the media presentation, wherein the manifest file is transmitted from a content server to a client and comprises a plurality of entries, each entry linking to a respective different one of a plurality of media segments of the media presentation. The method further comprises determining a data size of the manifest file; and determining a play duration estimate of the media presentation based on the determined data size of the manifest file, a first value that represents a data size of each of the plurality of entries in the manifest file and a second value that represents a play duration of each media segment of the plurality of media segments of the media presentation.