ABR Streaming Server Buffer Modeling for Bandwidth Fairness

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Solution Overview

Problem

Traditional bandwidth management schemes in adaptive bitrate (ABR) streaming environments are inadequate in managing bandwidth fairly across multiple clients, leading to inconsistent quality of service due to greedy client behavior and unpredictable client interactions.

Innovation Solution

A system and method that involves an ABR stream delivery server obtaining and modeling video buffer characteristics of client devices to modify manifest files, ensuring only metadata for a selected single bitrate is provided, allowing the server to dynamically adjust bitrates based on ongoing video buffer conditions, thereby optimizing video service quality.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If traditional bandwidth management schemes are used in ABR streaming, then clients can freely request content at their desired bitrate, but this leads to greedy client behavior and unfair bandwidth apportionment across multiple clients

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveclient bitrate selection freedomVSAvoidbandwidth fairness and QoS consistency

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a network entity (server or network element) that acts as an intermediary between clients and content delivery. This intermediary monitors network conditions and client buffer characteristics, then dynamically modifies manifest files to control which bitrates are available to each client. This mediator resolves the contradiction by maintaining client adaptability while ensuring fair bandwidth distribution through centralized control.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically changes the parameter of available bitrates in manifest files based on network conditions and client characteristics. By modifying which bitrate options are presented to clients (rather than allowing free selection), the system maintains adaptability while preventing greedy behavior that would compromise bandwidth fairness.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Ease of operation

If ABR clients are allowed to opportunistically request content, then they can adapt to their local conditions, but this opportunistic behavior becomes greedy and causes inconsistent QoS in multi-client environments

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveclient opportunistic content requestVSAvoidQoS consistency across network

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-monitoring client buffer characteristics and network conditions before clients make their content requests. The server proactively prepares modified manifest files that already account for fair bandwidth allocation, preventing greedy behavior before it occurs rather than reacting to it afterward.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback loops where the server continuously monitors client buffer characteristics, network conditions, and content delivery performance. This feedback information is used to dynamically adjust manifest files and control bitrate delivery, ensuring QoS consistency while allowing clients to operate opportunistically within the controlled framework.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Adaptability or versatility

If manifest files include multiple bitrate options for clients to choose from, then clients can adaptively select based on their conditions, but this enables greedy behavior that disrupts network bandwidth management

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemanifest file bitrate optionsVSAvoidnetwork bandwidth utilization efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts or removes certain bitrate options from manifest files based on current network conditions and client characteristics. By taking out inappropriate bitrate options (either too high or too low), the system maintains the adaptability structure of multiple options while preventing clients from selecting bitrates that would disrupt network bandwidth management or enable greedy behavior.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS10476926B2System and method for managing ABR bitrate delivery responsive to video buffer characteristics of a client

Publication Date: 2019.11.12 TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)

AI summary

A scheme for managing delivery of segmented media content in an ABR network, wherein bitrates of a manifest file may be selectively modified or removed based on a client device's video buffer characteristics. An ABR stream delivery server is operative to simulate the client device's video buffer in a streaming session and accordingly modify the manifest files to include metadata for media segments encoded at a particular single bitrate responsive to the buffer performance and other network conditions. Responsive to monitoring the video buffer characteristics of the media player during the streaming session, a selected single bitrate may be moved up or down to other bitrates of the manifest files.