Adaptive Media Segment Delivery Arbitration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Video streaming faces challenges due to varying bandwidth consumption, particularly during dynamic content sequences, which can lead to poor viewer experience as existing adaptive streaming systems rely heavily on client devices to manage bandwidth without accurate prediction of future segment sizes.
Innovation Solution
Encoding predictive data into media segments allows media players to anticipate upcoming bandwidth demands, enabling proactive adaptation by requesting lower quality segments or adjusting network usage, thereby maintaining quality of service.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If adaptive streaming relies on client device to control segment requests based on current bandwidth, then client can react to bandwidth changes, but client cannot accurately predict future segment bandwidth consumption leading to poor viewer experience
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by embedding predictive data in advance within media segments to inform future bandwidth consumption. The server pre-calculates and inserts bandwidth prediction information into current segments, allowing the client to proactively prepare for upcoming high-bandwidth segments before they are delivered, thus avoiding buffer underruns and maintaining smooth playback.
2Ease of manufacture
If video segments are encoded at the same bit rate, frame rate and resolution, then encoding consistency is maintained, but bandwidth consumption varies due to compressibility differences in dynamic versus static scenes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making bandwidth consumption predictable at the local segment level through embedded predictive data. Each media segment contains prediction information about its own bandwidth consumption characteristics, allowing the system to treat each segment individually with accurate bandwidth expectations rather than relying on average or estimated values across the entire stream.
3Ease of operation
If client device requests segments without predictive bandwidth information, then request process is simple, but client may overconsume bandwidth during dynamic content sequences
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies feedback by incorporating predictive bandwidth information into the media segment delivery process. The server provides feedback about future bandwidth requirements through embedded predictive data in current segments, enabling the client to adjust its segment requests intelligently based on anticipated bandwidth needs rather than blindly requesting segments without knowledge of their resource requirements.
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems, devices and processes are described to adapt segment requests placed by an autonomous media player [130] operating on a client device [120] during media streaming to compensate for fluctuations in the bandwidth consumed by the requested segments due to variances in the underlying video content. By providing predictive data [107] about the bandwidth consumption of upcoming video segments [106], client devices can adapt requests for future segments accordingly. Further, indicia [141] of predictive data can be shared between players operating within shared bandwidth to assist players needing additional bandwidth for upcoming video sequences.