Adaptive Stream Manager for Dynamic Bitrate Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing multimedia streaming technologies face challenges in adapting to changing network conditions, device parameters, and user preferences, leading to interruptions and suboptimal user experiences in wireless communication systems.
Innovation Solution
The method involves segmenting multimedia content into varying bitrate and quality segments, which are dynamically selected based on real-time monitoring and prediction of network and device conditions by an adaptive stream manager, allowing for continuous and optimized multimedia streaming.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If multimedia content is streamed at high bitrate to ensure quality, then user experience is improved, but network bandwidth consumption increases and may cause interruptions under varying network conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the bitrate of multimedia segments based on real-time network conditions. The adaptive stream manager monitors network parameters and selects appropriate bitrate segments from multiple available versions, allowing the streaming quality to adapt flexibly to changing bandwidth availability without causing interruptions
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the bitrate parameter of multimedia content based on monitored network conditions. By preparing multiple versions of content segments with different bitrates and selecting the appropriate version based on current network state, the system optimizes the balance between quality and bandwidth consumption
2Adaptability or versatility
If the system monitors and predicts multiple parameters in real-time to adapt streaming, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-segmenting multimedia content into multiple bitrate versions and pre-monitoring device parameters such as battery level and processing capabilities. This allows the adaptive stream manager to make informed decisions about segment selection without requiring complex real-time analysis during playback
Solution Approach 2:
The adaptive stream manager autonomously monitors device parameters, predicts future states, and selects appropriate content segments without requiring manual user intervention or complex external control systems. The system serves itself by automatically adapting to changing conditions based on its own monitoring capabilities
3Adaptability or versatility
If content is segmented into multiple bitrate versions, then adaptability to network conditions is improved, but storage requirements and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The multimedia content is divided into discrete segments, each available in multiple bitrate versions. This segmentation allows the system to select only the necessary segments and bitrate levels needed for current playback conditions, rather than storing or transmitting all possible versions of entire content files
Data Source
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AI summary
A method (600) for adaptively streaming multimedia content over a network is disclosed the method comprises receiving, at a user terminal (120), a media stream from a media server (110), the stream comprising a plurality of media segments, each media segment having at least one media characteristic, monitoring (610) at least one parameter associated with the user terminal, storing (620) at least one historical parameter value associated with the at least one monitored parameter, predicting (640) a future value associated with the at least one monitored parameter based on the at least one historical parameter value and one or more of the monitored parameters, accessing the server (110) to determine the availability of a plurality of different segments associated with a media content stream wherein each segment is encoded with one of a plurality of different media characteristics and wherein a plurality of different segments, each encoded with a different media characteristic, are available for the same portion of the media content stream, an adaptive stream manager (336) selecting a target media characteristic from the available media characteristics of the available segments stored on the server based on the at least one monitored parameter associated with the user terminal and the predicted future value associated with the at least one monitored parameter, and sending, from the user terminal (120) to the media server (110), a request for a media segment being encoded with the target media characteristic.