Adaptive Streaming Bitrate Selection Based on Scene Complexity

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional adaptive bitrate streaming systems struggle to optimize media quality and minimize playback stalling by selecting bitrates that match available bandwidth, often resulting in inefficient use of bandwidth and suboptimal user experience due to high complexity scenes being encoded at bitrates higher than the user's available bandwidth.

Innovation Solution

A method that prioritizes media content items based on their complexity level and available bandwidth, selecting lower bitrate variants for low complexity scenes and higher bitrate variants for high complexity scenes, ensuring the average bandwidth is not exceeded, thereby improving user experience and reducing buffering.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If higher bitrate variants are selected for all media content items, then media quality is improved, but bandwidth consumption increases and playback stalling occurs

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemedia qualityVSAvoidbandwidth consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by differentiating bitrate selection based on scene complexity. High complexity scenes receive higher bitrate variants to maintain quality, while low complexity scenes use lower bitrate variants to conserve bandwidth. This localized adaptation resolves the contradiction by avoiding uniform high-quality encoding across all content.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically changes the bitrate parameter based on scene complexity characteristics. By analyzing scene complexity and adjusting the bitrate selection accordingly, the system optimizes the balance between quality and bandwidth consumption, preventing both quality degradation and unnecessary bandwidth usage.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Loss of energy

If lower bitrate variants are selected to conserve bandwidth, then bandwidth efficiency is improved, but media quality deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebandwidth efficiencyVSAvoidmedia quality
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of energyVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by differentiating bitrate selection based on scene complexity. High complexity scenes receive higher bitrate variants to maintain quality, while low complexity scenes use lower bitrate variants to conserve bandwidth. This localized adaptation resolves the contradiction by avoiding uniform high-quality encoding across all content.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically changes the bitrate parameter based on scene complexity characteristics. By analyzing scene complexity and adjusting the bitrate selection accordingly, the system optimizes the balance between quality and bandwidth consumption, preventing both quality degradation and unnecessary bandwidth usage.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Manufacturing precision

If complex scenes are encoded at high bitrate, then visual quality is improved, but buffering increases during playback

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevisual qualityVSAvoidbuffering time
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies dynamics by making bitrate selection adaptive and flexible rather than static. The system continuously monitors available bandwidth and scene complexity, dynamically adjusting bitrate choices to match current network conditions and content requirements, thereby preventing buffering while maintaining quality.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically changes the bitrate parameter based on scene complexity characteristics. By analyzing scene complexity and adjusting the bitrate selection accordingly, the system optimizes the balance between quality and bandwidth consumption, preventing both quality degradation and unnecessary bandwidth usage.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

4Device complexity

If uniform bitrate ladder is used for all content items, then encoding simplicity is maintained, but bandwidth utilization is inefficient

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveencoding simplicityVSAvoidbandwidth utilization
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by differentiating bitrate selection based on scene complexity. High complexity scenes receive higher bitrate variants to maintain quality, while low complexity scenes use lower bitrate variants to conserve bandwidth. This localized adaptation resolves the contradiction by avoiding uniform high-quality encoding across all content.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically changes the bitrate parameter based on scene complexity characteristics. By analyzing scene complexity and adjusting the bitrate selection accordingly, the system optimizes the balance between quality and bandwidth consumption, preventing both quality degradation and unnecessary bandwidth usage.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS12519846B2Adaptive content streaming based on bandwidth
Publication Date: 2026.01.06 ADEIA GUIDES INC
  • US12519846B2 patent drawing
  • US12519846B2 patent drawing
  • US12519846B2 patent drawing

AI summary

Systems and methods for adaptive content streaming based on bandwidth are disclosed. According to one example method, content is requested for delivery. An indication of complexity of a plurality of media content items associated with the content is received. Based on the indication of complexity and an available bandwidth at the user device, at least one of the plurality media content items is selected and retrieved from the media server.