Adaptive Trick Play Streaming Bandwidth Management
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing video streaming technologies face challenges in maintaining smooth playback at fast-forward speeds due to potential buffer underruns caused by bit rate exceeding network bandwidth, especially when using trick-play tracks with reduced I-frames.
Innovation Solution
The method involves selecting the highest frame-rate version of a trick-play track that, when played at the requested fast-play speed, maintains a bit rate within the network bandwidth threshold by determining the appropriate I-frame skipping rate, ensuring continuous playback without buffer underruns.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If a trick-play track with reduced I-frames is used to enable fast-forward playback, then playback speed is improved, but buffer underrun occurs due to bit rate exceeding network bandwidth
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically selects from multiple pre-encoded trick-play track versions with different I-frame rates based on the requested playback speed and current network bandwidth conditions. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to maintain reliable playback by matching the trick-play track characteristics to the specific fast-forward speed requirement, preventing buffer underrun while enabling high-speed playback.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple versions of the trick-play track are pre-encoded with different I-frame rates (e.g., 1 I-frame per second, 1 I-frame per 2 seconds, 1 I-frame per 5 seconds). By changing the I-frame rate parameter of the trick-play track to match the requested playback speed, the system ensures that the bit rate remains within network bandwidth limits while achieving the desired fast-forward effect.
2Speed
If I-frames are skipped at a higher rate to achieve faster playback, then playback speed is improved, but video quality deteriorates due to fewer reference frames
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides dynamic control over the I-frame skipping rate by offering multiple pre-encoded trick-play track versions. Users can select the appropriate level of quality-speed tradeoff based on their needs, with the system automatically selecting the optimal version that balances playback speed with acceptable video quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The trick-play track is segmented into multiple versions with different levels of I-frame inclusion. Each version represents a different segmentation of the original video's key frames, allowing the system to provide graded quality options rather than a single fixed-quality approach.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple versions of trick-play track are stored to provide adaptive selection, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple versions of the trick-play track are pre-encoded and stored during video production or preprocessing. This preliminary action eliminates the need for complex real-time encoding and selection logic during playback, as the system only needs to select from pre-prepared versions based on simple parameter matching between requested playback speed and available trick-play track characteristics.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and devices for controlling trick-play video streaming. Upon receipt of a request to play video at a fast-play (e.g., fast-forward or fast-reverse) speed that is some multiple of a normal playback speed, one of multiple possible frame-rate versions of a trick-play track may be selected based on the requested fast-play speed and an available network bandwidth, and a server may stream the selected frame-rate version of the trick-play track to a client for playout. The various frame-rate versions may differ from each other in terms of a rate at which they skip I-frames of the video.