Live Auction Streaming Latency Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing live auction systems face challenges in providing real-time video and audio feeds to remote participants with low latency, which can hinder their participation due to buffering and bandwidth issues, and lack features for efficient bidding and proxy bidding processes.
Innovation Solution
The system integrates low-latency video and audio streaming using settings like TrueMotion VP6 Codec and H.296/MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding, with a networked computer or server system that adjusts buffering settings to milliseconds, and includes features like budget bidding, proxy bidding, and latent bid detection to enhance remote participant engagement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If video and audio streaming is provided to remote participants, then remote participation is enabled, but latency and buffering issues occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-loads video content and pre-establishes communication channels before the auction begins. Remote participants receive preliminary notifications and can pre-register, allowing the system to prepare streaming infrastructure in advance, thereby reducing actual latency during the live auction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary server system that acts as a mediator between the auction host and remote participants. This intermediary handles video encoding, buffering management, and adaptive streaming, optimizing the transmission pipeline to reduce latency while maintaining video quality.
2Loss of time
If buffering settings are reduced to minimize latency, then real-time streaming is improved, but bandwidth requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts buffering settings based on real-time network conditions, participant device capabilities, and auction pace. Buffer sizes are not fixed but adaptively modified during the auction to optimize the balance between latency reduction and bandwidth consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs multiple video encoding parameters that can be changed on-the-fly, including bitrate, resolution, and frame rate. The system selectively adjusts these parameters based on network conditions, allowing reduced buffering delay during high-bandwidth periods while conserving resources during constrained periods.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple bidding features are integrated (budget bidding, proxy bidding), then participant engagement is enhanced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal bidding engine that handles multiple bidding strategies (direct bidding, proxy bidding, budget bidding) through a single integrated system. This multi-functional engine reduces overall system complexity compared to implementing separate systems for each bidding type, while still providing diverse bidding capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where bidding behavior data is continuously collected and analyzed. This feedback loop allows the system to automatically adjust bidding parameters, detect patterns, and optimize performance, reducing the need for complex manual configuration and management of multiple bidding features.
Data Source
AI summary
An auctioning method is conducted using an interactive auction host system. The method includes providing access for auction participants to a live auction for one or more auctioned lots of products or services that is conducted and overseen by an auction administrator at an auction host location. At least some of the access to the live auction is provided to remote auction participants through an auction host system of the auction host system. Data is transmitted substantially in real time from the auction host system, which may include auction-related data and at least one of video and audio feeds of the live auction through a network to one or more remote auction participants located at a remote participant interface. Information provided from the remote auction participants through the remote participant interface is provided and received by auction host system. At least one of various other actions are performed.