Audio Preprocessing Engine for Streaming Media Transitions

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional video streaming technologies experience inconsistencies in audio playback when transitioning between media segments due to overlapping audio frames, leading to a poor user experience with acoustically inconsistent and jarring audio.

Innovation Solution

A computer-implemented method that determines the logical and physical arrangement of video segments to modify audio data, preventing extraneous audio from being played across segment transitions by selectively dropping, duplicating, or shifting audio frames, and using a preprocessing engine to preemptively replace raw audio samples before encoding.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If audio frames overlap segment boundaries to ensure continuous audio playback, then audio continuity is improved, but audio consistency deteriorates due to playing incorrect audio samples from physically subsequent segments

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveaudio continuityVSAvoidaudio consistency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary analysis during the encoding phase to identify audio frames that overlap segment boundaries. It proactively replaces audio samples from physically subsequent segments with corresponding samples from logically subsequent segments before encoding, preventing the audio consistency issue from occurring during playback.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces an intermediary processing step between the audio encoder and segment boundaries. This intermediary mechanism analyzes segment topology and logically subsequent segment relationships to determine appropriate audio sample replacements, acting as a mediator that resolves the conflict between physical and logical segment arrangements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If segments are stored in physical back-to-back arrangement for efficient memory storage, then storage efficiency is improved, but audio transition accuracy deteriorates when logical segment order differs from physical order

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestorage efficiencyVSAvoidaudio transition accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary analysis during encoding to identify mismatches between physical and logical segment arrangements. It proactively replaces audio samples before encoding based on segment topology information, preventing audio transition errors without requiring changes to the physical storage arrangement.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the parameter being monitored from physical segment order to logical segment order. By using segment topology information to determine which audio samples to replace, the system adapts the audio processing to match the logical playback sequence rather than the physical storage sequence.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Productivity

If audio encoder groups remaining samples with samples from physically subsequent segment, then encoding efficiency is improved, but audio quality deteriorates due to acoustically divergent and jarring audio transitions

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveencoding efficiencyVSAvoidaudio quality

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary identification of audio frames overlapping segment boundaries during the encoding phase. It proactively replaces incorrect audio samples with correct samples from logically subsequent segments before the encoding process completes, preventing audio quality degradation while maintaining encoding efficiency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system converts the potentially harmful effect of overlapping audio frames into a benefit by using the overlap information to identify and replace incorrect samples. The same mechanism that causes audio consistency issues (overlapping frames at segment boundaries) provides the opportunity to proactively correct the issue through sample replacement.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #22Blessing in disguise (Convert harm into benefit)

Data Source

PatentUS11503264B2Techniques for modifying audiovisual media titles to improve audio transitions

Publication Date: 2022.11.15 NETFLIX INC

AI summary

A playback application is configured to analyze audio frames associated with transitions between segments within a media title to identify one or more portions of extraneous audio. The playback application is configured to analyze the one or more portions of extraneous audio and then determine which of the one or more corresponding audio frames should be dropped. In doing so, the playback application can analyze a topology associated with the media title to determine whether any specific portions of extraneous audio are to be played outside of a logical ordering of audio samples set forth in the topology. These specific portions of extraneous audio are preferentially removed.