Bridging Stream for Video Switching Delay
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current video streaming technologies face challenges in meeting real-time requirements due to 'best effort' packet-switched networks, leading to buffering delays and video quality degradation during channel switching, especially when switching between streams with different bit-rates.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a bridging stream with a higher bit-rate than the initial stream but lower than the target stream, which is transmitted before the target stream to reduce buffering delay and improve Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE) by providing similar content with less delay.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If buffering is used to reduce jittering during stream switching, then video quality is improved, but viewing delay increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-buffering a bridging stream at the client device before the actual stream switch occurs. This pre-buffering action reduces the buffering delay during switching while maintaining video quality, as the bridging stream is already available in the buffer when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
A bridging stream is introduced as an intermediary between the first stream and the second stream. This bridging stream has a bit rate between the two original streams and serves as a transition medium, allowing smoother switching with reduced delay while maintaining acceptable video quality during the transition period.
2Reliability
If a high bit-rate stream is switched to directly, then video quality is improved, but buffering delay increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-loads a bridging stream into the buffer before the switch to the high bit-rate stream occurs. This preliminary action ensures that when the switch happens, the client can immediately play the bridging stream without significant buffering delay, while the high bit-rate stream continues to buffer in the background.
Solution Approach 2:
The bridging stream acts as an intermediary that bridges the gap between the current low bit-rate stream and the target high bit-rate stream. It provides a transitional buffer that reduces the perceived delay while the system transitions to the higher quality stream.
3Loss of time
If stream switching is performed without buffering, then viewing delay is reduced, but video quality degrades due to jittering
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary buffering of the bridging stream specifically for switch transitions, rather than buffering the entire high bit-rate stream. This selective pre-buffering approach minimizes the viewing delay while still providing enough buffer to prevent jittering during the critical switch transition period.
Solution Approach 2:
The bridging stream serves as a mediator that allows the system to switch streams with minimal buffering. By having the bridging stream pre-loaded, the system can transition smoothly without requiring large buffer sizes, thus reducing viewing delay while maintaining video quality.
4Reliability
If buffering is increased to handle higher bit-rate streams, then video quality is improved, but network bandwidth requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary buffering only for the bridging stream at the client device, rather than buffering entire high bit-rate streams. This approach allows the system to handle higher bit-rate streams by pre-loading only the transitional bridging content, significantly reducing the network bandwidth requirements compared to buffering complete high-bitrate streams.
Solution Approach 2:
The bridging stream acts as an intermediary that reduces the buffering requirements for high bit-rate streams. By using a lower bit-rate bridging stream as a transition medium, the system avoids the need to buffer large amounts of high-bitrate data, thus reducing network bandwidth consumption while still enabling quality stream switching.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus comprising a first node configured to communicate with a second node, wherein the first node is configured to receive a first stream from the second node, receive a bridging stream from the second node, and receive the second stream from the second node, and wherein the bridging stream has a lower bit-rate than the second stream. Included is an apparatus comprising at least one processor configured to implement a method comprising transmitting a first stream at a first time, transmitting a bridging stream that has a bit-rate greater than the first stream and less than the second stream at a second time, and transmitting the second stream at a third time.