Web Browser Stream Manager for Multiplexed Video Decoding
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current web browsers are unable to support real-time streaming and decoding of multiple simultaneous video streams due to their single-threaded nature, which restricts the use of multiple decoders and limits processing to a single stream at a time, leading to inefficiencies in bandwidth management and display.
Innovation Solution
A system and method within a web browser that employs a stream manager to maintain decoder context data for multiple streams, allowing an h.264 decoder to decode and display frames from multiple streams simultaneously, utilizing JavaScript for implementation and enabling efficient handling of multiple streams through context data management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a web browser uses a single-threaded architecture, then it ensures simplicity and ease of operation, but it cannot support multiple simultaneous video stream decoders
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the video processing architecture by separating the stream management function from the decoding function. The stream manager handles multiple streams at the management layer, while the decoder processes individual frames at the execution layer. This segmentation allows a single-threaded browser to support multiple simultaneous decoders by organizing them in a hierarchical structure where the stream manager coordinates between multiple stream contexts and the decoder implementation.
2Reliability
If a decoder maintains separate context data for each stream, then it enables accurate decoding of multiple streams, but it increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The stream manager serves as an intermediary between multiple stream contexts and the decoder. It maintains the context data for multiple streams and manages the flow of frame data to the decoder. This intermediary layer abstracts the complexity of managing multiple contexts, allowing the decoder to process frames without directly handling the complexity of multiple stream states. The stream manager coordinates context switching and data flow, reducing the burden on the decoder implementation.
3Speed
If external plugins are used for video decoding, then real-time streaming is supported, but it reduces ease of operation and increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the stream management functionality and decoder implementation into a unified system that operates within the browser's native environment. Instead of using separate external plugins, the stream manager and decoder are integrated as coordinated components that work together within the browser architecture. This merging eliminates the need for multiple external plugins while maintaining real-time streaming capability, as the integrated system handles both stream coordination and decoding in a unified manner.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for real time streaming and decoding of multiple simultaneous streams within a web browser is disclosed. In a preferred embodiment, a stream manager of the web browser stores decoder context data for each of the streams. The stream manager then provides the frames in conjunction with the decoder context data for consumption by a decoder of the web browser, which decodes the frames, presents the frames for display, and updates the decoder context data with the frame data of the decoded frames. In another embodiment, the stream manager is integrated within the decoder.