Adaptive Streaming Cache Server Bulk Transfer Bandwidth Estimation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing adaptive streaming technologies face challenges in accurately estimating available bandwidth, leading to inappropriate selection of audio and video content representation quality, which negatively impacts Quality of Experience (QoE) due to incorrect chunk size estimation and network latency variations.
Innovation Solution
The method involves obtaining a round-trip time value between the cache server and client device, computing a minimum bulk transfer size and duration, and delivering content in burst transfers of aggregated chunks to ensure accurate bandwidth estimation and appropriate representation selection, improving QoE by considering the applicable round-trip time in forming bulks of chunks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If chunks of equal duration are used for bandwidth estimation, then early playback is enabled, but bandwidth estimation accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the estimation parameter from chunk duration to bulk duration. By aggregating multiple chunks into bulks and using the total bulk duration for bandwidth estimation, the system maintains early playback capability while achieving accurate bandwidth measurement that reflects actual network conditions.
2Loss of time
If chunk-based delivery is used, then low latency is achieved, but representation selection accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple small chunks into larger bulks for the purpose of bandwidth estimation and representation selection. This combination allows the system to maintain low-latency chunk-based delivery while using aggregated bulk metrics to make more accurate quality selection decisions.
3Productivity
If bandwidth estimation is performed on individual chunks, then delivery speed is maintained, but QoE deteriorates due to incorrect representation selection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces bulks as an intermediary layer between chunks and representation selection. Bulks serve as aggregation units that provide more reliable bandwidth estimation data, enabling accurate representation selection without compromising the fast delivery enabled by chunk-based processing.
Data Source
AI summary
For delivering an audio and/or video content using adaptive streaming from a cache server to a client device, the audio and/or video content being segmented into data segments available in various representations with respective audio and/or video qualities, the representations being time-aligned per segment, the segments being further divided into chunks, a method includes: obtaining a round-trip time value applicable between the cache server and the client device; computing a minimum bulk transfer size from the maximum average bitrate of the various representations of the audio and/or video content and from the obtained round-trip time value; computing a minimum bulk duration, with respect to the audio and/or video content, for the representation to be delivered to the client device; and delivering the audio and/or video content by burst transfers in the form of bulks of aggregated successive chunks for each segment in accordance with the computed minimum bulk duration.