Cloud Gaming Compression Reducing Latency and Bandwidth
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current video game and media systems face challenges such as complexity, obsolescence, piracy, and high costs due to the need for multiple devices and platforms, as well as issues with latency and bandwidth in online gaming, leading to inefficient use of resources and limited accessibility for users.
Innovation Solution
A hosting service architecture that streams video games and applications from high-performance servers to client devices over the internet, reducing the need for local processing power and storage, and using low-latency video compression techniques to minimize latency and bandwidth requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If video games and applications are distributed through multiple local devices and platforms, then users have access to a variety of media options, but system complexity increases and hardware costs rise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex video game processing and rendering functions from local client devices and relocates them to remote hosting service servers. The client devices only need to run lightweight client applications that communicate with the hosting service, thereby removing the need for complex local hardware while maintaining access to diverse games and applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The hosting service creates a universal platform that can run multiple different video games and applications on single servers. This multi-functional platform serves multiple purposes (running different games, supporting different users) rather than requiring separate dedicated devices for each game or application.
2Reliability
If high-performance local hardware is used to run advanced video games, then gaming quality improves, but hardware costs and device obsolescence increase
Solution Approach 1:
The hosting service acts as an intermediary between the user's simple client device and the high-performance computing resources needed for advanced gaming. The intermediary servers provide the computational power and graphics rendering capabilities, allowing users to access high-quality games without investing in expensive local hardware.
3Ease of operation
If video data is transmitted over communication channels, then remote access to games is enabled, but packet loss and latency degrade performance
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-rendering video frames on the hosting service servers before transmission to client devices. Key frames and predictive data are prepared in advance, allowing the client to display frames while network packets are still in transit, thereby compensating for network latency and packet loss.
4Speed
If bandwidth is increased to reduce latency, then transmission speed improves, but network costs and infrastructure complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The video data transmission is segmented into different packet types (key frames, predictive frames, update data) that are prioritized and transmitted separately. This segmentation allows critical data to be transmitted faster while less critical data can tolerate higher latency, effectively reducing the overall bandwidth requirements while maintaining perceived performance.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods for hosting low-latency streaming interactive audio/video (A/V) include executing one or more video games or applications on a server communicatively coupled to a data network. Packet streams are received from a plurality of users and routed to the one or more video games. The packet streams include user control input that are used to compute A/V data in response. The A/V data are received from the video games or applications. Portions of the A/V data are compressed in parallel using processing units resulting in low-latency streaming compressed A/V data. The low-latency streaming compressed A/V data are routed to each of the users over a corresponding data network communication channel. The executing of video games, receiving of packet streams and A/V data, compressing portions of the A/V data and routing the compressed A/V data are performed with a latency such that at least one user has the perception that the controlled video game is responding instantly.