Cloud UI Rendering Offloading to Subscriber Devices
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Pay broadcasting providers face significant costs and challenges in developing and maintaining uni-directional broadcasting systems, especially when transitioning to bi-directional environments that support diverse media consumption and user interfaces across various devices, with existing cloud-based solutions experiencing increased bandwidth and server load issues and inconsistent user experiences.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that enables subscriber terminal devices to receive and render content and UI resources from a remote application server by generating control commands based on collected state information, allowing for reduced server load and consistent UIs across different devices without the need for extensive application development or testing, and enabling UI configuration even on low-performance devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If cloud-based server is used to provide UIs to subscriber devices, then service deployment flexibility and UI consistency across devices are improved, but server bandwidth consumption and processing load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the UI delivery process into two parts: UI definitions are stored centrally in the cloud, while UI resource files (images, fonts, stylesheets) are cached locally in the subscriber device's browser. This segmentation reduces repeated cloud access and bandwidth consumption while maintaining UI consistency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-caching UI resource files in the subscriber device's browser storage before they are actually needed for rendering. This preliminary caching action reduces real-time bandwidth consumption and server load during UI delivery.
2Extent of automation
If cloud-based server processes all UI rendering commands, then centralized control is achieved, but server processing load and response time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts resource-intensive UI rendering operations from the central cloud server and transfers them to the subscriber device's local browser environment. The cloud server only sends lightweight UI definition commands, while local rendering handles the heavy processing, thus improving server throughput while maintaining centralized control.
3Ease of manufacture
If existing cloud-based UI solutions are implemented, then service deployment is simplified, but session connection reliability deteriorates due to communication failures
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements beforehand cushioning by pre-caching UI resource files and implementing local storage mechanisms in the subscriber device's browser. This prepares the device in advance so that even if cloud-server communication fails during a session, the device can continue rendering UIs from cached resources, thus maintaining service reliability.
4Adaptability or versatility
If high-performance set-top boxes are deployed to support diverse UIs, then UI quality and functionality are improved, but device cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements universality by using a standardized cloud-based UI delivery mechanism that works across diverse subscriber devices with varying performance capabilities. The cloud server adapts UI definitions to match device characteristics, and local caching ensures consistent functionality without requiring high-performance hardware, thus reducing device complexity while maintaining UI quality.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a method and system for providing cloud based user interface (UIs) that may store video content and a UI resource in a storage separate from a server, and may control the video content and the UI resource to be synthesized at a subscriber terminal device, thereby significantly decreasing load of a UIs providing server. The method and system for providing cloud based UIs may provide consistent UIs to various set-top boxes and media devices and may easily perform a change and a test of UIs.