CMAF Fragment Transport With Preferential Encapsulation for Low-Latency OTT

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing OTT ABR streaming technologies face challenges in providing low latency and suffer from buffering issues, especially in live content delivery, due to congestion control mechanisms, packet loss, and inefficient queuing, which affect user experience and network performance.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a preferential processing mechanism for content fragments exceeding a threshold, using L4S encapsulation and transport, along with QUIC streams, to ensure low latency and high throughput, while optimizing fragment size and bitrate for efficient delivery.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If traditional HTTP-based OTT ABR streaming is used, then content delivery is achieved, but latency increases due to buffering of multiple video segments for playout reliability

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveplayout reliabilityVSAvoidlatency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the video stream into smaller fragments that can be delivered and played back independently. By dividing the traditional segment structure into smaller units with individual timestamps and duration information, the system enables low-latency playback while maintaining reliability through selective buffering of only necessary fragments rather than requiring multiple complete segments.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If congestion control mechanisms are used in traditional networking, then packet loss is reduced, but latency and jitter increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepacket lossVSAvoidlatency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements dynamic adaptation of bitrate and fragment size based on real-time network conditions. The system continuously monitors network state and adjusts encoding parameters dynamically, allowing the stream to switch between higher and lower bitrates depending on available bandwidth, thereby maintaining both reliability and low latency without fixed congestion control parameters.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes key parameters including fragment size, bitrate, and buffering depth based on network conditions. By varying these parameters dynamically rather than using fixed values, the system optimizes the trade-off between packet loss prevention and latency minimization, adapting to changing network states to maintain optimal performance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Stability of the object's composition

If video is encoded at a set bitrate, then encoding consistency is maintained, but encoding complexity increases due to varying picture sizes between frames

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebitrate consistencyVSAvoidencoding complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Stability of the object's compositionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the video into smaller fragments with individual bitrate assignments. Instead of encoding the entire video at a single fixed bitrate, each fragment can be encoded at an optimized bitrate appropriate to its content complexity and required quality, reducing overall encoding complexity while maintaining perceived consistency through controlled bitrate variation within fragments.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically adjusts encoding parameters including bitrate, fragment size, and picture quality based on the specific content characteristics of each fragment. By changing these parameters adaptively rather than maintaining fixed settings, the system achieves encoding efficiency that balances consistency with complexity reduction, optimizing for each fragment's specific requirements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

4Loss of time

If preferential processing is applied to large fragments, then latency is reduced for critical content, but network resource usage increases

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovelatencyVSAvoidnetwork resource usage

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of timeVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies different quality and processing levels to different fragments based on their importance and size. Critical fragments that contribute most to latency are given preferential processing with higher priority, while less critical fragments use standard processing. This localized differentiation optimizes latency reduction for where it matters most while conserving network resources for less time-sensitive content.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS20250386064A1Dynamic systems and methods for media-aware transport of fragment of content in low-latency, over-the-top, and adaptive bitrate streaming

Publication Date: 2025.12.18 ADEIA GUIDES INC

AI summary

Low latency, over-the-top (OTT), and/or adaptive bitrate (ABR) content streaming is provided. Content delivery is enhanced by determining if a fragment of a content segment at a content delivery network (CDN) edge node meets a threshold for preferential encapsulation and transport. If met, preferential encapsulation and transport to the client device is provided; otherwise, it defaults to non-preferential encapsulation. The size of the fragment is quantified at a parser of the CDN edge node or an ABR segment encryption system. The ABR system may be connected between a content source and a CDN origin and may include an encryptor that sends CMAF video and audio segment's fragment byte offsets metadata. Also, the CDN edge node may include the ABR system and an encryptor that sends an encrypted CMAF segment's fragment size to a threshold calculator of an HTTP server. Related apparatuses, devices, techniques, and articles are also described.