Dynamic Content Insertion via Manifest Manipulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increased popularity of on-demand viewing and media streaming has made it difficult for content distributors to dynamically insert secondary content, such as advertisements or public service announcements, into video on demand and media streaming platforms without degrading the quality of service or requiring the generation of numerous unique manifests.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for dynamically inserting secondary content into primary content data feeds by manipulating manifests, allowing for fragment insertion or replacement, and using fragment redirects to create personalized manifests for users, which improves content delivery and reduces computational costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If dynamic content insertion is implemented in media streaming platforms, then content delivery flexibility and advertising effectiveness are improved, but system complexity and computational overhead increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments media content into discrete fragments with unique identifiers, allowing independent manipulation and recombination of content segments. This segmentation enables dynamic insertion of secondary content without requiring complex whole-content processing, thereby improving flexibility while managing system complexity through modular operations on individual fragments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces manifest files as intermediary data structures that mediate between primary content and secondary content. The manifest contains fragment information and insertion instructions, serving as a control layer that simplifies the complexity of dynamic content insertion by providing a standardized interface for content manipulation without requiring direct complex interactions between content streams.
2Measurement precision
If multiple unique manifests are generated for personalized content delivery, then user experience and targeting precision are improved, but computational costs and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary fragmentation of media content into standardized segments with pre-assigned unique identifiers and metadata during content preparation. This preliminary action allows manifests to reference pre-defined fragments rather than creating them dynamically during delivery, significantly reducing computational costs while maintaining the ability to generate personalized content combinations for precise user targeting.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses fragment redirects that copy reference information from primary content manifests to create personalized delivery manifests. Instead of generating entirely new manifests from scratch, the system copies and modifies fragment references, reducing computational overhead while enabling precise targeting through customized fragment selections in the redirected manifests.
3Adaptability or versatility
If content fragments are inserted or replaced in media streams, then content customization and advertising insertion are improved, but playback synchronization and quality of service may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic manifest manipulation that adapts content fragment sequences based on insertion requirements while maintaining temporal coherence. The system dynamically adjusts fragment ordering and timing information in manifests to accommodate secondary content insertion, ensuring that playback synchronization is preserved through real-time manifest updates that reflect the actual content delivery sequence.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates feedback mechanisms where the system monitors playback status and fragment delivery timing, then adjusts subsequent fragment insertion decisions to maintain synchronization. This feedback loop ensures that content customization operations do not compromise playback quality by detecting and correcting timing deviations caused by fragment insertions or replacements.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and computer-readable media are disclosed for dynamically inserting secondary content into a live stream or a video on demand (VOD). The secondary content can include, for example, a public service announcement or warning, censoring content, live or prerecorded commentary, an advertisement, or any other type of content to be integrated with or inserted into the main content. Example methods may include receiving a content stream including a first fragment having a first duration and a second fragment having the first duration. Certain methods may include determining an increased quality of service associated with encoding the content stream into fragments having a second duration. Certain methods may include generating, based at least in part on the increased quality of service, a third fragment having the second duration, and sending the content stream having the third fragment to a user device.