Dynamic Timestamp Rewriting for Seamless Live On-Demand Streaming
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Solution Overview
Problem
The insertion of ads and other on-demand content into live media streams is challenging due to timestamp mismatches, leading to playback errors in clients, as live content timestamps are not synchronized with those of ads or other on-demand content.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves dynamically rewriting timestamps in media streams by creating a manifest file that includes offset information, allowing seamless transitions between live and on-demand content sources, ensuring continuous timestamps for clients.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If ads and on-demand content are inserted into live media streams, then content delivery flexibility is improved, but timestamp synchronization deteriorates causing playback errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the media stream into discrete chunks with individual timestamps. Each chunk represents a separable unit of content that can be independently managed, allowing ads and on-demand content to be inserted between chunks without disrupting the overall stream structure. This segmentation enables flexible content delivery while maintaining timestamp integrity within each segment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a manifest file as an intermediary layer between the live media stream and the client. The manifest file contains offset information that mediates the timestamp differences between live content and inserted on-demand content. By providing this intermediary mapping, the system allows flexible content insertion while maintaining synchronization through the offset adjustments specified in the manifest.
2Reliability
If timestamps are dynamically rewritten to maintain continuity, then playback reliability is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary timestamp management by pre-calculating and storing offset information in the manifest file before content delivery. Instead of dynamically rewriting timestamps during playback, the system prepares the offset adjustments in advance, allowing clients to apply them locally without requiring complex real-time timestamp manipulation on the server side.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables the client to perform timestamp adjustment autonomously using the offset information provided in the manifest file. The client self-services the synchronization task by applying the offsets to align on-demand content timestamps with the live stream timeline, eliminating the need for complex server-side timestamp rewriting mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
Timestamps for streams of media that transition from one media source to another (such as from live content to on-demand content, and vice versa) can be rewritten by a server to help ensure error-free streaming by the client. Embodiments can coordinate the creation of a client manifest with the dynamic creation of a requested segment of media (i.e., “chunk”) to determine how to rewrite timestamps of requested chunks such that they are continuous through the transition.