Edge Transrating System Bandwidth Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing bandwidth demand for video services, particularly High-Definition TV, exceeds the capacity of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology, leading to insufficient bandwidth for multiple HDTV channels in end-user access networks, which cannot compete with cable and satellite offerings without high capital investment in optical fiber infrastructure.
Innovation Solution
A system for bandwidth management that transrates a single video stream into multiple streams with different bit rates and quality levels, accompanied by metadata, allowing selection and sequencing of streams to match available bandwidth, ensuring high-quality video delivery without requiring decryption at the access edge.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If optical fiber infrastructure is deployed to provide sufficient bandwidth for multiple HDTV channels, then bandwidth capacity is improved, but capital investment cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments a single video stream into multiple bit rate streams (e.g., 1.5 Mbps, 3 Mbps, 4.5 Mbps) that can be selectively transmitted over DSL lines. This allows the system to provide high-quality video without requiring expensive optical fiber infrastructure by dividing the bandwidth demand into manageable portions that fit within existing DSL capacity constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the bit rate parameter of video streams based on available bandwidth. By adjusting the bit rate of individual streams within a program, the system can adapt to varying bandwidth conditions on DSL lines, providing optimal video quality without requiring infrastructure upgrades to optical fiber.
2Manufacturing precision
If a single video stream is transmitted at high bit rate, then video quality is improved, but bandwidth consumption exceeds DSL capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides a single high-quality video stream into multiple lower-bit-rate streams that collectively represent the same video content at different quality levels. This segmentation allows the system to transmit video over limited bandwidth channels while maintaining the option to deliver high quality when bandwidth is available, without exceeding DSL capacity limits.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transmits multiple bit rate streams including some that exceed the minimum bandwidth requirement. By providing both low and high bit rate options, the system ensures that at least the minimum quality requirement is met while having the capability to deliver enhanced quality when bandwidth permits, without committing to always using excessive bandwidth.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple HDTV channels are transmitted simultaneously, then service versatility is improved, but available bandwidth is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation at the program level by dividing each video program into multiple bit rate streams. This allows multiple programs to be transmitted simultaneously over DSL lines, each program's bit rate streams being independently selected and concatenated based on available bandwidth, thereby providing versatile service without exceeding bandwidth limits.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds a new dimension of bit rate selection to traditional channel transmission. Instead of only transmitting programs at a fixed bit rate, the system creates multiple dimensional options (different bit rates) for each program, allowing flexible allocation of limited bandwidth across multiple channels based on current network conditions and user needs.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for bandwidth management by controlling the bit rate of a signal stream in real time according to available link bandwidth. Applications include multiple-channel video data streams over a limited-bandwidth link such as a Digital Subscriber Line. A video signal is transrated at the head end to multiple streams having different bit rates, by a multirating device which sends the multiple streams over a network, along with metadata containing information about the data structure and parameters of the streams. At the network access edge, a demultirating device uses the metadata to select the stream with the highest video quality whose bit rate does not exceed the available bandwidth of the end-user's access link. This scheme provides multiple unicast signals to different end-users in place of a single multicast signal, supports multiple high-definition channels over a limited bandwidth link, and is compatible with standard encryption methods.