Frame Buffer Management for Interactive Media Latency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current streaming media technologies, such as MPEG, prioritize network bandwidth and video quality over timely content delivery, leading to excessive latency issues in interactive applications like online gaming, where user inputs are delayed due to network jitter, resulting in an unsatisfactory user experience.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a frame buffer management system that selectively flushes the least important frames when the buffer reaches its size limit, using importance ratings assigned to frames based on motion or user activity, to maintain video quality and reduce latency by dynamically adjusting the buffer size and prioritizing frame retention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If MPEG streaming content delivery is designed to preserve network bandwidth and maintain video quality, then video quality and bandwidth efficiency are improved, but latency increases and timely delivery of content deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic buffer management where the buffer size and frame retention policy are adjusted in real-time based on application requirements. The system transitions from a static buffer design to a dynamic one that can adapt its behavior, allowing it to maintain high video quality when needed while reducing latency for interactive applications by flushing less important frames.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different quality levels to different frames within the same video stream. By assigning importance ratings to individual frames based on their content (e.g., motion intensity, user interaction relevance), the system can selectively retain high-importance frames and flush low-importance frames, thereby maintaining overall video quality while reducing latency for critical content.
2Reliability
If the buffer stores more media frames to handle network jitter, then video quality and continuity are improved, but latency increases and timeliness of display deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter of buffer management from a fixed-size approach to a dynamic approach based on frame importance. By introducing importance ratings and using them to determine which frames to retain or flush, the system can maintain video continuity for important frames while allowing less important frames to be flushed earlier, thereby reducing latency without sacrificing overall video quality.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of retaining all frames equally in the buffer, the patent applies partial retention based on frame importance. The system retains only the necessary portion of frames (those with high importance ratings) while allowing other frames to be flushed, achieving video continuity for critical content without the full latency penalty of retaining all frames.
3Manufacturing precision
If all frames are retained in the buffer to ensure complete video stream delivery, then video quality is maintained, but latency increases and user interaction responsiveness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent differentiates between frames based on their local quality or importance to the user experience. By analyzing frame characteristics such as motion content and interaction relevance, the system assigns different importance ratings and applies selective retention policies, ensuring high video quality for important frames while allowing less important frames to be flushed to improve responsiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from frame analysis (motion detection, interaction timing) to dynamically adjust buffer management decisions. By continuously evaluating frame importance and adjusting retention policies accordingly, the system can maintain video quality for critical frames while flushing other frames to improve user interaction responsiveness in real-time.
Data Source
AI summary
Media units are stored in a buffer, wherein an importance rating is assigned to each of the media units. At least some of the media units are selectively flushed from the buffer based on the importance rating.