Hierarchical Content Transmission for Error-Resilient Streaming

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional contents distribution methods fail to properly decode data with transmission errors, leading to significant disturbances in reproduced content, and require feedback for error correction, which occupies network bandwidth and increases decoding complexity.

Innovation Solution

The system employs hierarchical encoding, where at least one layer of encoded data is transmitted, allowing for error correction and quality control without feedback, using a transmission managing unit to control compression rates and encryption, and a reconstruction device to extract error-free data for stable content delivery.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional contents distribution methods are used with error correcting codes, then transmission reliability is improved, but decoding complexity increases and cannot handle long burst errors

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetransmission reliabilityVSAvoiddecoding complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The encoded data is divided into multiple layers (base layer and extended layers) with different importance levels. The base layer contains essential information for basic content reproduction, while extended layers contain additional quality information. This segmentation allows the receiver to decode content using only the base layer when errors occur, avoiding complex redecoding while maintaining transmission reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Error protection measures are built into the hierarchical structure during encoding. The base layer is designed to be self-contained and decodable independently, preliminary preparing the system to handle transmission errors without requiring complex post-decoding error correction. This preliminary structuring enables graceful degradation when errors occur.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If retransmission is requested for lost data, then data accuracy is improved, but network bandwidth is occupied by feedback information

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata accuracyVSAvoidnetwork bandwidth

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The system converts the harmful effect of packet loss into a beneficial feature by designing the hierarchical encoding so that loss of extended layer packets does not prevent base layer decoding. The 'harm' of selective packet loss is transformed into a mechanism where only essential base layer data needs to be received for acceptable content reproduction, eliminating the need for bandwidth-consuming retransmission feedback.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #22Blessing in disguise (Convert harm into benefit)

Solution Approach 2:

The hierarchical encoding structure provides self-service error handling where the base layer is designed to be independently decodable. When packets are lost, the system automatically adapts by decoding only the received base layer data without requiring external feedback or retransmission requests, thus conserving network bandwidth.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Productivity

If inter-frame prediction is used for compression, then transmission efficiency is improved, but error propagation to following frames occurs

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetransmission efficiencyVSAvoiderror propagation

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The video stream is segmented into hierarchical layers where the base layer contains intra-frame predicted data that is self-contained, and extended layers contain inter-frame predicted data. This segmentation isolates error propagation to only the extended layers, preventing corruption from spreading to the base layer and subsequent frames, while still maintaining compression efficiency through inter-frame prediction in the extended layers.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

4Reliability

If multiple layers of hierarchical encoding are transmitted, then quality control and error resistance are improved, but transmission bandwidth requirement increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveerror resistanceVSAvoidtransmission bandwidth

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adapts the number of transmitted layers based on network conditions and receiver capabilities. Under good network conditions, multiple extended layers can be transmitted for high quality. When bandwidth is limited or errors occur, the system automatically reduces to transmitting only the essential base layer, ensuring error resistance while efficiently utilizing available bandwidth without requiring excessive transmission capacity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS7627184B2Content distribution/reception device, content transmission/reception method, and content distribution/reception program

Publication Date: 2009.12.01 RAKUTEN GROUP INC

AI summary

A content distribution device includes data output means for outputting encoded data and transmission means for transmitting encoded data which is outputted from the data output means. The data output means outputs encoded data obtained by hierarchical encoding as the encoded data. The transmission means transmits at least a part of data of at least one layer among the encoded data obtained by the hierarchical encoding.