HTTP Streaming via Client-Side Media Serving
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current streaming services require specialized servers and skills, leading to high costs and a limited content library, especially in large-scale deployments, and often struggle with maintaining continuous playback due to network delays or content availability issues.
Innovation Solution
The use of non-streaming protocols like HTTP for streaming, allowing for the creation of playlists with short media files, adaptive overlap management between streams, and timestamped tags for precise content retrieval, along with client-side media serving and security features like encryption to ensure continuous playback and content availability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If specialized streaming servers are used for large-scale content distribution, then streaming reliability and content availability are improved, but system complexity and deployment cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses standard HTTP web servers instead of specialized streaming servers, copying the proven reliability of web server infrastructure for streaming purposes. This allows existing web server software to handle streaming content delivery, eliminating the need for proprietary streaming server software while maintaining high availability and reliability through standard web server features like load balancing and failover mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes standard HTTP servers perform multiple functions - serving both traditional web content and streaming media content through a single unified platform. The server handles both static website delivery and dynamic streaming playlist generation, reducing system complexity by consolidating functions that would traditionally require separate specialized servers.
2Adaptability or versatility
If media files are segmented into short durations for flexible playlist management, then playlist adaptability and client buffering efficiency are improved, but the number of file operations and network requests increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments media content into discrete files with durations of several seconds each, organized into playlists that can be dynamically generated and updated. This segmentation allows the server to provide flexible playlists tailored to different client buffering capacities and network conditions, while the structured format enables efficient batch processing of file operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses periodic playlist updates where the server generates new playlists at regular intervals based on the current state of media files. This periodic regeneration allows the system to maintain adaptability without requiring continuous real-time file operations, as changes are batched into periodic playlist updates that clients can efficiently retrieve.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If clients frequently poll for playlist updates to ensure continuous playback, then playback continuity is improved, but network traffic and client processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The server performs preliminary actions by proactively generating and making playlists available before clients need them. The server continuously monitors media file availability and pre-generates playlists in the background, so when clients request updates, they receive ready-made playlists without requiring frequent polling. This eliminates the need for continuous client-side polling while maintaining playback continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the server notifies clients of playlist availability through efficient update protocols. Instead of clients continuously polling, the server provides feedback about playlist changes, allowing clients to retrieve updates only when necessary. This feedback-driven approach maintains playback continuity while significantly reducing unnecessary network traffic and client processing overhead.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatuses provide real-time or near real-time streaming of content, specified in one or more playlists, using transfer protocols such as on HTTP compliant protocol. In one embodiment, a method can execute a user application on a client device to present media files and to control presentation of the media files. The method can further run a media serving process on the client device to retrieve a playlist specifying the media files and a media source at which the media files arc available, to retrieve the media files from the media source, and to decode the media files retrieved. While the media serving process is separate from the user application, they may share the same privileges with respect to memory control, memory space, memory allocation, file system control, and network control.