Live Broadcast Buffering and Variable-Speed Playback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current live broadcast systems experience information loss and negatively impact user experience due to broadcast insertion methods that interrupt the live stream, causing disruptions and affecting the broadcast quality.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for live broadcast of streaming media that involves real-time buffering of data, interrupting the broadcast during insertion commands, and playing buffered data at a higher speed to synchronize with the live stream, ensuring no information is lost and minimizing disruption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If broadcast insertion is performed by interrupting the live broadcast, then the insertion information can be delivered to users, but live broadcast information is lost and the broadcast effect is degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary buffering of live broadcast data before interruption occurs. When broadcast insertion is needed, the buffered data is already prepared and can be rapidly played back after insertion, preventing information loss without compromising the ability to deliver insertion information.
Solution Approach 2:
A buffer acts as an intermediary between the live broadcast stream and the playback system. This buffer decouples the real-time broadcast from the playback process, allowing interruption for insertion while maintaining continuous data availability, thus preventing information loss.
2Loss of time
If the live broadcast is interrupted for broadcast insertion, then insertion content can be played, but the resumption of live broadcast causes information loss and delays
Solution Approach 1:
Data is buffered in advance during normal broadcast operation. When insertion is required, the system can immediately switch to playing buffered content without waiting for new data to arrive, significantly reducing resumption delay while allowing the insertion to proceed for its required duration.
Solution Approach 2:
The buffering process continues in the background even during broadcast interruption and insertion. This ensures that data accumulation never stops, maintaining continuous useful action that eliminates gaps and delays when the broadcast resumes.
3Speed
If buffered data is played at normal speed after broadcast insertion, then playback is smooth, but it cannot catch up with the real-time live broadcast signal
Solution Approach 1:
The playback speed is made dynamic rather than fixed. After broadcast insertion, the system automatically increases the playback speed of buffered data to catch up with the real-time broadcast signal, then gradually returns to normal speed, maintaining both catch-up capability and synchronization reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors the synchronization status between buffered playback and real-time broadcast signal. Based on this feedback, it dynamically adjusts the playback speed to ensure the buffered data catches up and remains synchronized with the live broadcast, preventing drift and maintaining reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to the field of communications, and discloses a method and an apparatus for interrupting and resuming live broadcast of streaming media. The method includes: buffering, in real time, streaming media data during live broadcast of streaming media; interrupting the live broadcast when a broadcast insertion command is received; playing broadcast insertion information associated with the broadcast insertion command and then playing the buffered streaming media data at a specified speed from a start moment a buffer play start moment for playing the buffered streaming media data, the specified speed being higher than a live broadcast speed of the streaming media, until a playback process of the buffered streaming media data is synchronized with the live broadcast of the streaming media so as to stop the playback process of the buffered streaming media data, and resuming the live broadcast.