Live Stream Segment Switching for Error-Free Event Delivery

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing streaming technologies for live events often deliver segments with errors to client devices due to preferential delivery of flawed preferred versions, leading to reduced viewing quality with issues like frame freezes and synchronization problems.

Innovation Solution

Implement dual streaming pipelines to generate error-free versions of segments, prioritizing delivery of error-free segments and using error concealment operations when necessary, ensuring high-quality content is streamed to client devices.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If the origin server delivers the preferred version of a segment to the CDN, then the segment delivery process is simplified and preferred content is prioritized, but erroneous segments are delivered to client devices reducing viewing quality

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesegment delivery efficiencyVSAvoidsegment quality

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements error detection and feedback mechanisms where the origin server checks for errors in segments before delivery. When errors are detected in preferred versions, the system feedbacks to use alternate versions instead, ensuring quality while maintaining efficient delivery processes

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary error checking on segments before they are delivered to the CDN. By detecting errors in advance and selecting alternate error-free versions, the system prevents erroneous segments from reaching client devices while maintaining efficient operation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If dual streaming pipelines are implemented to provide error-free segments, then segment quality is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesegment qualityVSAvoidstreaming pipeline structure

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system maintains different quality levels for different segments by implementing dual streaming pipelines. Each pipeline generates segments with specific quality characteristics, allowing the system to deliver error-free segments when available while maintaining a manageable structured approach to complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The system divides the streaming pipeline into separate preferred and alternate pipelines, each handling specific segments. This segmentation allows independent error detection and selection processes, improving quality while organizing complexity into manageable components

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS20260025540A1Techniques for improving quality of experience when streaming live events

Publication Date: 2026.01.22 NETFLIX INC

AI summary

In various embodiments, an origin application streams live events. The origin application determines that a first version of a first segment of a stream that is associated with a live event includes one or more errors. In response, the origin application retrieves from a memory a second version of the first segment. The origin application determines that the second version of the first segment does not include any errors. The origin application transmits the second version of the first segment to a content delivery network.