Live Streaming Segment Enhancement for Variable Uplink Quality
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Solution Overview
Problem
Live streaming experiences variations in quality due to variable uplink bandwidth and wireless connectivity, leading to recipients receiving low-quality segments despite available downlink bandwidth, especially when users move or when multiple devices share the same network.
Innovation Solution
A system that processes low-quality segments using trained neural networks to improve their quality, storing the improved segments at a server, and transmitting them upon request, allowing for higher-quality content to be accessed at a later time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If live streaming is transmitted in real-time over variable bandwidth networks, then the streaming can be delivered promptly to recipients, but the quality of segments varies and degrades when uplink bandwidth is constrained
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary encoding of the video content at multiple quality levels before transmission. High-quality segments are encoded and stored in advance, allowing them to be used as replacements for low-quality segments that result from bandwidth-constrained real-time transmission. This preliminary preparation enables quality improvement without compromising real-time delivery capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the quality parameter of video segments by encoding the same content at different bitrates and resolutions. Multiple versions of segments are created with varying quality parameters, allowing the system to select and replace low-quality segments with higher-quality alternatives while maintaining compatibility with real-time streaming requirements.
2Productivity
If multiple devices share the same network connection for live streaming, then network resource utilization is improved, but uplink bandwidth available to each device is reduced, causing quality degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates copies of video segments at different quality levels and stores them separately. When multiple devices share a network connection, each device can receive or be assigned high-quality segment copies that were pre-encoded, rather than relying on real-time encoding under bandwidth constraints. This copying approach allows multiple devices to access high-quality content without requiring proportionally increased network bandwidth.
3Adaptability or versatility
If users move between areas with different signal strengths during live streaming, then mobility and flexibility are improved, but uplink bandwidth varies, causing quality fluctuations
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-encodes and stores high-quality segment alternatives before transmission begins. When users move between areas with different signal strengths, the system can identify low-quality segments resulting from poor uplink bandwidth and replace them with pre-prepared high-quality segments. This preliminary preparation enables quality stabilization without restricting user mobility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary processing layer that acts as a buffer between the variable-quality real-time transmission and the final delivered content. This intermediary layer identifies quality issues caused by user movement and signal variation, and mediates by replacing problematic segments with higher-quality alternatives, thereby stabilizing overall quality while maintaining user mobility.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided for improving live streaming. A content item comprising a plurality of segments is received at a computing device at a first time. The content item is stored, and it is identified that a first segment of the plurality of segments is below a quality threshold. The first segment is processed to improve the quality of the first segment, and the content item is updated with the improved-quality first segment. At a second time, a request to access the content item is received, and the updated version of the content item is transmitted in response to the request.