Live Transcode Streaming Trick-Mode Latency Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing adaptive bit-rate (ABR) streaming technologies face challenges in supporting seamless trick-mode features with decreased latency during live transcode streaming, particularly due to the need for significant storage and offline transcoding, which is not feasible with live broadcast sources.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an ABR server with dual transcoders, input and output buffers, and a control module that allows for on-the-fly transcoding and segmentation of video streams, enabling seamless skip-backwards, pause/resume, and skip-ahead operations by retrieving and transcoding video data from storage or buffers, aligning output segments with input segments in time, and using segmentation index information to reduce latency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If offline transcoding is used to prepare multiple representations for ABR streaming, then storage capacity is improved, but device complexity and storage requirements worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-transcoding video content into multiple bit-rate representations and storing them segment-wise before live streaming begins. This allows the system to quickly switch between different quality levels during live streaming without performing real-time transcoding, thus ensuring service reliability while managing storage requirements through selective segment retention.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments video content into discrete blocks that can be independently transcoded and stored at multiple bit-rate representations. This segmentation allows the system to store only necessary segments for trick-mode operations rather than entire video streams, reducing overall storage requirements while maintaining the ability to perform seamless trick-mode operations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If offline transcoding is performed to support trick-mode features, then trick-mode functionality is improved, but latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary transcoding of video segments into multiple representations before live streaming. This pre-processing enables immediate access to different bit-rate versions and facilitates fast trick-mode operations without requiring real-time transcoding, thus reducing latency while maintaining full trick-mode functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary buffer system that stores pre-transcoded segments. When trick-mode operations are requested, the system retrieves pre-prepared segments from this intermediary storage rather than performing real-time transcoding, significantly reducing operational latency while maintaining versatility.
3Quantity of substance
If live transcode streaming is implemented, then storage requirements are reduced, but trick-mode support becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments live video streams into discrete blocks and maintains a buffer of recent segments. This segmentation enables the system to perform trick-mode operations by retrieving and reassembling specific segments from the buffer without requiring extensive long-term storage, thus reducing storage requirements while maintaining operational simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements dynamic buffer management where the buffer size and retention policy adapt based on current streaming requirements and trick-mode requests. This dynamic approach allows the system to optimize between storage usage and trick-mode support capability, maintaining simplicity while accommodating varying operational demands.
4Productivity
If multiple transcoders are deployed for seamless trick-mode, then trick-mode performance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the transcoding workload across multiple transcoders, each handling specific segments or bit-rate representations. This segmentation of work allows parallel processing of different video segments, improving trick-mode operation speed while keeping each individual transcoder unit relatively simple and manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges the outputs of multiple transcoders into a unified segment buffer that serves all trick-mode operations. This consolidation approach allows the system to leverage the combined processing power of multiple transcoders for improved performance while presenting a simplified interface and management model to the rest of the system.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for performing trick-mode operations with decreased latency for transcode streaming includes receiving and recording a stream of video data. A single transcoder may transcode the stream of video data and generate output video data in an output buffer following. Segmentation index information may be generated that refers to the output data in the output buffer. Skip-backwards, skip-ahead, and resume requests received from a client device are responded by retrieving transcoded video data from the output buffer or retrieving and transcoding video data from an input storage. A method for performing skip-ahead trick-mode operation with decreased latency may use two transcoders such as two threads of the single transcoder to transcode temporally current content and forward content. The forward content may be associated with a forward time offset with respect to the temporally current content. The transcoded forward content is provided in response to skip-ahead trick mode request.