Media Presentation Description for Flexible Content Aggregation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) technologies cannot efficiently implement media content aggregation, particularly in supporting cross-channel continuous-play services and temporally parallel media presentations, leading to limitations in content flexibility and accuracy.

Innovation Solution

A method for generating and processing media presentation descriptions that include pointing information indicating content items from different media presentations, allowing for flexible aggregation and playback of content items across multiple media presentations, including real-time and non-real-time content, with features like offset indications and time positioning.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If conventional DASH technology is used for media streaming, then basic streaming functionality is provided, but media content aggregation and cross-channel continuous-play services cannot be supported

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemedia content aggregation capabilityVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the media presentation description into multiple independent periods, where each period represents a distinct content segment from different media presentations. This segmentation allows the system to aggregate content from multiple sources while maintaining independent control over each segment's playback parameters and metadata, thereby enabling content aggregation without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a new dimensional structure by organizing media content along the time axis through periodic segments, adding a temporal dimension to the traditional media presentation framework. This dimensional approach enables cross-channel continuous-play services by allowing seamless transitions between different content periods while maintaining a structured, manageable system architecture.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Adaptability or versatility

If media presentations from multiple channels are aggregated, then content flexibility and user experience are improved, but the complexity of managing and synchronizing content increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontent flexibilityVSAvoidcontent management ease
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-defining and describing multiple media periods with their respective content, metadata, and playback parameters before actual playback occurs. This advance preparation allows the system to dynamically aggregate content from multiple channels during playback without requiring complex real-time management operations, thereby improving content flexibility while maintaining operational simplicity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a media presentation description structure as an intermediary layer that manages and coordinates multiple media periods. This intermediary framework handles the complexity of synchronizing and managing content from different channels, allowing the system to achieve high content flexibility while keeping the operational complexity isolated within the description structure rather than propagating it to the playback system.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Measurement precision

If precise time positioning and offset indications are implemented, then playback accuracy is improved, but data processing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetime positioning accuracyVSAvoiddata processing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by implementing precise time positioning and offset indications specifically within each period's metadata rather than across the entire media presentation uniformly. This localized approach allows high measurement precision for time positioning where needed, while keeping the overall data processing complexity manageable by limiting detailed temporal specifications to only the necessary segments.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP3285455B1Content item aggregation method and related device and communication system
Publication Date: 2019.12.04 HUAWEI TECH CO LTD
  • EP3285455B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3285455B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP3285455B1 patent drawingFigure 4-a~4-b

AI summary

A content item aggregation method, a related apparatus, and a communications system are disclosed. The content item aggregation method includes: generating, by a serving end, a media presentation description of a first media presentation, where the first media presentation includes a content item, the media presentation description includes a description of the content item or the media presentation description includes pointing information about a description of the content item, the description of the content item is used to indicate that the content item comes from a second media presentation, and the first media presentation is different from the second media presentation; and storing or sending the media presentation description. The technical solutions provided by embodiments of the present invention help implement flexible aggregation of media content.