Media Stream Redundancy via Selective Packet Replacement

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for providing redundancy in multiple purpose communication networks often result in temporary visual artifacts or quality degradation when switching between media streams, and can introduce defective duplicate programs, especially when both primary and secondary streams are partially damaged.

Innovation Solution

A system and method that receive multiple media streams, including a duplicate stream, detect errors in the primary stream, and replace defective media stream packets with corresponding duplicate stream packets, ensuring only non-defective programs are replaced to maintain quality and avoid visual artifacts.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If duplicate media streams are received and switching is performed between primary and duplicate streams, then network resilience and reliability are improved, but temporary visual artifacts and quality degradation occur during switching

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenetwork resilienceVSAvoidvisual artifacts

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary error detection on the primary media stream before switching occurs. By detecting errors in advance using continuity counters and program specific information, the system can make informed switching decisions, replacing only defective programs rather than all programs, thereby avoiding unnecessary visual artifacts while maintaining network resilience

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The invention applies different quality handling to different programs within the same media stream. Instead of treating all programs uniformly during switching, the system identifies and replaces only the specific defective programs while preserving non-defective programs, thus maintaining local quality where possible and minimizing overall visual degradation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If all media streams are replaced with duplicates upon error detection, then reliability is improved, but quality of non-defective programs deteriorates due to unnecessary replacement

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestream reliabilityVSAvoidprogram quality

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the media stream into individual programs and evaluates each program's integrity separately using program specific information and continuity counters. This segmentation allows selective replacement of only those specific programs that contain errors, rather than replacing the entire media stream or all programs within it, thus preserving the quality of non-defective programs

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The invention applies different quality handling to different programs within the same media stream. Instead of treating all programs uniformly during switching, the system identifies and replaces only the specific defective programs while preserving non-defective programs, thus maintaining local quality where possible and minimizing overall visual degradation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Device complexity

If duplicate streams are transmitted over the same network path, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability decreases when the path experiences errors

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem complexityVSAvoidstream reliability

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary error detection on the primary media stream before switching occurs. By detecting errors in advance using continuity counters and program specific information, the system can make informed switching decisions, replacing only defective programs rather than all programs, thereby avoiding unnecessary visual artifacts while maintaining network resilience

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The invention implements a feedback mechanism where the system continuously monitors the primary media stream for errors using continuity counters and program specific information. This feedback allows the system to detect errors, make informed switching decisions, and replace only the necessary defective programs, thereby maintaining reliability without requiring complex redundant path infrastructure

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS7676720B2Method and system for program based redundancy

Publication Date: 2010.03.09 ARRIS ENTERPRISES LLC

AI summary

A system that includes: (ii) at least one input port adapted to receive multiple addressable packets that include media content that belong to multiple media streams and to at least one duplicating media stream; (ii) at least one processor adapted to process the multiple addressable packets to determine media stream layer errors to control, and to participate in a replacement of addressable packets that include media content that belong to a defective media stream by addressable packets that belong to a corresponding duplicate stream. A method for providing a video stream over a network, the method includes: (i) receiving a first multi purpose communication protocol stream that includes multiple media streams and receiving at least one duplicate media stream; (ii) detecting a error in a media stream program; and replacing the defective media stream by a duplicate media stream.