Metadata Insertion in Compressed Video Packets
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing video streaming technologies compress metadata and video data together, making metadata inaccessible to devices without the corresponding codec, limiting its availability and flexibility across different compression algorithms.
Innovation Solution
Inserting metadata into packets carrying encoded video data across packet-switched networks without compressing it according to the video encoding standard, allowing codec-independent metadata access and transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If metadata is compressed together with video data using a codec, then bandwidth is reduced, but metadata becomes inaccessible to devices without the codec
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the data stream by separating metadata from compressed video data. Metadata is extracted and placed in dedicated fields within IP packets, while video data remains in separate payload sections. This segmentation allows metadata to be independently accessible without requiring video decompression, resolving the contradiction between bandwidth efficiency and metadata accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts metadata from the compressed video stream and places it in separate, accessible locations within the packet structure. By taking metadata out of the compressed video data container and positioning it in dedicated packet fields, the system enables devices to access metadata without needing the video codec, while still maintaining efficient bandwidth utilization through the original compression of video data.
2Loss of energy
If metadata is embedded within compressed video stream, then bandwidth is optimized, but metadata becomes codec-dependent
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal packet structure that can carry both compressed video data from any codec and associated metadata in a standardized format. The IP packet design with dedicated metadata fields and video payload sections works universally across different video coding standards (H.264, H.265, VP9, etc.), allowing the same infrastructure to handle multiple codecs without modification, thus achieving codec independence and broad adaptability.
3Loss of information
If metadata is placed in separate packets from video data, then metadata accessibility is improved, but packet structure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested packet structure where metadata and video data are embedded within a unified IP packet framework. The IP packet contains both a metadata section and a video payload section in a hierarchical arrangement, allowing receivers to extract either metadata or video data from the same packet without requiring separate transmission channels. This nesting approach maintains metadata accessibility while avoiding the complexity of entirely separate packet streams.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided for adding or extracting metadata for video streams. The system receives a video stream compressed according to a video encoding standard, and generates a packet for transmission across a packet-switched network. The system inserts at least one compressed segment of the video stream into a payload of the packet. The system also receives metadata that describes content within the video stream and is not compressed according to the standard, inserts the metadata into the packet without compressing the metadata according to the standard, and transmits the packet across the packet-switched network to a target device.