Multicast Adaptive Bitrate Streaming for Mobile Content Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing content delivery networks face inefficiencies in delivering programs to mobile devices via unicast adaptive streaming, particularly when bandwidth is high, as it requires significant network capacity and resources, whereas multicast delivery can serve multiple users more efficiently.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where a content delivery network uses multicast adaptive bitrate services by obtaining a manifest file listing available bitrates and metadata files, adding multicast information to these files, segmenting transport stream files to match multicast channel MTU, and multicasting them, while user devices tune into the appropriate multicast channel and reassemble the streams for unicast delivery to the program player.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If unicast adaptive streaming is used to deliver programs to mobile devices, then delivery flexibility and user experience are improved, but network capacity requirements and resource consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the delivery mechanism into two parts: multicast for bulk content distribution and unicast for individual user requests. The system divides transport stream files into segments and uses multicast to deliver these segments to multiple users simultaneously, then uses unicast only when users request specific content not available through multicast, thus reducing overall network capacity requirements while maintaining delivery flexibility
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multicast and unicast delivery mechanisms into a unified system. The content delivery network combines the efficiency of multicast for popular content with the flexibility of unicast for on-demand delivery, creating a hybrid architecture that leverages the strengths of both approaches to reduce network resource consumption while maintaining user experience
2Adaptability or versatility
If unicast servers are deployed to serve multiple users, then user-specific content delivery is enabled, but the number of servers and infrastructure requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes multicast channels universal by enabling them to serve multiple users with different content requests. The same multicast infrastructure can deliver different transport stream segments to different users based on their requests, eliminating the need for dedicated unicast servers for each user and reducing overall infrastructure complexity while maintaining user-specific content delivery capability
3Productivity
If multicast delivery is used to serve multiple users efficiently, then network capacity requirements are reduced, but compatibility with existing unicast streaming protocols and adaptive bitrate mechanisms must be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a mediator layer that translates between multicast and unicast protocols. This intermediary component receives user requests, converts them into appropriate multicast channel selections, and manages the segmentation and reassembly of transport streams, thereby enabling protocol compatibility and allowing efficient multicast delivery to work seamlessly with existing unicast streaming clients and adaptive bitrate mechanisms
Data Source
AI summary
A method, a device, and a non-transitory storage medium provide for receiving program data of programs; receiving files pertaining to each of the programs, wherein the files include a manifest file and M3U8 files; selecting one of the programs and the manifest file; adding multicast information to each M3U8 file pertaining to the program, wherein the multicast information indicates a multicast channel and a date and a time of a multicast; segmenting the program data of the program based on a maximum transmission unit of the multicast channel; storing the manifest file and the M3U8 files pertaining to the program; providing the manifest file and one or more of the M3U8 files pertaining to the program, to a user device; and multicasting a segmented program data via the wireless network based on the multicast information, wherein the multicasting includes the adaptive bitrate streaming service.