Multi-Stream UI Delivery for Low-Latency Thin Clients
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Solution Overview
Problem
Low-end devices with limited resources face challenges in delivering high-quality videos and responsive user interfaces due to conflicting needs for resiliency and low latency, particularly in cloud-based TV UI rendering platforms, where network interruptions cause glitches and slow responses.
Innovation Solution
A multi-stream content delivery method where the cloud renders UIs and videos separately, using one stream for low latency UI elements and another for buffered videos, with distinct decoders and buffers configured for different content types, ensuring high responsiveness and resilience against network disruptions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single stream is used to deliver both video and UI content, then device complexity is reduced, but responsiveness to UI interactions deteriorates due to buffering requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the content delivery into two separate streams: a first stream for video content with buffering and a second stream for UI content without buffering. This segmentation allows each stream to be optimized independently, with the UI stream providing low-latency delivery for responsive interactions while the video stream maintains buffering for smooth playback, thereby resolving the contradiction between device simplicity and UI responsiveness.
2Reliability
If buffering is applied to all content streams, then resiliency against network interruptions is improved, but UI responsiveness deteriorates due to delayed content delivery
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different quality characteristics to different parts of the content delivery system. Specifically, buffering is applied locally to the video stream to ensure resiliency against network interruptions, while the UI stream is delivered without buffering to maintain low latency and high responsiveness. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between reliability and responsiveness by tailoring the delivery mechanism to the specific requirements of each content type.
3Manufacturing precision
If separate decoders are used for video and UI content, then content delivery quality is improved, but device resource requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic resource allocation where the low-end device activates different decoding paths based on content type. The device includes a first decoder for video content and a second decoder for UI content, but leverages the cloud platform's rendering capabilities to offload heavy processing. This dynamic approach allows the device to maintain high content delivery quality through specialized decoders while managing resource constraints by utilizing cloud-based rendering for computationally intensive tasks.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for multi-stream content delivery are described herein. In various embodiments, at least one server hosting a cloud computing platform renders a user interface for a client device, where the user interface includes low latency content and buffered content. The server then identifies display properties of the buffered content in the user interface and encodes the low latency content into a low latency stream. The server also streams the user interface to the client device, including transmitting to the client device the low latency stream, separate and distinct from a buffered content stream for delivering the buffered content to the client device. The server additionally signals the client device the display properties of the buffered content for playback of the low latency stream and the buffered content at the client device.