Non-Contiguous Media Streaming Bandwidth Adaptation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing media streaming technologies face challenges in delivering high-quality media content when the available network bandwidth is structurally lower than the content bitrate, leading to interrupted playback and requiring either significant bitrate reduction or complex transcoding, which can result in poor user experience or computational inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
Implementing non-contiguous streaming, where selected portions of the media stream are transmitted while omitting adjacent portions, allowing for uninterrupted playback after a predetermined delay, thereby allocating available bandwidth efficiently without reducing the content bitrate.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the content bitrate is reduced to fit the available network bandwidth, then the network bandwidth constraint is satisfied, but the video quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The media stream is divided into multiple segments or chunks. Instead of continuously reducing bitrate, the system selectively transmits certain segments at full quality while skipping or deferring others, allowing high-quality playback during available bandwidth periods without constant transcoding
Solution Approach 2:
The streaming system dynamically adjusts which segments to transmit based on real-time network conditions, receiver buffer status, and content importance. This dynamic selection allows the system to maintain high quality when possible while ensuring uninterrupted playback when bandwidth is constrained
2Reliability
If transcoding is applied to reduce content bitrate, then the network bandwidth constraint is satisfied, but the computational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The media stream is pre-segmented into manageable chunks during encoding, but actual bitrate adaptation is deferred until transmission time. This allows the system to prepare content structure in advance while making real-time decisions about what to transmit based on actual network conditions, avoiding continuous transcoding
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts and transmits only the essential or most important segments of the media stream at full quality, while omitting less critical segments during bandwidth constraints. This selective extraction avoids the computational overhead of transcoding entire streams
3Manufacturing precision
If contiguous streaming is attempted with insufficient bandwidth, then the content bitrate is maintained, but buffer underruns occur causing playback interruptions
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous transmission, the system employs periodic transmission of selected segments. By transmitting segments in periodic intervals and strategically selecting which segments to send, the system ensures that the receiver buffer remains sufficiently filled to maintain continuous playback without requiring constant high-bitrate transmission
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4A
AI summary
A method and controller are provided for performing a non-contiguous streaming of a media stream. Such non-contiguous streaming comprises transmitting a selected portion of the media stream to the receiver while omitting transmitting at least an immediately adjacent portion of the media stream so as to enable uninterrupted play-out of the selected portion by the receiver after a pre-determined play-out delay. Such non-contiguous streaming may be advantageously used when the content bitrate exceeds the available network bandwidth. Namely, instead of streaming all of the media stream, only one or more selected and non- adjacent portions thereof are streamed, while omitting transmitting one or more intermediate portions. Effectively, the available network bandwidth may be allocated for transmitting only selected portions of the media stream to enable said portions each to be played-out uninterruptedly by the receiver after a pre-determined play-out delay and at the original content bitrate. Buffer underruns at the receiver may thereby be prevented.