Peer Media Streaming via Virtual Router Panel
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current media streaming protocols in broadcast environments face challenges with high latency due to unordered packet delivery, packet loss, and the need for firewall configuration, which complicates peer-to-peer streaming and synchronizes media content effectively.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for streaming content between peer devices using a virtual router panel with a notification service controller and data communication handshaking controller to establish streaming tunnels without prior firewall configuration, utilizing WebRTC protocols and RTP timestamps for synchronization, and bypassing firewalls to minimize latency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If UDP protocol is used for media streaming, then bandwidth efficiency is improved, but packet delivery reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements FEC (Forward Error Correction) encoding before transmission, adding redundant data that allows the receiver to reconstruct lost packets without requiring retransmission. This preventive approach cushions against packet loss by providing backup information in advance, resolving the contradiction between bandwidth efficiency and delivery reliability.
2Reliability
If ARQ protocol is used for packet retransmission, then packet delivery reliability is improved, but streaming latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies FEC encoding with a configurable ratio of redundant data (e.g., 10% overhead). This partial action provides sufficient protection against packet loss for most scenarios without implementing full retransmission protocols, thereby achieving acceptable reliability while minimizing the latency penalty associated with complete ARQ implementations.
3Reliability
If transport stream multiplexing is used for media streaming, then synchronization is improved, but streaming latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the timing synchronization information from the complex MPEG transport stream multiplexing structure and implements it directly in the UDP packet headers using RTP timestamps. This extraction eliminates the need for full transport stream multiplexing and demultiplexing phases, reducing latency while preserving the essential synchronization functionality.
4Reliability
If firewall port configuration is required for peer-to-peer streaming, then connection security is improved, but system complexity and latency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a signaling server as an intermediary that facilitates peer-to-peer connection establishment without requiring firewall port configuration. The signaling server exchanges connection candidates between peers and enables direct UDP communication through existing firewall-friendly protocols, thereby maintaining connection security while eliminating the complexity of manual firewall configuration.
Data Source
AI summary
A system is provided for streaming broadcast media content between peer devices in a media distribution network. The system includes a virtual router panel that includes a notification service controller that receives a data communication request from two or more peer devices and a data communication handshaking controller selects a delivery protocol between the two devices based on exchanging communication candidates that identify peer addresses. A media streaming tunnel generator establishes a streaming tunnel between the first device and the second device based on the respective delivery protocol selected by the data communication handshaking controller; and an encoder packetizes video, audio and ancillary grains directly as packets of the broadcast media content to be streamed directly from the first device to the second device via the established streaming tunnel without multiplexing.