Prefetching Online Content Items to Minimize Display Latency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for displaying online content items, such as video advertisements, often experience latency due to delays in content delivery, leading to user frustration and increased abandonment rates, as they require multiple requests to content providers and longer buffer times.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for pre-fetching online content items by identifying a break point in an ongoing publication and determining a pre-fetch point prior to it, allowing for the local storage of upcoming content items, such as ads, to minimize latency and ensure immediate display.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If the user device transmits a call to an online content provider to request a content item at the break point, then the content item can be provided and displayed, but this causes delay in serving and displaying the online content item to the user
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by identifying upcoming break points in the publication timeline and initiating content item retrieval operations before the actual break point is reached. The processor determines a pre-fetch point that occurs prior to the break point, allowing the content item to be downloaded and stored in local memory during the publication playback, thus eliminating latency when the break point is actually reached.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the online content provider has to instruct the user device to request online content items from one or more other content providers, then more content sources can be accessed, but these operations cause further delay in serving and displaying the online content item to the user
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by identifying upcoming break points in the publication timeline and initiating content item retrieval operations before the actual break point is reached. The processor determines a pre-fetch point that occurs prior to the break point, allowing the content item to be downloaded and stored in local memory during the publication playback, thus eliminating latency when the break point is actually reached.
3Reliability
If some formats of online content items require a longer buffer time, then the content quality can be ensured, but this may cause additional delays in displaying the content item to the user
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by identifying upcoming break points in the publication timeline and initiating content item retrieval operations before the actual break point is reached. The processor determines a pre-fetch point that occurs prior to the break point, allowing the content item to be downloaded and stored in local memory during the publication playback, thus eliminating latency when the break point is actually reached.
Data Source
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AI summary
A computer-implemented method for pre-fetching online content items is provided. The method uses a first computing device including a processor in communication with an output device and a memory. The method includes displaying an online publication to a user using the output device. The method also includes identifying a break point associated with the online publication. The method further includes determining, by the processor, a pre-fetch point prior to the break point. The method also includes initiating transmission of a content item into the memory at the pre-fetch point.