Program Boundary Detection in Adaptive Bitrate Streaming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for detecting program boundaries in linear video streaming are inaccurate due to clock synchronization issues and content delivery network latency, leading to ineffective implementation of features like parental control and blackout functions.
Innovation Solution
A system that generates multiple transcoded media streams with program boundary detection and inserts a program change indicator into a manifest file for adaptive bitrate streaming, ensuring precise implementation of programming rules by fragmenting media content into chunks and managing bandwidth for accurate playback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If program boundary detection is implemented by comparing clock time and assuming scheduled times, then the method is simple to implement, but the accuracy of program boundary detection deteriorates due to clock synchronization issues and network latency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a content delivery network (CDN) server as an intermediary that receives the linear video stream, detects program boundaries using accurate timing information, and inserts program boundary markers into the stream. This mediator enables accurate program boundary detection without requiring the end device to perform complex timing comparisons, thus maintaining simplicity while improving precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The CDN server performs program boundary detection and marker insertion in advance, before the video stream reaches the end device. By pre-processing the stream and embedding timing information at the source, the system eliminates the need for real-time timing comparisons at the client, resolving the contradiction between implementation simplicity and detection accuracy.
2Device complexity
If program boundaries are not precisely detected, then clock synchronization complexity is reduced, but the effectiveness of parental control and blackout functions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The CDN server acts as a mediator that handles the complex timing and synchronization tasks. It receives the video stream, accurately detects program boundaries using its own synchronized clock, and inserts markers that convey precise timing information to end devices. This eliminates the complexity of clock synchronization at the client while ensuring reliable enforcement of programming rules.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback mechanisms where the CDN server monitors the actual program boundaries and adjusts marker insertion accordingly. This feedback loop ensures that even with network latency and clock differences, the program boundary markers accurately reflect the intended program structure, maintaining reliability of parental control and blackout functions.
3Measurement precision
If program boundary markers are inserted into the media stream, then program boundary detection accuracy is improved, but the media stream complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the media stream into manageable units (chunks or segments) and inserts program boundary markers at specific segmentation points. This segmentation approach allows for precise marker placement without overwhelming the entire stream with complexity, as each segment can be processed and marked independently.
Solution Approach 2:
The system modifies specific parameters of the media stream (such as adding metadata fields or embedding markers) without fundamentally changing the stream structure. By carefully selecting and modifying only the necessary parameters, the system improves program boundary detection accuracy while minimizing the increase in overall stream complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a system for indicating a program boundary in an adaptive bitrate media stream, where the system includes a memory and a processor that performs operations including generating multiple transcoded media output streams of different bit rates from an input linear media stream, fragmenting the multiple transcoded media output streams into chunks, detecting a program boundary in the input linear media stream, and supplying a program change indicator in a manifest file for implementing program change features in mobile communication devices. Other embodiments are disclosed.