Progressive Media Player Buffering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional media player applications suffer from inadequate control over the rate of downloading content versus playback, leading to choppy playback or requiring the entire file to be downloaded before playback can begin, resulting in user inconvenience.
Innovation Solution
A progressive player that allows playback of media orchestration descriptors (MODs) without fully downloading all segments, enabling simultaneous playback and download, and enters a buffering state if playback catches up with download speed, resuming playback when a sufficient buffer is reached.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the entire file is downloaded before playback begins, then playback stability is improved, but user wait time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by downloading and buffering a portion of the media file before playback begins, but not the entire file. This allows playback to start sooner while maintaining stability through the pre-buffered content, resolving the contradiction between wait time and playback stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the playback rate based on the download rate and buffer status. When download speed is sufficient, playback proceeds at normal speed; when download catches up with playback, the system enters a buffering state to maintain stability. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by adapting playback behavior to real-time conditions.
2Loss of time
If playback rate equals download rate, then user wait time is reduced, but playback quality deteriorates due to choppy playback
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors the relationship between playback rate and download rate, and adjusts playback behavior based on this feedback. When the buffer status indicates potential quality issues, the system enters a buffering state to prevent choppy playback, thus maintaining quality while minimizing wait time through intelligent rate adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The playback system dynamically changes its operating mode between normal playback and buffering state based on real-time conditions. This dynamic behavior allows the system to optimize the balance between wait time and playback quality by adjusting the playback rate according to download performance.
3Loss of time
If simultaneous playback and download are enabled, then user wait time is reduced, but system complexity increases due to rate control requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service by automatically managing the simultaneous playback and download process without requiring complex external control mechanisms. The player autonomously monitors buffer status and adjusts playback rate based on download performance, reducing system complexity while enabling simultaneous operations.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus provide for a progressive player to allow for a user to subscribe to media content. The media content can be organized according to a media orchestration descriptor (MOD). The MOD identifies each segment (i.e. media element, media asset) of the media content and indicates relationships among the segments to define a presentation of the segments during playback of the media content. Immediately, in response to subscribing to the media content, the progressive player initiates playback of the media content in conjunction with downloading the media content to a buffer. Playback of the media content is controlled with respect to the playback time of the amount of buffered media content, where the buffered media content comprises media content in the buffer that has been downloaded but not yet played back.