Server-Side Video Adaptation for Mobile Browser Compatibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile web browsers often cannot display videos encoded in certain formats, such as Adobe Flash, due to missing plugins, leading to a poor user experience, as users must switch between applications to view videos or social networking data without interrupting their browsing session.
Innovation Solution
A system with a server-side video adaptation module that identifies missing videos, retrieves thumbnails, transcodes videos to compatible formats, and streams them to client devices, allowing seamless playback within the web browser without requiring specific plugins.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If mobile web browsers use standard plugins like Adobe Flash to display videos, then video compatibility is improved, but device complexity and security restrictions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a server-side video adaptation module as an intermediary between the video source and the mobile web browser. This module receives video content in various formats, transcodes them to browser-compatible formats (like HTML5 video), and delivers the processed content to the client. This eliminates the need for complex plugins on mobile devices while maintaining broad video format compatibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical plugin-based video playback system with a server-side processing system. Instead of requiring client-side plugins to handle various video formats, the system performs format conversion, encoding, and adaptation on the server, substituting the complex client-side mechanical plugin architecture with a streamlined server-side processing approach.
2Adaptability or versatility
If users switch between web browser and video application to view content, then video playback capability is improved, but user experience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges video playback capability directly into the web browser environment by using HTML5 video tags and server-side transcoding. This allows video content to be displayed within the same browser window where users are browsing webpages, combining web browsing and video viewing into a single unified experience rather than requiring separate applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary video processing and format conversion on the server before delivery. By pre-transcoding videos to browser-compatible formats and preparing them in advance, the system ensures that video playback can occur seamlessly within the browser without requiring users to switch applications or deal with format compatibility issues at the moment of viewing.
3Reliability
If mobile operating systems restrict plugins for security reasons, then system security is improved, but video content accessibility worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The server-side video adaptation module serves as a security-friendly intermediary that handles all complex video processing external to the mobile device. By moving the plugin-replacement functionality to the server, the system maintains mobile operating system security restrictions while still enabling broad video content accessibility through standard HTML5 video playback.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a simplified, security-compatible version of video playback functionality by using native HTML5 video elements instead of external plugins. This copying approach replicates the essential video playback capability using only the browser's built-in, security-approved features, eliminating the need for restricted plugin installations.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and a method are disclosed for identifying video files on a webpage and streaming video files to a client device. A server receives browsing data including uniform resource locator for a webpage and identifies missing videos on the webpage. The server identifies a source file for the missing videos including identifying a location for each missing video. The server retrieves a thumbnail for each missing video and provides it to a client device. Additionally, the server transcodes the video file responsive to a user input provided by a user. The transcoded video is streamed to the client device.