Session Controller Data Stream Prioritization for Video Conferencing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Communication systems, such as video-conferencing, face challenges in maintaining interactivity and image quality as the number of participants grows, leading to increased bandwidth requirements and latency due to the quadratic growth of video streams and potential overload of media servers.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for data stream prioritization, where a session controller collects usage data from client devices to identify active participants and sends instructions to improve the quality of their streams, while deprioritizing less active participants by adjusting compression levels, bandwidth, and latency, thereby optimizing resource allocation and user experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If every participant's video stream is forwarded to all other participants, then interactivity and image quality are maintained, but bandwidth requirements grow quadratically and media servers become overloaded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating the treatment of different data streams based on participant activity levels. Active participants receive high-quality video streams with minimal compression, while inactive participants receive lower-quality streams with higher compression. This selective quality adjustment maintains interactivity for active users while reducing overall bandwidth consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts stream quality based on real-time participant activity detection. The media server continuously monitors usage data and modifies compression levels and bandwidth allocation accordingly. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to optimize the balance between interactivity and bandwidth usage as participant engagement changes during the communication session.
2Power
If a hierarchy of media servers is created to balance workload, then processing capability is improved, but latency increases and interactivity experience degrades
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the media server functionality by creating different processing paths for active and inactive participants. Instead of a single hierarchical structure, the system divides the workload into selective processing paths where only necessary streams are routed through additional processing stages. This segmentation reduces unnecessary latency while maintaining processing capability for critical active participant streams.
3Quantity of substance
If compression levels are increased to reduce bandwidth, then bandwidth efficiency is improved, but image quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by applying different compression levels to different data streams based on participant activity. Active participants receive streams with low compression to maintain high image quality, while inactive participants receive streams with high compression to maximize bandwidth efficiency. This localized approach ensures that image quality is maintained where it matters most while achieving bandwidth savings overall.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for data stream prioritization by a session controller is described. Usage data associated with a video communication session is received for one or more client devices of the video communication session. The usage data is based on content within data streams of the video communication session. A first client device of the one or more client devices is identified as having a higher priority level during the video communication session based on the usage data. Instructions are sent to the first client device during the video communication session causing the first client device to improve a quality of a first data stream generated by the first client device for the video communication session.