Streaming App Skippable Bit Sync to Live

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing live streaming systems face latency issues due to unstable network connections or user interactions like rewind or pause, leading to incomplete content presentation, where users may miss critical scenes or be spoiled by knowing the outcome of events, and current solutions either fail to catch up or do so at the cost of important content.

Innovation Solution

The system dynamically synchronizes a time-shifted frame with a live stream by intelligently skipping subsets of missed content segments based on a skippable bit value, allowing users to catch up while preserving important segments and optimizing network bandwidth usage.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the system keeps playing the content item behind the live streaming to avoid spoilers, then the user experience is preserved, but the user cannot catch up to live and may miss important content

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser experience qualityVSAvoidcatch-up time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The content item is divided into multiple segments with different skippable bit values. Important segments (e.g., goal moments in sports, plot twists in movies) are marked as non-skippable, while less critical segments are marked as skippable. This allows the system to selectively play back only essential content during catch-up, balancing experience quality with time efficiency.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of playing all missed content or none at all, the system applies partial action by playing only the necessary portions of missed content based on skippable bit values. This partial playback approach provides just enough context for the user to understand the live stream without wasting time on redundant information.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

2Productivity

If the system allows instant catch-up to live by skipping all missed segments, then the user can view current content, but important scenes may be missed and context is lost

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecatch-up speedVSAvoidcontent context

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary action by pre-marking important segments with non-skippable bit values before the user needs to catch up. This advance preparation allows the system to automatically identify and preserve critical content moments without requiring real-time analysis, ensuring context is maintained while enabling fast catch-up.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Loss of information

If all missed segments are transmitted to enable complete catch-up, then no content is lost, but network bandwidth is wasted on redundant data

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent completenessVSAvoidnetwork bandwidth

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts and transmits only the essential segments needed for catch-up based on skippable bit values. By taking out only the non-skippable important content and excluding skippable portions, the system minimizes network bandwidth consumption while maintaining content completeness for the user's needs.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

4Ease of operation

If the system provides no catching-up options to simplify operation, then the interface is simple, but the user cannot control their viewing experience

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinterface simplicityVSAvoiduser preference accommodation

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements self-service by automatically analyzing the user's viewing situation, determining the appropriate catch-up strategy based on skippable bit values, and executing the synchronization without requiring user input. This maintains interface simplicity while adapting to different viewing scenarios through automated decision-making.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS11490167B2Systems and methods for dynamically syncing from time-shifted frame to live stream of content

Publication Date: 2022.11.01 ADEIA GUIDES INC

AI summary

Systems and methods for dynamically skipping a presentation of a portion of segments to catch up to live based on a skippable bit value is disclosed herein. For example, a streaming application generates a content item for live streaming where the content item comprises a plurality of segments. In response to determining that playing of the content item lags behind the live streaming of the content item, the streaming application determines a skippable bit value for a segment that follows the last played segment based on a manifest which includes skippable bit information. If the segment includes a first skippable bit value, requesting data for the segment may be skipped. For a corresponding segment subsequent to the skipped segment, if the corresponding segment includes a second skippable bit, data for the corresponding segment is requested and the corresponding segment is played from a respective network address.