Streaming Media Trick Play via Keyframe Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current streaming media technologies do not provide an efficient mechanism for fast forward and fast rewind functions, as they require downloading and buffering the entire media file, making it inconvenient and time-consuming, especially for large media files like 2-hour movies, and do not allow users to navigate through streaming video or audio without displaying the entire content.
Innovation Solution
A data processing system that enables simulated fast forward and rewind motion through streaming media files by generating and storing still images from the audiovisual program, allowing users to navigate through these images without downloading the entire file, using a network interface, processors, and memory to display still images in sequential order, and updating the video output by shifting and replacing images based on user input.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the user attempts to fast forward or fast rewind through streaming media by downloading and buffering the entire media file, then the user can navigate through the content, but the wait time becomes unacceptably long for large media files
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the streaming media file into discrete keyframes distributed throughout the file. Instead of buffering the entire file, the system downloads and buffers only these keyframe segments, allowing users to navigate to any point in the media by displaying the corresponding keyframe without waiting for the rest of the file to download.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary extraction of keyframes from the streaming media file during the initial download phase. These keyframes are prepared in advance and stored in buffer memory, so when users want to navigate to a specific point, the corresponding keyframe is already available for immediate display, eliminating the need to wait for the entire file to download.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the media player downloads and buffers the entire media file before playback, then complete navigation is possible, but the device complexity and memory requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the media file into distributed keyframe segments rather than requiring the entire file to be buffered. Each keyframe represents a specific point in the media and can be independently stored and retrieved, reducing the complexity of managing large buffer memory while maintaining navigation flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts only the essential keyframe data from the complete media file, separating these critical navigation points from the rest of the content. This extraction allows the system to achieve navigation capability with minimal buffering requirements, as only the extracted keyframes need to be stored in memory.
3Speed
If streaming protocols enforce a physical maximum transfer rate, then data transmission is controlled, but fast forward and fast rewind functions cannot be performed at speeds faster than the maximum transfer rate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the media into keyframes that can be independently transmitted and displayed. During fast forward or fast rewind operations, the system can rapidly sequence through these pre-extracted keyframe segments at display rates much faster than the original maximum transfer rate, enabling high-speed navigation without being constrained by the streaming protocol's transfer rate limits.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses periodic display of keyframe segments at high speed during trick play operations. By cycling through the segmented keyframes in rapid periodic intervals, the system creates the perception of fast forward or fast rewind motion at speeds exceeding the original data transfer rate, as the keyframes are already extracted and can be displayed without additional network transmission.
Data Source
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AI summary
Trick play modes for streaming media programs are facilitated using techniques in a data processor that enable simulated fast forward and rewind motion through a streaming media file without requiring the processor to download, buffer, and display all parts of the media file that exist between a user's current viewing position and another position that is earlier or later in the program. Instead, separate still images generated for the program are successively displayed. Further, the still images may be prepared and stored in advance of the time of playing the streaming media file, and delivered to the playback device at the time that a program is selected for viewing. Similar techniques are described for other aspects of a user interface in a video display, such as for selecting programs from among a library of audiovisual programs and selecting episodes of a series audiovisual program.