Streaming Media Playlist Segmentation and Manifest Generation
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Solution Overview
Problem
As the number of available media streams increases, existing content streaming systems face challenges in managing network capacity and robustness, leading to increased loads on serving content files and associated data files, which can result in inefficiencies and delays in content delivery to client devices.
Innovation Solution
A content streaming system that segments content into multiple streams based on criteria like bandwidth and resolution, generates a manifest file or variant playlist that identifies available streams, and transmits this information to client devices, allowing them to select and download corresponding media segments dynamically based on available bandwidth and other factors, thereby optimizing content delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the number of available media streams is increased to provide more content options, then content variety and adaptability are improved, but server load and network capacity requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments content into multiple streams with different quality levels (e.g., high, medium, low resolution) and organizes them in a manifest file. This allows the system to provide content variety through multiple streams while managing server load by enabling clients to select appropriate quality levels based on their capabilities and network conditions, rather than serving all high-quality streams to all clients.
2Measurement precision
If dynamic playlist requests are implemented to provide real-time stream information, then content delivery accuracy is improved, but request-response delays and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-generates and distributes manifest files containing information about available media streams, their locations, and characteristics. This preliminary action eliminates the need for real-time dynamic requests during content delivery, as clients can obtain stream information in advance from the manifest file, thereby reducing request-response delays while maintaining accurate content delivery information.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple variant streams are served simultaneously to support different device capabilities, then system adaptability is improved, but network capacity and robustness requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by providing different quality versions of the same content in the manifest file (e.g., different resolutions, bitrates) tailored to specific device capabilities and network conditions. Each client can select the appropriate quality level for its local context, achieving device compatibility without requiring the network to robustly support all possible quality levels simultaneously for all clients.
Data Source
AI summary
A device includes a communication interface and one or more processors. The communication interface may receive media guide data, from a media guide server via a network, including information relating to a number of available media items and playlist information relating to at least one available playlist file associated with a particular media item. The one or more processors may receive a user selection of the particular media item and may request the playlist file from a playlist server via the network based on the playlist information via the interface. The interface may receive the playlist file from the playlist server, the playlist file including locations of stream segments corresponding to the selected playlist. The one or more processors may request the stream segments from a content server via the network based on the received playlist file.