Streaming Media Segmentation and Quality Prioritization

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Solution Overview

Problem

Streaming connections often have insufficient bandwidth to reliably stream media at high quality, leading to underutilization of available bandwidth when streaming at lower quality.

Innovation Solution

Determine the capacity and streaming bandwidth of a connection, identify segments that can be streamed at higher quality, and pre-cache these segments using the available bandwidth, allowing for intelligent streaming of higher quality content when bandwidth permits.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If media is streamed at high quality over a limited bandwidth connection, then media quality is improved, but bandwidth capacity is exceeded and streaming reliability deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemedia qualityVSAvoidstreaming reliability
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The media content is divided into multiple segments that can be independently processed and prioritized. The system identifies and prioritizes important segments for pre-caching at higher quality, while less critical segments are streamed in real-time at lower quality, resolving the contradiction between quality and reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary analysis to identify important media segments before streaming begins. These identified segments are pre-cached in the buffer using available bandwidth, ensuring they can be rendered at high quality without real-time bandwidth constraints, thus maintaining both quality and reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Productivity

If media is streamed at lower quality to match limited bandwidth, then bandwidth utilization is improved, but media quality deteriorates and available bandwidth is underutilized

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvebandwidth utilizationVSAvoidmedia quality
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

Different quality levels are applied to different segments of media based on their importance. Critical segments are delivered at high quality through pre-caching, while non-critical segments use lower quality streaming, optimizing overall bandwidth utilization without uniformly sacrificing quality.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically changes the quality parameter of media segments based on their identified importance and bandwidth availability. Important segments are rendered at higher quality parameters while less important segments use lower quality parameters, maximizing bandwidth utilization efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Manufacturing precision

If all media segments are streamed at high quality, then media quality is improved, but bandwidth consumption increases beyond connection capacity

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemedia qualityVSAvoidbandwidth consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of applying high quality to all media segments, the system applies high quality only to the partial set of identified important segments. This partial action approach ensures high quality delivery where needed while keeping overall bandwidth consumption within connection capacity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

4Manufacturing precision

If important media segments are pre-cached in buffer, then rendering quality is improved, but buffer memory requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improverendering qualityVSAvoidbuffer size
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSVolume of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The buffer is used to cache only the partial set of identified important media segments rather than all segments. This selective pre-caching approach improves rendering quality for critical content while minimizing buffer memory requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP3993431A1Streaming media
Publication Date: 2022.05.04 GOOGLE LLC
  • EP3993431A1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3993431A1 patent drawingFigure 3
  • EP3993431A1 patent drawing

AI summary

A computer-implemented method performed by a data processing apparatus, the method comprising: receiving a media, wherein the media is one of a video and an audio track; dividing the media into a plurality of sections, each with a section start and a section end; scoring each of the plurality of sections of the media based on at least one attribute of each of the plurality of sections to obtain a priority score for each of the plurality of sections; sending a first section of the media from the plurality of sections to be rendered on a remote device at a first quality, wherein the first section comprises a third quality and is rendered on the remote device at the first quality which is lower than the third quality; and sending a second section of the media from the plurality of sections to be rendered on the remote device at a second quality, wherein at least a portion of the second section is sent concurrently with the first section, the second section has a higher priority score than the first section, and the second quality is higher than the first quality, wherein a portion of streaming bandwidth used to send the first section at the first quality is less than a portion of streaming bandwidth used to send the first section at the third quality, and wherein a portion of streaming bandwidth that is the difference between the portion of streaming bandwidth used to send the first section at the first quality and the portion of streaming bandwidth used to send the first section at the third quality is used to send the second section at the second quality.