Streaming Media Transmuxing via Intermediate Request Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Content producers face complexity in delivering multimedia content across multiple devices and standards due to disparate HTTP-based adaptive streaming solutions, which require different formatting, retrieval, and playback protocols, leading to increased storage and bandwidth costs, as well as the need to support various network infrastructures and client algorithms.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for delivering streaming media content that uses a mapping module to convert client requests into an intermediate request format, allowing content fragments to be transmitted in a compatible format between the origin server and client device, while maintaining the original encoding format, and includes a session management module for monitoring and managing client sessions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple disparate streaming standards are supported, then device compatibility is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediate server that acts as a mediator between the origin server and client devices. This intermediate server receives requests from clients using different streaming standards (Apple HLS, Microsoft Smooth Streaming, Adobe HDS) and translates them into a unified protocol for communication with the origin server. By inserting this intermediary layer, the system achieves multi-standard compatibility without requiring the origin server to directly support multiple complex protocols, thus resolving the contradiction between adaptability and system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediate server is designed with multi-functional capabilities to handle multiple streaming protocols simultaneously. It can parse requests from different client types, translate various manifest formats (m3u8, ism, f4m), and manage diverse container formats (MP4, TS, MOV) through a single unified system. This universal design allows one server to serve multiple functions that would otherwise require separate specialized servers, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining broad device compatibility.
2Adaptability or versatility
If content is delivered in multiple formats for different devices, then adaptability is improved, but storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediate server eliminates the need for the origin server to store multiple format versions of the same content. By maintaining a single unified content repository and performing format translation on-demand, the system reduces storage requirements from storing duplicate content in multiple formats to storing one master version that can be adapted to any client format requirement through the intermediary's translation capabilities.
3Adaptability or versatility
If format conversion is performed, then client compatibility is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The intermediate server performs preliminary parsing and analysis of client requests to identify the required format specifications before initiating the conversion process. It pre-prepares translation mappings and selects appropriate conversion algorithms in advance, reducing the actual processing time during content delivery. This preliminary action allows the system to quickly adapt content formats without significant delays during the streaming process.
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems and methods for providing a full reverse translating proxy for streaming media content, which can employ session tracking or transmuxing, or both. The described system can be integrated seamlessly into an existing adaptive streaming environment. The system can transmux each request from a client into a delivery format supported by an origin content server, and vice versa, irrespective of the specific delivery format used by either the client or server. Conversely, the system can further transmux the requested content into the delivery format used by the client. A stateful session model can link each request from a specific end user for a specific piece of content to a particular identified client streaming session.