Streaming Relay for Digital Signage Content Delivery

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Solution Overview

Problem

Developing content players for digital signage display devices is challenging due to varying hardware and software capabilities, limited support for file systems, runtime engines, and private APIs, leading to delays in supporting new devices and adapting to web standards like HTML and CSS.

Innovation Solution

A streaming relay system that renders digital signage content as a visual flow, slices it into frames, and transforms them into video streams using IP multicasts or other protocols, leveraging streaming media players supported by most devices, and implementing a renderer and encoder module on a server to deliver content efficiently across multiple display devices.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If content players are developed for each display device to support varying hardware and software capabilities, then device compatibility is improved, but development time and complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedevice compatibilityVSAvoidcontent player development complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a streaming relay system as an intermediary between the content source and display devices. This relay receives content in a standard format, converts it to device-specific formats, and delivers it to various display devices. This mediator approach allows universal content delivery without requiring custom players for each device type.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of having display devices request and receive custom-formatted content through device-specific players, the system inverts the approach by having a central relay push converted content to devices. The conversion logic moves from the device端 to the server端, simplifying device requirements.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

2Adaptability or versatility

If custom content players are developed for each display device, then support for private APIs and hardware capabilities is improved, but programming effort and computational resources increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesupport for private APIs and hardware capabilitiesVSAvoidprogramming effort

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The streaming relay acts as an intermediary that handles all the complex format conversions and API adaptations centrally. Display devices only need simple receivers, while the relay contains all the intelligence for adapting content to various private APIs and hardware capabilities through a unified interface.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates standardized content representations that can be copied and distributed to multiple devices. Instead of creating unique content versions for each device, the relay copies and transforms the same source content into appropriate formats for different devices, reducing programming effort.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

3Ease of operation

If on-premise solutions are used for digital signage delivery, then control and customization are improved, but scalability and remote management capability deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontrol and customization capabilityVSAvoidscalability and remote management

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The streaming relay system provides multi-functionality by combining the benefits of on-premise control with cloud-based scalability. It can operate as a local server for immediate control while also supporting remote content delivery and management, serving multiple functions across different deployment scenarios.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically adapts its operation mode based on deployment needs. It can function as a fully on-premise solution, a cloud-based service, or a hybrid approach, allowing the architecture to be flexible and scalable while maintaining control capabilities through the centralized relay management.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

4Adaptability or versatility

If SaaS cloud solutions are used for digital signage delivery, then scalability and remote management are improved, but control and customization capability deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvescalability and remote managementVSAvoidcontrol and customization capability

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The streaming relay provides universal functionality that works in both SaaS and on-premise deployments. The same core architecture supports cloud-based scalability while maintaining local control capabilities, making the system adaptable to different operational requirements without sacrificing either scalability or control.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS10972511B2Streaming relay for digital signage

Publication Date: 2021.04.06 ADOBE INC

AI summary

Digital signage techniques are disclosed that utilize streaming technology to deliver digital signage content to digital signage display devices. In some examples, a method may include rendering a digital signage content frame by frame, capturing an image of each rendered frame, transforming the captured image of each rendered frame into a video frame of a video stream, and delivering the video stream to at least one remote display device. The captured image may be an image of a portion of the rendered frame. The display devices that receive the video stream may render the video stream using a streaming media player.