Timed Metadata for Content Overlays
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current solutions for providing overlays in streamed content require full implementation of software development kits (SDKs) and complex overlay services, leading to excessive client storage and processing requirements, which limits playback abilities and increases power consumption.
Innovation Solution
A system that includes a server-side editorial GUI for receiving and storing overlay detail selections, a data backplane for obtaining service data, and an overlay metadata generator that converts raw overlay data into overlay trigger code interpretable by the client-side content player, allowing for server-side generation and triggering of overlays with frame and millisecond accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If full SDK implementation and complex overlay services are used on client-side, then overlay functionality is achieved, but client storage and processing requirements become excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex overlay processing logic from the client-side playback application and relocates it to server-side systems. The server generates overlay-triggering code and manages overlay resources, while the client only needs to execute simple instructions to display overlays. This extraction resolves the contradiction by maintaining full overlay functionality while dramatically reducing client-side storage and processing requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces server-side overlay services as an intermediary between the content delivery system and the client playback application. This intermediary handles the complex tasks of overlay generation, timing, and resource management, allowing the client to achieve overlay functionality without implementing complex SDKs locally. The intermediary resolves the contradiction by centralizing complexity on the server while keeping the client lightweight.
2Adaptability or versatility
If client-side processing is used for overlays, then overlay rendering is achieved, but power consumption and processing load on client device increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the energy-intensive overlay processing tasks from the client device and relocates them to server infrastructure. The server performs all heavy lifting including overlay image generation, animation processing, and timing calculations, then sends only lightweight rendering instructions to the client. This extraction resolves the contradiction by maintaining overlay rendering capability while dramatically reducing client device power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The server-side overlay system performs self-service by automatically generating and managing all overlay resources and instructions without requiring client-side processing power. The system prepares complete overlay packages with timing information and sends them to clients for simple playback. This self-service approach resolves the contradiction by eliminating the need for client devices to expend energy on complex overlay processing.
3Reliability
If all possibly-used overlay libraries are loaded onto playback application, then overlay insertion capability is ensured, but client resources are further constrained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts overlay libraries and resources from the client playback application and stores them on server-side systems. The client only downloads and executes lightweight overlay-triggering code that references server-hosted resources. This extraction resolves the contradiction by ensuring overlay insertion capability through server-side resource availability while minimizing client resource consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The server acts as an intermediary that hosts and manages all overlay libraries and resources centrally. Instead of requiring each client to load complete overlay libraries, the server provides resources on-demand and manages their distribution. This intermediary approach resolves the contradiction by ensuring reliable overlay insertion capability through centralized resource management while keeping client resource requirements minimal.
Data Source
AI summary
A server-side content overlay system is provided to generate and trigger time-based content overlays during content playback. The content overlay playback is triggered by metadata provided from the server-side to the playback devices. The metadata includes the details useful for rendering the content overlays by the client playback systems.