Transcoding Pipeline System for Media Content Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Companies face challenges in efficiently managing and delivering high-quality digital media across various devices and networks with fluctuating bandwidth, leading to increased resource expenditure on media processing systems that divert from their core business.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of pipelines for transcoding jobs, allowing customers to manage and schedule processing tasks, secure content with permissions, and organize transcoding by media type or device type, utilizing cloud computing resources for efficient processing and delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple versions of media content are produced to accommodate various device types, then compatibility and quality of service are improved, but processing time and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements pre-processing and pre-generation of media content in advance. Media assets are transcoded into multiple formats and resolutions before being stored in a content delivery network, so that when a request arrives, the appropriate pre-processed version can be immediately delivered without waiting for real-time transcoding.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides media content into multiple segmented versions with different resolutions, formats, and quality levels. Each segment is independently processed and stored, allowing the system to select and deliver only the specific version needed for a particular device type, rather than processing the entire content for all possible devices.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple versions of media content are produced to accommodate various device types, then compatibility and quality of service are improved, but resource expenditure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal media asset repository where content is stored in multiple formats simultaneously. This universal storage system serves multiple device types through a single infrastructure, allowing the same set of pre-processed assets to be delivered to smartphones, tablets, PCs, and other devices without requiring separate processing systems for each device category.
Solution Approach 2:
By performing resource-intensive transcoding operations in advance during off-peak hours, the system prepares multiple versions of media content before they are needed. This preliminary processing distributes resource consumption over time, preventing resource exhaustion during peak delivery periods while still maintaining the capability to serve multiple device types.
3Adaptability or versatility
If media processing systems are expanded to handle multiple device types, then service coverage is improved, but operational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a media asset manager as an intermediary layer between the content source and various delivery channels. This manager automatically handles format conversion, quality adjustment, and device-type matching, shielding the core processing system from the complexity of supporting multiple device types while expanding service coverage to include smartphones, tablets, PCs, and other devices.
4Loss of information
If real-time transcoding is performed for each media request, then content freshness is improved, but processing speed and user experience deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-generates multiple versions of media content and stores them in advance. When a user requests content, the system quickly retrieves the appropriate pre-processed version based on device type and network conditions, delivering it immediately without performing real-time transcoding. This maintains content freshness while achieving fast delivery speeds.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates multiple copies of media content in different formats and resolutions, storing them alongside the original asset. These copies are pre-prepared versions that can be instantly delivered to matching devices, eliminating the need for time-consuming real-time conversion while ensuring the right format reaches the right device.
Data Source
AI summary
A transcoding service is described that is capable of transcoding or otherwise processing content, such as video, audio or multimedia content, by utilizing one or more pipelines. A pipeline can enable a user to submit transcoding jobs (or other processing jobs) into an available pipeline, where a transcoding service (or other such service) assigns one or more computing resources to process the jobs received to each pipeline. The transcoding service and the pipelines can be provided by at least one service provider (e.g., a cloud computing provider) or other such entity to a plurality of customers. A service provider can also provide the computing resources (e.g., servers, virtual machines, etc.) used to process the transcoding jobs from the pipelines.