Trickplay Frame Prediction and Parallel Requesting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Implementing trickplay playback for streaming digital media is challenging due to variable and unpredictable transmission and latency delays in network connections, which affect the smooth retrieval and display of digital video frames.
Innovation Solution
A method that involves predicting additional video frames during trickplay playback and requesting them in advance over separate network connections to mitigate delays, allowing for smoother playback by advancing the frame request timing and comparing predicted frames with determined frames for display.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If video frames are requested in real-time during trickplay playback, then the playback control responsiveness is improved, but variable transmission and latency delays cause unpredictable playback performance
Solution Approach 1:
The system requests video frames in advance before they are actually needed for playback. When a trickplay command is received, the client device proactively requests multiple future frames immediately, rather than waiting for real-time playback needs. This preliminary action buffers against network delays, ensuring frames are available when needed for smooth, predictable playback.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a time buffer by requesting frames ahead of the actual playback timeline. This cushioning effect absorbs the variability of network transmission delays, as the advance requests ensure frames are already in transit or received before their playback moment arrives, preventing delays from disrupting the visual cadence.
2Reliability
If multiple video frames are requested simultaneously over separate network connections, then the impact of variable delays is reduced, but the network resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the frame retrieval process into multiple parallel network connections. Instead of requesting all advance frames over a single connection, it segments the requests across multiple connections, allowing simultaneous transmission of multiple frames. This segmentation reduces the impact of any single connection's variability while distributing network resource usage.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the number of advance frames requested and the number of parallel connections used based on network conditions and playback requirements. By changing parameters such as the lookahead distance (how many frames ahead to request) and connection parallelism, it optimizes the balance between retrieval reliability and network resource consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
An embodiment of a method of requesting and receiving a media stream can include, as performed by a computing device, responsive to a control input to control an enhanced playback mode for a media stream, determining a video frame to display in the enhanced playback mode of the media stream; requesting the determined frame from a media source over at least one connection between the computing device and the media source; predicting a second video frame for the enhanced playback mode; and requesting the predicted second frame from the media source over the at least one connection before receiving the determined video frame over the at least one connection.