Video Compression for Cloud Gaming Latency

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current media systems are complex and inefficient, with consumers facing challenges in accessing and enjoying multimedia content due to compatibility issues, obsolescence, and high costs, while game developers and publishers struggle with piracy, development costs, and the need for advanced hardware to run sophisticated games.

Innovation Solution

A hosting service architecture where video games and applications are executed on high-performance servers, with low-latency video compression and decompression handled by client devices, reducing hardware requirements and mitigating piracy, and allowing for subscription-based access to advanced gaming experiences.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If video games and applications are executed locally on high-performance hardware, then gaming performance and user experience are improved, but hardware costs, device complexity, and piracy risks increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvegaming performanceVSAvoidhardware requirements
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the complex game execution and rendering processes from the client device and relocates them to remote server farms. The client device only needs to handle basic video decompression and display, while the computationally intensive game logic, physics calculations, and graphics rendering are performed remotely on high-performance servers, thereby reducing local hardware requirements while maintaining gaming performance

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces video compression and decompression technology as an intermediary mechanism between the remote server and the client device. The server renders high-quality video output, compresses it using advanced algorithms, transmits it over networks, and the client decompresses it for display. This intermediary process enables high-performance gaming experience to be delivered over standard networks without requiring powerful local hardware

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Loss of information

If advanced video compression techniques are used, then video quality and data transmission efficiency are improved, but processing time and computational requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevideo qualityVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies video compression algorithms to the rendered video output before transmission occurs. By pre-compressing the video data on the server side using advanced compression techniques, the system achieves high transmission efficiency and maintains video quality while reducing the data volume that needs to be transmitted over the network, thereby offsetting the computational time required for compression

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements real-time periodic compression and decompression cycles that operate continuously during game playback. The system processes video frames in periodic batches, applying compression to groups of frames and decompressing them at the client side in a rhythmic fashion, which optimizes the balance between processing time and video quality delivery

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

3Ease of operation

If video data is transmitted over networks with variable bandwidth, then accessibility and convenience are improved, but latency and video quality consistency deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveaccessibilityVSAvoidlatency
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements dynamic video compression that adapts to network conditions in real-time. The system continuously monitors bandwidth availability and adjusts compression parameters dynamically, increasing compression ratios when bandwidth is limited and reducing them when bandwidth is abundant, thereby maintaining video quality consistency and minimizing latency despite variable network conditions

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes key compression parameters such as quantization levels, bitrate allocation, and frame rate based on detected network conditions. When network bandwidth decreases, the system increases compression aggressiveness by adjusting these parameters, which reduces data transmission time and latency while maintaining acceptable video quality, thus preserving accessibility over variable bandwidth networks

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP2412160B1System and method for utilizing forward error correction with video compression
Publication Date: 2020.07.08 SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT AMERICA LLC
  • EP2412160B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2412160B1 patent drawingFigure 2a
  • EP2412160B1 patent drawingFigure 2b

AI summary

A computer-implemented system and method are described for performing video compression A method according to one embodiment comprises encoding a plurality of video frames or portions according to a first encoding format, transmitting the plurality of encoded video frames or portions to a client device, receiving feedback information from the client device, the feedback information usable to determine whether data contained in the video frames or portions has not been successfully received and/or decoded, in response to detecting that one or more video frames or portions thereof have not been successfully received and/or decoded, and applying FEC coding to selected frames or applying adaptive FEC coding to the frames and transmitting the new video frame or portion thereof to the client device