Web App Synchronization via HTML5 Text Track Cues
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current web browser technologies face challenges in synchronizing web applications with media playback, particularly in enhanced television (ETV) and dynamic advertisement insertion, as they struggle to coordinate application activities with streamed media programs effectively.
Innovation Solution
The system generates and utilizes HTML5-compliant text track cues within a web browser to synchronize web applications with media playback, leveraging in-band synchronization data such as metadata and subtitles text tracks, allowing for timely execution of web applications and dynamic advertisement insertion by announcing text track cues to user agents and assigning event handlers for precise execution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If web applications are loaded and executed during media playback, then application functionality is provided, but synchronization with media playback timing is difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts synchronization information from text tracks (subtitles, captions, metadata) before media playback begins. This preliminary extraction allows the browser to pre-compute timing data and associate it with media segments, enabling applications to be loaded and executed at precisely the correct moments during playback without real-time synchronization difficulties.
Solution Approach 2:
Text tracks serve as an intermediary carrier that contains both synchronization information and timing data. The browser uses these text tracks as a mediator between the media stream and application execution, extracting timing cues from the text track metadata to coordinate application loading with media playback timing.
2Measurement precision
If text track cues are extracted and processed, then synchronization precision is improved, but processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the necessary synchronization information from text tracks, specifically timing data and cue information. By taking out only the relevant synchronization metadata rather than processing the entire text track content, the system achieves precise synchronization timing while minimizing processing complexity and computational overhead.
Solution Approach 2:
The text track processing is segmented into discrete cues and timing segments. Each text track cue is processed independently as a separate unit, allowing the browser to handle synchronization information in manageable chunks rather than processing the entire text track at once, thereby reducing overall processing complexity.
3Ease of operation
If web applications are executed during media playback, then user interaction is enabled, but interruption of audio/video stream may occur
Solution Approach 1:
Applications are loaded and prepared in advance based on pre-extracted synchronization information from text tracks. This preliminary loading ensures that when the media player needs to execute an application, it is already ready to run without interrupting the audio/video stream, as the application resources are pre-fetched and prepared during non-blocking operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts application execution timing based on real-time media playback state and text track cue information. Applications are triggered at optimal moments when the media stream is in appropriate states, allowing user interactions to occur without disrupting audio/video continuity, as the system adapts execution timing to maintain stream reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A method to facilitate synchronizing web applications with media playing within a web browser while rendering a web page. The synchronization allowing web applications to be executed during play of IP transmitted media without the web browser having to pre-load the web applications or re-load the web page.