Web Page Rendering Time Measurement via Video Capture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Measuring user-perceived webpage load time is complex due to existing methods focusing on network activity, which fail to accurately capture the rendering of content visible to the user, leading to rough approximations and added delays from browser plug-ins.
Innovation Solution
A browser-independent method involving video capture and image analysis to determine when a webpage is completely rendered by analyzing pixel changes over time, allowing for precise measurement of rendering times for entire pages or sub-regions, and enabling comparison across different browsers and websites.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If network activity monitoring techniques are used to measure web page load time, then measurement can be implemented, but the measurement accuracy is poor and only provides rough approximation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent captures video frames of the actual rendered webpage content displayed to the user, creating a visual copy of what the user sees. This allows direct measurement of rendering time by analyzing the video data, rather than inferring from network activity. The video capture copies the final rendered output, enabling precise measurement of when content actually appears on screen.
2Measurement precision
If browser plug-ins are used to measure web page load time, then measurement capability is added, but page loading delays increase and performance degrades
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses video capture as an intermediary mechanism to measure rendering time without requiring browser plug-ins. By capturing the display output through video recording, the system indirectly measures rendering performance without injecting any code or plugin into the browser, thus avoiding the performance overhead and delays that plugins would cause.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/software-based plug-in approach with an optical/electronic video capture approach. Instead of using browser extensions that run JavaScript and interfere with page execution, the system uses video recording of the display, substituting a non-intrusive measurement method that does not affect browser performance or page loading speed.
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive video analysis is performed on entire webpage rendering, then complete rendering time is captured, but processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the webpage into different regions and allows selective analysis of specific areas rather than processing the entire page uniformly. Users can define regions of interest and mask out irrelevant areas, dividing the complex rendering analysis into manageable segments that can be processed more efficiently with reduced computational overhead.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial analysis by allowing users to focus on specific regions of the webpage rather than analyzing every pixel of the entire page. By masking irrelevant regions and concentrating processing power on areas of interest, the system achieves sufficient measurement accuracy with reduced computational complexity and faster processing times.
Data Source
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AI summary
Various embodiments provide approaches for measuring the rendering times of a webpage that can be browser-independent. In at least some embodiments, as a web page is rendered, video data of the webpage is captured and analyzed to ascertain when the webpage, or portions thereof, have likely been completely rendered. In at least some embodiments, image processing can be performed on captured video data to ascertain, from observed pixel changes over time, when the webpage has likely been rendered.