Multipath delivery for adaptive streaming

• US 10,034,048 B2
• Filed: 02/16/2011
• Issued: 07/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Madison Patent Holdings (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Thomson Licensing Dtv
• Inventors: Bichot, Guillaume, Gouache, Stephane
• Primary Examiner(s): Naji, Younes
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ton, Da T
• Application Number:
  US13/577,954
• Publication Number:
  US 20120311174A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,715 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/613 for the control of the source by the destination control signals issued by the client directed to the server or network components specially adapted for selective content distribution H04N21/637
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/752 adapting media to network capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/14 Multichannel or multilink protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44209 Monitoring of downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. bandwidth variations of a wireless network arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4621 Controlling the complexity of the content stream or additional data, e.g. lowering the resolution or bit-rate of the video stream for a mobile client with a small screen arrangements for using the results of monitoring on user's side in broadcast systems H04H60/65; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/631 Multimode Transmission, e.g. transmitting basic layers and enhancement layers of the content over different transmission paths or transmitting with different error corrections, different keys or with different transmission protocols

Abstract

A method and apparatus for delivering content via adaptive streaming technique over multiple communication paths between a client and a server are described. The method includes measuring a first, and respectively a second, available bit rate on the first, and respectively second, path, determining a requested bit rate from the measured first and second available bit rates, sending a first request via the first path for receiving a first part of the chunk of content identified by the time index i and by the requested bit rate and a second request via the second path for receiving a second part of the chunk of content, the first and second chunks of content being complementary, the size of each of the chunks being computed from the available bit rate and receiving the requested first, and respectively second, part via the first, and respectively second, path.

Claims

1. A method for providing a content to be rendered at a client device, said client device including at least a first communication interface having a first communication address, said content being accessible to the client device via at least first server and second server communication interfaces having second and third communication addresses respectively, a first path being identified by the first communication address of said first communication interface and by the second communication address of the first server communication interface, at least a second path being identified by the first communication address of said first communication interface and by the third communication address of the at least second server communication interface, said content being accessible to said client device via at least said first server and said second server communication interfaces, or said client device including at least said first communication interface and a fourth communication interface, wherein said fourth communication interfaces having a fourth communication address, said content being accessible to the client device via at least said first server communication interface having said second communication address, a third path being identified by the first communication address of said first communication interface and by the second communication address of said first server communication interface, at least a fourth path being identified by the fourth communication address of said fourth communication interface and by the second communication address of the at least first server communication interface, said content being available under at least two versions having an encoding quality corresponding to a supported bit rate constraint, each of said at least two versions being temporally split into chunks corresponding to an identical rendered duration of the content, a chunk being identified by a time index i and by one of the supported bit rates, said content being simultaneously accessible by said client device though said first and said at least second path or said third path and said at least fourth path, wherein the method comprises, at the client device:

determining a first available bit rate on the first path and at least a second available bit rate on the at least second path or determining said first available bit rate on the third path and at least a second available bit rate on the at least fourth path;

receiving by the client device a list of the supported bit rates via at least one of the paths and further receiving for each supported bit rates sizes of the chunks;

determining a requested bit rate from among the supported bit rates from the determined first available bit rate and from the at least determined second available bit rate;

sending a first request via the first path or the third path for receiving a first part of the chunk identified by the time index i and the determined requested bit rate and sending at least a second request via the at least second path or the at least fourth path for receiving at least a second part of said identified chunk, said first part and at least a second part of the chunk being complementary, each of said first and at least a second part of the chunk having a size being computed from the determined first available bit rate and from the at least determined second available bit rate, the requested first part having a first size, the requested second part having a second size, a ratio between said first size and said second size being equal to a ratio between the determined first available bit rate and the at least determined second available bit rate;

receiving the requested first part via the first path or the third path and the at least requested second part via the at least second path or the at least fourth path.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining the requested bit rate comprises evaluating a sum of the determined first available bit rate and of the at least determined second available bit rate and the requested bit rate is determined from the sum.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the determining the requested bit rate consists of selecting a largest bit rate among the supported bit rates which is lower than or equal to the sum of the determined first available bit rate and of the at least determined second available bit rate minus a provision.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein a first threshold value for a targeted requested bit rate is determined and wherein the determining the requested bit rate consists of selecting a largest bit rate among the supported bit rates which is lower than or equal to the first threshold value minus a provision.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein, the requested first part has a first size, said first size is proportional to a size of the chunk identified by the time index i and the determined requested bit rate and a ratio between the determined first available bit rate and the sum.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining the first and the at least second available bit rates, the receiving the list of the supported bit rates, the determining the requested bit rate, the sending the first and second requests for receiving the first part and the second part of the chunk and the receiving the requested first part and the at least the requested second part of the chunk are carried out each time said chunk is completely received by the client device.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises determining whether the first and at least second available bit rates determined over the paths are larger than a second threshold value.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining said first and second available bit rates consists of computing a round trip time of one of said first request and said second request sent by the client device through said first and at least second path and of an acknowledgment message sent in response to said first and second requests through said at least first and second path.

9. The method according to claim 1, said client device further comprising a fifth communication interface having a fifth communication address, said content being accessible to the client device via a third server communication interface having a sixth communication address, a fifth path being identified by the fifth communication address of said fifth communication interface and by the sixth communication address of the third server communication interface, the requested bit rate being determined from said first, said second and a third available bit rates determining respectively on said first or third paths, on said second or fourth paths and on said fifth path, the client device having requested said first part of the chunk identified by the time index i and the requested bit rate via the first path or the third path, said second part of said chunk via the second path or the fourth path, a third part of said chunk via the fifth path, said content being simultaneously accessible by said client device through said first path or said third path, on said second path or said fourth path, and on said fifth path, wherein the method involves, at said client device:

a. when the requested first and second parts of said chunk are completely received by said client device, a first fragment of the third part being received by the client device, a second fragment of the third part being complementary to said first fragment, and when the client device has determined that the available bit rate over the fifth path is less than a third threshold value, sending a request via the first path or the third path for receiving a first complementary part of said second fragment and sending a request via the second path or the fourth path for receiving a second complementary part of the said second fragment, said first and second complementary parts having no overlap and aggregation of both said first and second complementary parts resulting in the whole second fragment.

10. A client device for receiving a content to be rendered, said client device comprising one or more processors, at least a first communication interface having a first communication address, said content being accessible to the client device via at least a first server and a second server communication interfaces having second and third communication addresses respectively, a first path being identified by the first communication address of said first communication interface and by the second communication address of the first server communication interface, at least a second path being identified by the first communication address of said first communication interface and by the third communication address of the at least second server communication interface, said content being accessible to said client device via at least said first server and said second server communication interfaces, or said client device including at least said first communication interface and a fourth communication interface, wherein said fourth communication interface having a fourth communication address, said content being accessible to the client device via at least said first server communication interface having said second communication address, a third path being identified by the first communication address of said first communication interface and by the second communication address of said first server communication interface, at least a fourth path being identified by the fourth communication address of said fourth communication interface and by the second communication address of the at least first server communication interface, said content being available under at least two versions having an encoding quality corresponding to a supported bit rate constraint, each of said at least two versions being temporally split into chunks corresponding to an identical duration of the content, a chunk being identified by a time index i and by the supported bit rate, said content being simultaneously accessible by said client device though said first and a said at least second path or said third path and said at least fourth path, and wherein the one or more processors of said client device is adapted to:

determine a first available bit rate on the first path and at least a second available bit rate on the at least second path or determining said first available bit rate on the third path and at least a second available bit rate on the at least fourth path;

receive by the client device a list of the supported bit rates via at least one of the paths and further receiving for each supported bit rates sizes of the chunks;

determine a requested bit rate from among the supported bit rates from the determined first available bit rate and from the at least determined second available bit rate;

send a first request via the first path or the third path for receiving a first part of the chunk identified by the time index i and the determined requested bit rate and sending at least a second request via the at least second path or the at least fourth path for receiving at least a second part of said identified chunk, said first part and at least a second part of the chunk being complementary, each of said first and at least a second part of the chunk having a size being computed from the determined first available bit rate and from the at least determined second available bit rate, the requested first part having a first size, the requested second part having a second size, a ratio between said first size and said second size being equal to a ratio between the determined first available bit rate and the at least determined second available bit rate;

receive the requested first part via the first path or the third path and the at least requested second part via the at least second path or the at least fourth path.

11. The client device according to claim 10, wherein the one or more processors is adapted for evaluating a sum of the determined first available bit rate and of the determined second available bit rate and for selecting a largest bit rate among the supported bit rates which is lower than or equal to the sum of the determined first available bit rate and of the determined second available bit rate minus a provision.

12. The client device according to claim 10, wherein the one or more processors is adapted to determine whether the determined first and the at least second available bit rates exceed a first threshold and to send the request for receiving said first part and said at least a second part of the chunks exclusively for paths over which the one or more processors determines the determined first and the at least second available bit rates are greater than the first threshold value.