Adaptive bit rate system architectures using named domain networking

• US 10,187,680 B2
• Filed: 11/11/2014
• Issued: 01/22/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Oran, Dave
• Primary Examiner(s): Alcon, Fernando
• Application Number:
  US14/538,691
• Publication Number:
  US 20160134915A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,533 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23406 involving management of server-side video buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2385 Channel allocation H04N21/266 takes precedence; Bandwidth allocation H04N21/24 takes precedence ; allocation of channels according to the instantaneous demands of the users in time-division multiplex systems H04J3/1682; admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896; negotiating bandwidth in wireless networks H04W28/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2662 Controlling the complexity of the video stream, e.g. by scaling the resolution or bitrate of the video stream based on the client capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64738 Monitoring network characteristics, e.g. bandwidth, congestion level data switched network analysis H04L41/14; monitoring functioning in data switched networks H04L43/0817; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64769 for rate control flow control in packet networks H04L47/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64776 for requesting retransmission, e.g. of data packets lost or corrupted during transmission from server ARQ protocols H04L1/18; implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16

Abstract

In one implementation, a method includes obtaining a plurality of representations of a digital video asset. The plurality of representations may include a plurality of frames The method also includes generating first data comprising data indicative of temporal dependencies and frame decoding dependencies for the plurality of frames. The frame decoding dependencies may include a plurality of switching points between the plurality of representations of the digital video asset. The method further includes receiving a request for a first representation of the digital video asset from a first computing device and transmitting the first data to the first computing device based on the request. In another implementation, a method includes transmitting a request for a first representation of a plurality of representations of a digital video asset to a first computing device. The plurality of representations may include a plurality of frames. The method also includes receiving first data comprising data indicative of temporal dependencies and frame decoding dependencies for the plurality of frames based on the request. The frame decoding dependencies may include switching points between the plurality of representations of the digital video asset.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

obtaining a plurality of representations of a digital video asset, wherein the plurality of representations comprise a plurality of video frames;

generating an acyclic directed graph comprising a plurality of nodes representing the plurality of video frames and a plurality of arcs representing temporal dependencies and frame decoding dependencies between each video frame of the plurality of video frames, wherein the frame decoding dependencies comprise a plurality of switching points between the plurality of representations of the digital video asset, wherein a first arc of the plurality of arcs is associated with a first switching point from the plurality of switching points and wherein the first arc comprises a quality loss metric;

receiving, from a first computing device, a request for a first representation of the plurality of representations of the digital video asset; and

transmitting, to the first computing device, the acyclic directed graph in response to receiving the request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the plurality of representations of the digital video asset comprises:

generating a plurality of named domain network (NDN) data objects, wherein each NDN data object of the plurality of NDN data object comprises at least a portion of a video frame of the plurality of video frames; and

generating a plurality of NDN names for the plurality of video frames, wherein the plurality of NDN names identifies the plurality of video frames.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the plurality of representations of the digital video asset comprises:

generating a plurality of content centric networking (CCN) data objects, wherein each CCN data object of the plurality of CCN data object comprises at least a portion of a video frame of the plurality of video frames; and

generating a plurality of CCN names for the plurality of video frames, wherein the plurality of CCN names identifies the plurality of video frames.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein each node of the plurality of nodes comprises a storage size of a video frame, an importance level of the video frame, and one or more video quality metrics associated with the video frame.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the first computing device, a first set of requests for a first set of video frames of the first representation, wherein each video frame in the first set of video frames is associated with a first importance level; and

transmitting, to the first computing device, the first set of video frames in response to receiving the first set of requests.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the first computing device, a plurality of requests for a plurality of video frames, wherein the plurality of video frames are not in consecutive order; and

transmitting, to the first computing device, the plurality of video frames in response to receiving the plurality of requests.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the acyclic directed graph comprises:

transmitting a manifest file comprising the acyclic directed graph.

8. A method comprising:

transmitting, to a first computing device, a request for a first representation of a plurality of representations of a digital video asset, the plurality of representations comprising a plurality of video frames; and

receiving, from the first computing device in response to transmitting the request, an acyclic directed graph comprising a plurality of nodes representing the plurality of video frames and a plurality of arcs representing temporal dependencies and frame decoding dependencies between each video frame of the plurality of video frames, wherein the frame decoding dependencies comprise a plurality of switching points between the plurality of representations of the digital video asset, wherein a first arc of the plurality of arcs is associated with a first switching point from the plurality of switching points and wherein the first arc comprises a quality loss metric.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

transmitting, to the first computing device, a request for a first video frame of the first representation; and

receiving, from the first computing device in response to transmitting the request, the first video frame of the first representation.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the first video frame of the first representation comprises:

receiving a named domain network (NDN) data object comprising at least a portion of the first video frame.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein receiving the acyclic directed graph comprises:

receiving a manifest file comprising the acyclic directed graph.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein each node of the plurality of nodes comprises a storage size of a video frame, an importance level of the video frame, and one or more video quality metrics of the video frame.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

adjusting playback of the digital video asset based on the acyclic directed graph.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein adjusting playback of the digital video asset comprises:

identifying a set of nodes from the plurality of nodes based on one or more of a current bandwidth, an estimated bandwidth, or an amount of available space in a buffer;

identifying a set of video frames associated with the set of nodes; and

transmitting, to the first computing device, a set of requests for the set of video frames.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein adjusting playback of the digital video asset comprises:

identifying a set of nodes from the plurality of nodes, wherein each node is associated with a same importance level;

identifying a set of video frames associated with the set of nodes; and

transmitting, to the first computing device, a set of requests for the set of video frames.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein adjusting playback of the digital video asset comprises:

identifying a set of nodes from the plurality of nodes;

identifying a set of video frames associated with the set of nodes, wherein the set of video frames is not in consecutive order; and

transmitting, to the first computing device, a set of requests for the set of frames.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein adjusting playback of the digital video asset comprises:

determining that at least one requested video frame for a portion of the first representation was not received; and

continuing playback of the portion of the digital video asset using received video frames for the portion of the first representation.

18. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

transmitting, to the first computing device, a request for a first video frame of the first representation;

determining that the first video frame was not received during a period of time; and

re-transmitting, to the first computing device, the request for the first video frame.

19. An apparatus, comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory comprising instructions that when executed cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising;

obtaining a plurality of representations of a digital video asset, wherein the plurality of representations comprise a plurality of video frames;

generating an acyclic directed graph comprising a plurality of nodes representing the plurality of video frames and a plurality of arcs representing temporal dependencies and frame decoding dependencies between each video frame of the plurality of video frames, wherein the frame decoding dependencies comprise a plurality of switching points between the plurality of representations of the digital video asset, wherein a first arc of the plurality of arcs is associated with a first switching point from the plurality of switching points and wherein the first arc comprises a quality loss metric;

receiving, from a first computing device, a request for a first representation of the digital video asset; and

transmitting, to the first computing device, the acyclic directed graph in response to receiving the request.