Systems and methods for improving quality of service while streaming code-agnostic content

• US 10,601,686 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2017
• Issued: 03/24/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rovi Guides, Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Harb, Reda
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Hitesh
• Application Number:
  US15/785,826
• Publication Number:
  US 20190116101A1
• Time in Patent Office: 889 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/437 Administration of user profiles, e.g. generation, initialisation, adaptation, distribution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/50 Network service management, e.g. ensuring proper service fulfilment according to agreements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/509 wherein the managed service relates to media content delivery, e.g. audio, video or TV
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/75 Media network packet handling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/764 at the destination reformatting of additional data in video clients H04N21/4355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23418 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics television picture signal circuitry for scene change detection H04N5/147; filtering for image enhancement G06T5/00; methods or arrangements for recognising scenes G06V20/00; arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234363 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for clients with a lower screen resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23439 for generating different versions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44004 involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4424 Monitoring of the internal components or processes of the client device, e.g. CPU or memory load, processing speed, timer, counter or percentage of the hard disk space used error monitoring in general G06F11/30; arrangements for monitoring conditions of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/32; diagnosis, testing or measuring for television receivers H04N17/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4756 for rating content, e.g. scoring a recommended movie
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8543 using a description language, e.g. Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Expert Group [MHEG], eXtensible Markup Language [XML] information retrieval of semistructured data, the underlying structure being taken into account, e.g. mark-up language structure data G06F16/80

Abstract

Systems and methods are described for a media guidance application (e.g., implemented on a user device) that improves quality of service while streaming code-agnostic content by optimizing buffering based on bit rate.

Claims

1. A method for improving quality of service while streaming code-agnostic content, the method comprising:

receiving a user input requesting a media asset;

in response to receiving the user input, identifying a first remote server on which the media asset is stored;

requesting a manifest file of the media asset from a second remote server, wherein the manifest file lists a plurality of segments that constitute the media asset, and wherein the manifest file further indicates a threshold bit rate for each segment;

determining, from the manifest file, a first segment sequence for the plurality of segments, wherein the first segment sequence corresponds to a sequence in which each segment of the plurality of segments is displayed during playback of the media asset on a local device;

determining a first threshold bit rate for a first segment of the plurality of segments and a second threshold bit rate for a second segment of the plurality of segments, wherein the first segment occurs before the second segment in the first segment sequence;

comparing the first threshold bit rate and the second threshold bitrate to determine whether the second threshold bit rate is higher than the first threshold bit rate;

determining to buffer, at the local device, the second segment before the first segment in response to determining that the second threshold bit rate is higher than the first threshold bit rate;

buffering, at the local device, the second segment before the first segment, wherein the buffering occurs while a third segment of the plurality of segments is generated for display from the buffer, and wherein the third segment occurs before both the first segment and the second segment in the first segment sequence; and

generating for display, from the buffer, the first segment before the second segment during playback of the media asset on the local device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining to buffer, at the local device, the second segment before the first segment is further in response to determining that current bandwidth conditions support buffering an additional segment of the plurality of segments while the third segment of the plurality of segments is generated for display from the buffer without stalling playback of the third segment.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, from the manifest file, a second segment sequence for the plurality of segments, wherein the second segment sequence corresponds to a sequence in which each segment of the plurality of segments is buffered on the local device in an order based on the threshold bit rate for each segment.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the threshold bit rate for each segment is based on a bit rate required to maintain a predetermined minimum video resolution during playback of each respective segment, wherein the predetermined minimum video resolution for each respective segment is determined by a user preference.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the threshold bit rate for each segment is based on a bit rate required to maintain a predetermined minimum video resolution during playback of each respective segment, wherein the predetermined minimum video resolution for each respective segment is determined by a content provider.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the threshold bit rate for each segment is based on a bit rate required to maintain a predetermined minimum video resolution during playback of each respective segment, and wherein the predetermined minimum video resolution for each respective segment is determined by detecting a threshold number of different colors in each respective segment.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the threshold bit rate for each segment is based on a bit rate required to maintain a predetermined minimum video resolution during playback of each respective segment, and wherein the predetermined minimum video resolution for each respective segment is determined by detecting a threshold number of colors changes for a single pixel location on consecutive frames in each respective segment.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a third threshold bit rate for the third segment of the plurality of segments;

comparing the first threshold bit rate and the third threshold bitrate to determine whether the first threshold bit rate is higher than the third threshold bit rate; and

determining to buffer, at the local device, the third segment before the first segment in response to determining that the third threshold bit rate is not higher than the first threshold bit rate.

9. A system for improving quality of service while streaming code-agnostic content, the system comprising:

control circuitry configured to;

receive a user input requesting a media asset;

in response to receiving the user input, identify a first remote server on which the media asset is stored;

request a manifest file of the media asset from a second remote server, wherein the manifest file lists a plurality of segments that constitute the media asset, and wherein the manifest file further indicates a threshold bit rate for each segment;

determine, from the manifest file, a first segment sequence for the plurality of segments, wherein the first segment sequence corresponds to a sequence in which each segment of the plurality of segments is displayed during playback of the media asset on a local device;

determine a first threshold bit rate for a first segment of the plurality of segments and a second threshold bit rate for a second segment of the plurality of segments, wherein the first segment occurs before the second segment in the first segment sequence;

compare the first threshold bit rate and the second threshold bitrate to determine whether the second threshold bit rate is higher than the first threshold bit rate;

determine to buffer, at the local device, the second segment before the first segment in response to determining that the second threshold bit rate is higher than the first threshold bit rate;

buffer, at the local device, the second segment before the first segment, wherein the buffering occurs while a third segment of the plurality of segments is generated for display from the buffer, and wherein the third segment occurs before both the first segment and the second segment in the first segment sequence; and

generate for display, from the buffer, the first segment before the second segment during playback of the media asset on the local device.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein control circuitry is further configured to determine to buffer, at the local device, the second segment before the first segment is further in response to determining that current bandwidth conditions support buffering an additional segment of the plurality of segments while the third segment of the plurality of segments is generated for display from the buffer without stalling playback of the third segment.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein control circuitry is further configured to determine, from the manifest file, a second segment sequence for the plurality of segments, wherein the second segment sequence corresponds to a sequence in which each segment of the plurality of segments is buffered on the local device in an order based on the threshold bit rate for each segment.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the threshold bit rate for each segment is based on a bit rate required to maintain a predetermined minimum video resolution during playback of each respective segment, wherein the predetermined minimum video resolution for each respective segment is determined by a user preference.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the threshold bit rate for each segment is based on a bit rate required to maintain a predetermined minimum video resolution during playback of each respective segment, wherein the predetermined minimum video resolution for each respective segment is determined by a content provider.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the threshold bit rate for each segment is based on a bit rate required to maintain a predetermined minimum video resolution during playback of each respective segment, and wherein the predetermined minimum video resolution for each respective segment is determined by detecting a threshold number of different colors in each respective segment.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the threshold bit rate for each segment is based on a bit rate required to maintain a predetermined minimum video resolution during playback of each respective segment, and wherein the predetermined minimum video resolution for each respective segment is determined by detecting a threshold number of colors changes for a single pixel location on consecutive frames in each respective segment.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein control circuitry is further configured to:

determine a third threshold bit rate for the third segment of the plurality of segments;

compare the first threshold bit rate and the third threshold bitrate to determine whether the first threshold bit rate is higher than the third threshold bit rate; and

determine to buffer, at the local device, the third segment before the first segment in response to determining that the third threshold bit rate is not higher than the first threshold bit rate.