Fast startup for streaming media

• US 20050262251A1
• Filed: 05/03/2004
• Published: 11/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Klemets, Anders E., Wynn, Tong L., Oliveira, Eduardo P., Bhatt, Sanjay
• Granted Patent: US 7,720,983 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/230
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• 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: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/163 In-band adaptation of TCP data exchange; In-band control procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/164 Adaptation or special uses of UDP protocol
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/165 Combined use of TCP and UDP protocols; selection criteria therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23439 for generating different versions
• 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 21/266 Channel or content management, e.g. generation and management of keys and entitlement messages in a conditional access system, merging a VOD unicast channel into a multicast channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4384 involving operations to reduce the access time, e.g. fast-tuning for reducing channel switching latency
• 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 21/643 Communication protocols network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP], H04L65/65
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8106 involving special audio data, e.g. different tracks for different languages
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73

Abstract

Fast startup for streaming media includes one or both of a technique for predictive start and a technique for switching delivery channel(s) during streaming. Predictive start allows a media content source to predict which media stream(s) are desired by the requesting client device and begin streaming those predicted media stream(s) to the client device. The delivery channel switching technique allows the media content source to begin streaming the media stream(s) using one delivery channel (e.g., using the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)), and then check whether another delivery channel (e.g., using the User Datagram Protocol (UDP)) will work and switch to that other delivery channel if it will work.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

sending, from a client device, a request that one or more media streams be streamed to the client device;

receiving, at a server device, the request;

beginning streaming the one or more media streams from the server device to the client device using TCP (Transmission Control Protocol);

probing, while streaming the one or more media streams from the server device to the client device, whether data can be streamed from the server device to the client device using UDP (User Datagram Protocol); and

switching to streaming the one or more media streams from the server device to the client device using UDP if the probing indicates that data can be streamed from the server device to the client device using UDP, otherwise continuing to stream the one or more media streams from the server device to the client device using TCP.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, the probing comprising:

sending, from the client device to the server device, one or more UDP probing packets;

sending, in response to each of the one or more UDP probing packets, a UDP response packet from the server device to the client device; and

determining, if at least one of the UDP response packets is received by the client device, that at least some data can be streamed from the server device to the client device using UDP, and otherwise determining that data cannot be streamed from the server device to the client device using UDP.

3. One or more computer readable media having stored thereon a plurality of instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to:

receive, from a requester, a request for media content to be streamed to the requestor;

stream at least a portion of the media content to the requestor using Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) packets;

receive, concurrent with the at least a portion of the content being streamed to the requestor, a request to change to using User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packets; and

stream one or more additional portions of the media content to the requestor using UDP packets rather than TCP packets.

4. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 3, the request to change to using UDP packets being received after probing has been performed to determine whether media content can be streamed to the requestor using UDP packets and a determination has been made that media content can be streamed to the requestor using UDP packets, the probing occurring while the at least a portion of the media content is being streamed to the requestor using TCP packets.

5. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 3, the one or more additional portions of the media content streamed to the requestor using UDP packets including none of the at least a portion of the media content streamed to the requestor using TCP packets.

6. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 3, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

send, after receipt of the request to change to using UDP packets, data representing control information to the requestor using TCP packets.

7. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 3, wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to stream the one or more additional portions of the media content to the requestor using UDP packets rather than TCP packets comprise instructions that cause the one or more processors to stream one or more additional portions of only selected media streams of the media content to the requestor using UDP packets rather than TCP packets.

8. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 3, wherein the request to change to using UDP packets comprises a Select request having one or more headers to indicate that the media content is to be streamed to the requestor using UDP packets.

9. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 8, wherein the one or more headers comprises an X-Transport header with an RTP/UDP transport parameter.

10. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 3, the requestor comprising a client device.

11. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 3, the one or more processors being part of a server device.

12. One or more computer readable media having stored thereon a plurality of instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, causes the one or more processors to:

receive, from a media content source, at least a portion of media content using Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) packets;

determine, during receipt of the at least a portion of the media content using TCP packets, whether the media content can be streamed to the device using User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packets; and

send, if the media content can be streamed to the device using UDP packets, a request to the media content source to stream the media content to the device using UDP packets.

13. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 12, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

receive, after having sent the request, data representing the media content using UDP packets and data representing control information using TCP packets.

14. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 12, wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to send the request to the media content source comprise instructions that cause the one or more processors to send a request to the media content source to stream only selected media streams of the media content to the device using UDP packets.

15. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 12, wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to determine whether the media content can be streamed to the device using UDP packets comprise instructions that cause the one or more processors to:

send, to the media content source, a UDP probing packet; and

determine, if a UDP response packet is received from the media content source in response to the UDP probing packet, that the media content can be streamed to the device using UDP packets, and otherwise determine that the media content cannot be streamed to the device using UDP packets.

16. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 12, wherein the media content source comprises a server device.

17. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 12, wherein the request comprises a Select request having an X-Transport header with an RTP/UDP transport parameter to indicate that the media content is to be streamed to the device using UDP packets.

18. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 12, wherein the request comprises a HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP) Post command.

19. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 12, wherein the request comprises a HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP) Get command.

20. A method comprising:

sending, from a client device to a server device, a predictive play request;

predicting, at the server device and in response to the predictive play request, one or more media streams desired by the client device;

streaming at least the predicted one or more media streams from the server device to the client device;

determining, at the client device, whether at least one media stream different from the predicted one or more media streams are selected for streaming to the client device; and

if the at least one media stream different from the predicted one or more media streams are selected for streaming to the client device, then sending, to the server device, an indication of the selected at least one media stream, and streaming from the server device to the client device the selected at least one media stream.

21. A method as recited in claim 20, wherein the at least one media stream different from the predicted one or more media streams is selected to replace at least one of the predicted one or more streams.

22. A method as recited in claim 20, wherein the streaming from the server device to the client device the selected at least one media stream comprises streaming from the server device to the client device the selected at least one media stream in addition to the predicted one or more media streams.

23. One or more computer readable media having stored thereon a plurality of instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, causes the one or more processors to:

receive a predictive play request from a requestor;

predict, in response to the predictive play request, one or more media streams to be streamed to the requester; and

stream the predicted one or more media streams to the requestor.

24. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 23, wherein the predictive play request comprises a request having a “

Pragma;

PredStart=1”

header.

25. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 23, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

receive, from the requester, a request to stream a different media stream other than one of the predicted one or more media streams;

stop streaming the one of the predicted one or more media streams to the requestor; and

begin streaming the different media stream to the requestor.

26. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 25, wherein the request to stream a different media stream other than one of the predicted one or more media streams comprises a Select request having a “

pragma;

stream-switch-entry”

header with one or more parameters to indicate the different media stream.

27. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 23, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

communicate, to the requester, an identification of the predicted one or more streams as well as an identification of one or more additional streams that may be streamed to the requestor.

28. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 23, wherein the requestor comprises a client device.

29. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 23, wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to predict one or more media streams to be streamed to the requestor comprise instructions that cause the one or more processors to predict the one or more media streams to be streamed to the requestor based at least in part on information included in the predictive play request.

30. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 29, wherein the information included in the predictive play request comprises an identification of a connection speed between the requestor and the device.

31. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 29, wherein the information included in the predictive play request comprises an identification of a language desired by the requestor.

32. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 23, wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to predict one or more media streams to be streamed to the requestor comprise instructions that cause the one or more processors to predict the one or more media streams to be streamed to the requestor based at least in part on information, other than information included in the predictive play request, available to the device.

33. One or more computer readable media having stored thereon a plurality of instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, causes the one or more processors to:

send a predictive play request to a media content source; and

receive, in response to the predictive play request, one or more media streams predicted by the media content source as being desired by the device.

34. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 33, wherein the predictive play request comprises a request having a “

Pragma;

PredStart=1”

header.

35. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 33, wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to receive one or more media streams predicted by the media content source as being desired by the device cause the one or more processors to receive the one or more media streams predicted by the media content source as being desired by the device without the device having selected any of the one or more media streams.

36. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 33, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

select a different media stream than one of the one or more media streams predicted by the media content source as being desired by the device;

send, to the media content source, an indication of the different media stream; and

receive, in response to the indication and from the media content source, the different media stream in place of the one of the one or more media streams predicted by the media content source as being desired by the device.

37. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 36, wherein the indication of the different media stream comprises a Select request having a “

pragma;

stream-switch-entry”

header with one or more parameters to indicate the different media stream.

38. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 33, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to:

select a different media stream than the one or more media streams predicted by the media content source as being desired by the device;

send, to the media content source, an indication of the different media stream; and

receive, in response to the indication and from the media content source, the different media stream in addition to the one or more media streams predicted by the media content source as being desired by the device.

39. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 38, wherein the indication of the different media stream comprises a Select request having a “

pragma;

stream-switch-entry”

header with one or more parameters to indicate the different media stream.

40. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 33, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to include, in the predictive play request, information to be used by the media content source in predicting the one or more media streams.

41. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 40, wherein the information included in the predictive play request comprises an identification of a connection speed between the device and the media content source.

42. One or more computer readable media as recited in claim 40, wherein the information included in the predictive play request comprises an identification of a language desired by the device.

43. A method comprising:

sending, from a client device to a server device, a predictive play request;

predicting, at the server device and in response to the predictive play request, one or more media streams desired by the client device;

streaming at least the predicted one or more media streams from the server device to the client device;

determining, at the client device, whether at least one media stream different from the predicted one or more media streams are selected for streaming to the client device;

if the at least one media stream different from the predicted one or more media streams are selected for streaming to the client device, then sending, to the server device, an indication of the selected at least one media stream, and streaming from the server device to the client device the selected at least one media stream rather than at least one of the predicted one or more media streams;

beginning streaming the one or more media streams from the server device to the client device using TCP (Transmission Control Protocol);

probing, while streaming the one or more media streams from the server device to the client device, whether data can be streamed from the server device to the client device using UDP (User Datagram Protocol); and

switching to streaming the one or more media streams from the server device to the client device using UDP if the probing indicates that data can be streamed from the server device to the client device using UDP, otherwise continuing to stream the one or more media streams from the server device to the client device using TCP.