Method to measure the perceived quality of streaming media

• US 20060288391A1
• Filed: 08/23/2006
• Published: 12/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Puthiyedath, Leena K.
• Granted Patent: US 7,647,616 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/89
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• 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 43/50 Testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS

Abstract

A method and system of analyzing the perceived quality of streaming media that includes transmitting at least one data packet from a stream sender to a stream receiver via a network connection; analyzing the data packets at the stream receiver, where the stream receiver determines whether there are data packets missing from the stream sender'"'"'s data packets; requesting retransmission of specific data packets missing from the stream receiver; and retransmitting at least one specific data packet missing from the stream sender to the stream receiver.

Claims

1. A computer readable medium encoded with a program having instructions, the instructions when executed, causing a stream receiver to:

receive, from a stream sender, a data stream of data packets having a known arrangement at the stream receiver via a network connection;

store the data stream of data packets into both an original data buffer and a rendered data buffer at substantially a same time after receipt at the stream receiver;

analyze the received data packets received at the stream receiver and stored in the original data buffer to determine whether any missing known data packets in the known data packet arrangement were not transmitted and received by the stream receiver; and

request the stream sender to retransmit any missing known data packets not received at the stream receiver.

2. The medium of claim 1, wherein the analyzing procedure is performed by comparing the data packets received at the stream receiver and stored in the original data buffer to the known arrangement of data packets.

3. The medium of claim 1, the instructions when executed, causing the stream receiver to:

recreate the data packets from the stream sender at the original data buffer by integrating the missing known data packets from a retransmission into the data packets stored at the original data buffer.

4. The medium of claim 3, the instructions, when executed, causing the stream receiver to:

transmit contents of the original data buffer and contents of the rendered data buffer to a perception quality measuring device in order for the perception quality measurement device to calculate a quality score

5. The medium of claim 4, wherein recreating the data packets from the stream sender at the original data buffer includes at least one of the following:

(1) reordering out of sequence data packets; and

(2) discarding duplicate data packets; and

6. The medium of claim 4, wherein recreating the data packets from the stream sender at the original data buffer includes synchronizing audio and video data packets in the original data buffer.

7. A method of receiving and comparing data streams, comprising:

receiving, from a stream sender, a data stream of data packets having a known arrangement at a stream receiver via a network connection;

storing the data stream of data packets into both an original data buffer and a rendered data buffer at substantially a same time after receipt at the stream receiver;

analyzing the received data packets received at the stream receiver and stored in the original data buffer to determine whether any missing known data packets in the known data packet arrangement were not transmitted and received by the stream receiver; and

requesting the stream sender to retransmit any missing known data packets not received at the stream receiver.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the analyzing procedure is performed by comparing the data packets received at the stream receiver and stored in the original data buffer to the known arrangement of data packets.

9. The method of claim 7, further including:

recreating the data packets from the stream sender at the original data buffer by integrating the missing known data packets from a retransmission into the data packets stored at the original data buffer.

10. The method of claim 9, further including

transmitting contents of the original data buffer and contents of the rendered data buffer to a perception quality measuring device in order for the perception quality measurement device to calculate a quality score

11. The method of claim 9, wherein recreating the data packets from the stream sender at the original data buffer includes at least one of the following:

(1) reordering out of sequence data packets; and

(2) discarding duplicate data packets; and

12. The method of claim 9, wherein recreating the data packets from the stream sender at the original data buffer includes synchronizing audio and video data packets in the original data buffer.

13. A method comprising:

transmitting a data stream of data packets having a known arrangement from a stream sender to a stream receiver via a network connection;

storing the data stream of data packets into both an original data buffer and a rendered data buffer at substantially the same time after receipt at the stream receiver;

analyzing the transmitted data packets received at the stream receiver and stored in the original data buffer to determine whether any missing known data packets in the known data packet arrangement were not received by the stream receiver;

requesting the stream sender to retransmit any missing known data packets not received at the stream receiver; and

retransmitting any missing known data packets from the stream sender to the stream receiver.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the storing of the data stream packets occurs after analyzing a time stamp of the transmitted data packets.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the analyzing procedure is performed by comparing the data packets received at the stream receiver and stored in the original data buffer to the known arrangement of data packets.

16. The method of claim 13, the method further including:

recreating the data packets from the stream sender at the original data buffer by integrating the missing known data packets from the retransmission into the data packets stored at the original data buffer.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein recreating the data packets from the stream sender at the original data buffer includes at least one of the following:

(1) reordering out of sequence data packets;

(2) discarding duplicate data packets;

or

(3) synchronizing audio and video data packets.

18. The method of claim 13, the method further including:

transmitting, from the stream receiver to a device, the recreated data packets in the original data buffer and the data packets stored in the rendered data buffer, and

comparing, at a device, the recreated data packets in the original data buffer to the data packets stored at the rendered data buffer to form a perceived quality of streaming data score; and

sending, from the device, the perceived quality of streaming data score to a third party for evaluation purposes.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the rendered data buffer delays transmitting the stored data packets to the device until the missing known data packets are integrated into the data packets stored at the original data buffer.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the third party evaluates the perceived quality of streaming data score to track the Service Level Agreements at the stream receiver.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the device sends the perceived quality of streaming data store to an analyzer and the analyzer evaluates the perceived quality of streaming data score to allocate sufficient bandwidth to provide acceptable quality of service to the stream receiver.

22. A system comprising:

a stream sender configured to transmit a data stream of data packets having a known arrangement via a network connection;

a stream receiver to receive the data stream of data packets, to copy the data stream of data packets to an original data buffer and a rendered data buffer at substantially the same time after receipt at the stream receiver, and to analyze the transmitted data stream of data packets received from the stream sender to determine whether any missing known data packets in the known data packet arrangement were not received by the stream receiver, the stream receiver also including a retransmit protocol configured to allow the stream receiver to request the stream sender to retransmit any missing known data packets not received at the stream receiver and the stream sender to retransmit any missing knows data packets to the stream receiver; and

a device configured to form a perceptual quality measurement score based on contents of the original data buffer and the rendered data buffer.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the stream receiver is configured to analyze by comparing the received data packets with the known arrangement of data packets.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the original data buffer recreates the data packets transmitted from the stream sender, using a recreation process that includes at least one of the following:

(1) reordering out of sequence data packets;

(2) discarding duplicate data packets;

or

(3) synchronizing audio and video data packets.

25. The system of claim 22, wherein the device transmits the perceptual quality measurement score to an analyzer and the analyzer analyzes the perceptual quality measurement score to allocate sufficient bandwidth to provide acceptable quality of service to the stream receiver.

26. The system of claim 22, wherein the device transmits the perceptual quality measurement score to a third party evaluator and the third party evaluator analyzes the perceptual quality measurement score to track meeting Service Level Agreements at the stream receiver.

27. The system of claim 22, the system further includes

a plurality of stream sender locations;

a plurality of stream receiver locations; and

a plurality of third party evaluators,

wherein the plurality of stream sender locations and the plurality of stream receiver locations are configured to form the perceptual quality measurement score.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the plurality of stream sender locations and the plurality of stream receiver locations are configured for multicasting.

29. The system of claim 27, wherein the plurality of stream sender locations and stream receiver locations are configured for conversation with any number of stream sender locations and stream receiver locations.