Enhanced methods for media processing and distribution

• US 20060294128A1
• Filed: 05/22/2006
• Published: 12/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kula Media Group, KULA Media Group Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Kula Media Group
• Inventors: Gottschalk, Christopher William
• Application Number:
  US11/438,673
• Publication Number:
  US 20060294128A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/48 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23106 involving caching operations prefetching while addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means within memory systems or architectures G06F12/0862; caching at an intermediate stage in a data network H04L67/568
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23406 involving management of server-side video buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2383 Channel coding or modulation of digital bit-stream, e.g. QPSK modulation arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received by adapting the channel coding H04L1/0009; analogue front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44004 involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Techniques for encoding and distributing media over a network such as the Internet. A media source is received as input. A plurality of time segmented media files are generated from the media source. The time segmented media files are compressed or decoded and distributed live, nearly live, or at a later time over the network.

Claims

1. A method for distributing media over a network, comprising:

receiving as input a media source;

generating a plurality of time segmented media files from the input media;

compressing the time segmented media files at variable bit rates;

reassembling the compressed time segmented media files; and

distributing media over the network using the time segmented compressed media files.

2. The method of claim 1, where receiving comprises receiving as input a text source, an audio source, a video source, or a combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 1, where generating comprises parsing the input media into time segmented media files.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising importing one time segmented media files to a compression server.

5. The method of claim 1, where compressing comprises compressing into a plurality of different compression ratios based on a bandwidth capacity of a client device requesting the media.

6. The method of claim 1, where compressing comprises compressing a first time segmented media file on a compression server and a compressing a second time segmented media file on a second compression sever in parallel with the compression of the first time segmented media file.

7. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform the function of claim 1.

9. The method of claim 7, where the pre-determined variable bit rate is calculated using (a) the product of the targeted client bandwidth and the size of the client buffer and (b) a sum of variable bit rates for previously encoded portions of the media source.

10. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform the function of claim 1.

8. A method, comprising:

determining a targeted client bit rate;

determining a size of a client buffer;

determining a capacity of the targeted client based on the bandwidth and the size of the buffer;

receiving as input a media source; and

encoding a portion of the media source media at a pre-determined variable bit rate, the pre-determined variable bit rate being calculated so that the capacity of the targeted client bit rate is not exceeded.