Low-Delay High Quality Video Streaming Using TCP

• US 20070276954A1
• Filed: 05/21/2007
• Published: 11/29/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
• Original Assignee: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
• Inventors: Wong, Chi, Tang, Jack, Cheuk, Kim, Fung, Wai, Chan, Shueng Han
• Application Number:
  US11/751,198
• Publication Number:
  US 20070276954A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/222 Secondary servers, e.g. proxy server, cable television Head-end provisioning of proxy services in data packet switching networks H04L67/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23406 involving management of server-side video buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2393 involving handling client requests scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• 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 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44004 involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP

Abstract

A system and method for transmission of video data to a wireless client. In one example embodiment, the present innovations include a proxy server that receives video data from a video server. The proxy includes buffers individually associated to wireless clients. In preferred embodiments, buffers are managed independently so as to optimize video streaming to clients.

Claims

7-1. The system of claim 1, wherein buffer size is dynamic.

8. A method for wireless communication of streaming video, comprising:

routing a video stream to one or more proxy servers;

communicating said video stream from said proxy server to one or more client clients;

at a location local to said proxy server, tracking the bandwidth and/or processing capacity of said stations individually, and accordingly managing transmission to respective ones of said clients with individual optimization.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein communication between the proxy and a client uses TCP.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein communication between the proxy and a client uses UDP.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the clients are wireless clients.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein some video data sent to the proxy server is selectively dropped with respect to some clients according to a selective packet drop algorithm.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the proxy server includes buffers associated with individual clients.

14. A network architecture for streaming video, comprising:

a streaming server which encodes video into at least one stream of frames;

plural clients; and

at least one proxy server which receives said stream from said stream server and serves a subset of said clients, further comprising;

buffers, ones of which are maintained to store said received frames for ones of said clients; and

workers which independently manage said buffers, on a per client basis, to perform flow-based buffer management functions;

whereby smooth video quality is achieved at said clients.

15. The architecture of claim 14, wherein management of said buffers is in dependence of said client'"'"'s traffic conditions and types of frames.

16. This architecture of claim 14, wherein communication between a proxy server and client uses TCP.

17. The architecture of claim 14, wherein the communication between a proxy server and a client uses UDP.

18. The architecture of claim 14, wherein said workers manage said buffers using a selective packet drop algorithm.

19. The architecture of claim 14, wherein some ones of said buffers are of different size.

20. A method for transmitting streaming video across a network to a wireless client, comprising the steps of:

receiving video data at a proxy server associated with a plurality of wireless clients;

at the proxy, allocating buffer space associated with a client of the plurality;

independently managing the insertion and removal of video data from the buffer to thereby optimize reception of video data at the client.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein communication between the proxy and a client uses TCP.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein communication between the proxy and a client uses UDP.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the proxy includes a plurality of buffers, and wherein individual ones of said buffers is associated with individual ones of said wireless clients.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein the buffers are managed using a multi-worker model which implements a selective packet drop algorithm.

25. The method of claim 20, wherein some of the buffers are of different size.