Payload allocation methods for scalable multimedia servers

• US 20090125636A1
• Filed: 11/13/2007
• Published: 05/14/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Brainmedia LLC
• Original Assignee: Brainmedia LLC
• Inventors: Vernick, Michael David, Guo, Linfeng, Sydorenko, Mark, Li, Qiong
• Application Number:
  US11/985,054
• Publication Number:
  US 20090125636A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/613 for the control of the source by the destination control signals issued by the client directed to the server or network components specially adapted for selective content distribution H04N21/637
• 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 65/752 adapting media to network capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355

Abstract

The dynamic streaming of multimedia data between a data server and one or more clients is disclosed. Dynamic streaming enables the rapid and accurate characterization of the end-to-end path conditions in a server-client streaming session, as well as the rapid and intelligent response to those conditions in terms of source compression prior to data packetization. The most significant bits of an original bit stream can be adaptively and immediately selected in response to network conditions. The adaptive selection process is informed by feedback from the client receiver indicative of a time-to-transit the network from server to client. A control protocol and server architecture, including file format, data structure, data processing procedures, cache control mechanisms, and adaptation algorithms useful in implementing dynamic streaming are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A system for dynamically streaming scalable media content between a server and a playback device, the media being comprised of temporally sequential data packets, each packet being comprised of temporally sequential frames and each frame being comprised of layers including a base layer and plural enhancement layers, the system comprising:

a player interface for exchanging streaming commands and responses with the player;

a file reader for accessing a media file and for associating frame and sub-frame indexing information with the media file;

a feedback processor for receiving feedback from the playback device and for estimating network throughput between the server and the playback device on the basis of the feedback;

a scheduler for receiving the estimated network throughput from the feedback processor, for determining, according to a predefined algorithm, the media file content of successive packets, and for scheduling the temporal interval between instances of packet departure to the playback device; and

a data sender for writing packets to a network socket for delivery to the playback device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the feedback processor and the data sender are realized as a single module.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the feedback received by the feedback processor is characteristic of the number of packets queued in a playback device receive buffer.