Qualified Video Delivery
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A video server system comprising:
- a client qualifier configured to remotely determine if a client is qualified to receive a video stream configured for display on the client, the qualification being based on abilities of the client to receive and display the video stream at least a minimum level of quality;
a video source configured to provide the video stream, and to provide the video stream only if the client is qualified to receive the video stream as determined by the client qualifier;
an I/O device configured for communicating with the client via a communication network;
a storage configured to store video data for use by the video source or the client qualifier; and
an electronic processor configured to execute software components of the video source or the client qualifier.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A video server is configured to provide streaming video to players of computer games over a computing network. The video server can provided video of different games to different players simultaneously. This is accomplished by rendering several video streams in parallel using a single GPU. The output of the GPU is provided to graphics processing pipelines that are each associated with a specific client/player and are dynamically allocated as needed. A client qualifier may be used to assure that only clients capable of presenting the streaming video to a player at a minimum level of quality receive the video stream.
196 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A video server system comprising:
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a client qualifier configured to remotely determine if a client is qualified to receive a video stream configured for display on the client, the qualification being based on abilities of the client to receive and display the video stream at least a minimum level of quality; a video source configured to provide the video stream, and to provide the video stream only if the client is qualified to receive the video stream as determined by the client qualifier; an I/O device configured for communicating with the client via a communication network; a storage configured to store video data for use by the video source or the client qualifier; and an electronic processor configured to execute software components of the video source or the client qualifier. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A game serving system comprising:
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a first game application stored on a computer readable medium and configured to execute a first video game responsive to game commands received from a first client; a second game application stored on a computer readable medium and configured to execute a second game instance responsive to game commands received from a second client; logic configured to execute the first game instance and the second game instance in parallel; a first virtual 3D video driver configured to received a first game environment from the first game application; a second virtual 3D video driver configured to received second game environment from the second game application; a 3D video driver configured to receive an output of the first and second virtual 3D video drivers; a graphics processing unit configured to generate a first video stream by rendering the first game environment, and to generate a second video stream by rendering the second game environment, in parallel; a first encoding pipeline configured to encode the first video stream in a first codec; a second encoding pipeline configured to encode the second video stream in a second codec; and an output configured to provide the first video stream to the first client and the second video stream to the second client. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. A game serving system comprising:
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a first game application stored on a computer readable medium and configured to execute a first game instance responsive to game commands received from a first client; a second game application stored on a computer readable medium and configured to execute a second game instance responsive to game commands received from a second client; logic configured to execute the first game instance and the second game instance in parallel; a 3D video driver configured to received different game environments from the first game application and from the second game application; a graphics processing unit configured to generate a first video frame by rendering the game environment from the first game application, and to generate a second video frame by rendering the game environment from the second game application; a first encoding pipeline configured to encode the first video frame in a first video format; a second encoding pipeline configured to encode the second video frame in a second video format; a memory shared by at least the 3D video driver and at least the first encoding pipeline; logic configured to transfer the first video frame from the 3D video driver to the shared memory in sync with the production of the second video frame; and an output configured to provide the first video stream to the first client and the second video stream to the second client. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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18. A game serving system comprising:
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a first game application stored on a computer readable medium and configured to execute a first game instance responsive to game commands received from a first client; a second game application stored on a computer readable medium and configured to execute a second game instance responsive to game commands received from a second client; logic configured to execute the first game instance and the second game instance in parallel; logic configured to provision a first encoder pipeline and a second encoder pipeline, the first encoder pipeline including a dynamically allocated encoder selected based on needs of the first client, the second encoder pipeline including a dynamically allocated encoder selected based on needs of the second client; one or more processor configured to execute the logic configured to spawn a first encoder pipeline and a second encoder pipeline, the first game application, the second game application; and an output configured to provide a first video stream generated by the first encoder pipeline to the first client, and a second video stream generated by the second encoder pipeline to the second client. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification