SYNCHRONIZED DATA STREAMING

• US 20110066746A1
• Filed: 12/14/2009
• Published: 03/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies General IP PTE Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: BENNETT, JAMES D., KARAOGUZ, JEYHAN
• Application Number:
  US12/637,363
• Publication Number:
  US 20110066746A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/611 for multicast or broadcast systems for broadcast or conference H04L12/18; arrangements for broadcast or distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/00; arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time H04H60/00; selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS], H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26616 for merging a unicast channel into a multicast channel, e.g. in a VOD application, when a client served by unicast channel catches up a multicast channel to save bandwidth data multicast over packet-switching network H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44209 Monitoring of downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. bandwidth variations of a wireless network arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6408 Unicasting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38

Abstract

A system and method in a media server for synchronizing media delivery sessions to a plurality of media players that are receiving the same media content. The method includes determining, for a group of the plurality of media players, to deliver streamed media in a synchronized manner through a multicast transmission based on at least one media player and network information. Once media transmission scheduling has occurred, the method includes modifying scheduling for outgoing content to change at least some content from unicast to multicast transmissions, or vice-versa based upon subsequently received media playback performance data and network performance data. Unicast and multicast content can be transmitted to a media player at the same time in one embodiment. Generally, scheduling is performed to avoid having a media player wait for content.

Claims

1. A method in a media server, comprising:

receiving a plurality of media request messages for streamed media for immediate delivery originated by a corresponding plurality of media players;

evaluating a plurality of outgoing media frames and determining to delay at least one outgoing media frame to synchronize transmissions for at least two of the outgoing media frames for at least two of the plurality of media players; and

synchronizing the media frame transmissions for at least two of the plurality of media players and reducing a number of outgoing transmission frames to be less than a number of received media request messages and corresponding plurality of media players.

2. The method of claim 1 further including:

receiving at least one of network information that indicates network performance in relation to a network communication pathway and media player information for at least one of the plurality of media players indicating media player performance; and

based on at least one of the received network information and the received media player information, determining what portions of the streamed media that corresponds to the plurality of media request messages should be multicast transmitted in at least one synchronized multicast transmission and what portions of the streamed media should be unicast transmitted in at least one non-synchronized unicast transmission to one or more media players of the plurality of media players.

3. The method of claim 1 further including receiving updated media player information for a media player and determining what portions of the streamed media scheduled for multicast transmission should be unicast transmitted so that the media player does not have to wait to receive streamed media for processing.

4. The method of claim 1 further including evaluating at least one processing factor as a part of determining whether to multicast transmit a streamed media frame in a synchronized transmission, the at least one processing factor comprising at least one of:

a media player performance;

a amount of unprocessed streamed media;

a playback location;

a media player unprocessed streamed media depletion rate;

a media player processing speed;

a streamed media reception rate;

a media player queue status that contains unprocessed streamed media;

a media player playback status;

a media player video reception rate; and

a media player reception capacity.

5. The method of claim 4 further including, determining to unicast transmit at least one media frame based on at least one of the evaluated processing factors to a media player that is receiving multicast transmitted media frames.

6. The method of claim 5 further including determining to unicast transmit streamed media while also multicast transmitting streamed media to at least one media player based on at least one of media player information and communication pathway media delivery capacity.

7. The method of claim 4 further including determining to multicast transmit streamed media to the media player based on determining that the media player has paused playback of streamed media.

8. The method of claim 2 further including, for the plurality of the media players, synchronizing transmissions for at least a portion of the streamed media based an updated indication of at least one of media player queue status, media player playback status, media player video reception status, media player processing speed, and media player processing capacity that are substantially similar.

9. The method of claim 2 further including, for a plurality of the media players, synchronizing transmissions according to a depletion rate of a queue of at least one media player.

10. The method of claim 2 further including, for a single media player, determining what portions of streamed media should be unicast transmitted in an unsynchronized manner and what portions should be multicast transmitted in a synchronized manner.

11. The method of claim 2 further including, for an identified network communication pathway, synchronizing transmissions to reduce network communication pathway traffic and congestion.

12. The method of claim 2 further including determining to multicast transmit streamed media to a plurality of media players based on the plurality of media players having at least one of a similar streamed media queue depletion rate, a similar communication pathway traffic rate, a similar media player playback rate, or a common communication pathway signal path or node.

13. The method of claim 2 further including determining to multicast transmit streamed media to the media player through a first communication network and a first corresponding communication protocol and to unicast transmit streamed media to the media player through a second communication network and a second corresponding communication protocol.

14. A method in a media server, comprising:

scheduling unicast streamed media to a plurality of media devices;

delaying at least one scheduled unicast streamed media transmission and synchronizing at least two scheduled transmissions;

multicast transmitting streamed media in a synchronized manner to the plurality of media devices;

receiving at least one of network information and media player information for a media player of the plurality of media players; and

based on at least one of the network information and the media player information, determining to deliver a portion of the streamed media scheduled for multicast transmission to the media player in an unsynchronized manner in a unicast transmission.

15. The method of claim 14 further including evaluating, for the media player, at least one of a depletion rate of received and unprocessed streamed media, video reception status, a media player processing speed, and a media player capacity to change between unicast and multicast transmitting a media frame to the media player.

16. The method of claim 14 further including evaluating at least one of the network information and the media player information and, based upon the evaluation, determining to change one of:

a scheduled unicast transmission of a streamed media portion to a multicast transmission; and

a scheduled multicast transmission of a streamed media portion to a unicast transmission.

17. The method of claim 14 further includes determining to transmit streamed media to the media player through a plurality of multicast transmissions, each having at least one of a different set of media players or a different communication pathway.

18. The method of claim 16 further includes determining to transmit streamed media to the media player through the plurality of multicast transmissions as well as through a unicast transmission.

19. The method of claim 14 further including unicast transmitting streamed media to the media player until a unicast pointer for streamed media for the media player is pointing to an identification that is similar to a multicast pointer for the streamed media and then switching from unicast transmitting the streamed media to the media player to multicast transmitting the streamed media to the media player.

20. The method of claim 14 further including receiving a unicast transmission request message from the media player for unicast transmissions of the streamed media and switching from multicast transmitting a portion of the streamed media to unicast transmitting the portion of streamed media.

21. The method of claim 14 further including determining which of a plurality of networks and associated network communication protocols should be used to carry the streamed media portion and transmitting the streamed media portion accordingly.

22. The method of claim 14 wherein the scheduling occurs in response to receiving, within a specified period, a plurality of media request messages for streamed media for immediate delivery originated by each of the plurality of media players.

23. A method in a media player, comprising:

receiving streamed media multicast transmitted by a media server through a first pathway in a synchronized manner;

evaluating media player information; and

transmitting at least one of;

a unicast transmission request message to the media server to request that an unreceived portion of the streamed media be unicast transmitted based on the evaluation of the media player information; and

a status message containing the media player information to enable the media server to determine whether to unicast transmit at least a portion of the streamed media scheduled for multicast transmission.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein evaluating media player information includes evaluating media player playback status.

25. The method of claim 23 wherein evaluating media player information includes evaluating media player video reception status.

26. The method of claim 23 wherein evaluating media player information includes evaluating media player processing speed.

27. The method of claim 23 wherein evaluating media player information includes evaluating media player capacity.

28. The method of claim 23 wherein evaluating media player information includes evaluating at least one of:

an amount of unprocessed streamed media;

a media player unprocessed streamed media depletion rate;

a media player processing speed;

a streamed media reception rate;

a media player queue status that contains unprocessed streamed media;

a media player playback status;

a media player video reception status; and

a media player reception capacity.

29. A method for synchronizing content transmission, comprising:

communicating with a first intermediary node to prompt the first intermediary node to synchronize unicast transmitted frames for transmission as a multicast frame; and

transmitting control commands to the first intermediary node to command the first intermediary node to delay or buffer at least one received unicast frame to support transmission of a multicast frame.

30. The method of claim 29 further including communicating with the intermediary node to specify a destination of the multicast frame.

31. The method of claim 30 further including communicating with a second intermediary frame to prompt the second intermediary frame to transmit a received multicast frame as a unicast frame to a specified destination.