System and Method for Media Adaptation

• US 20110088076A1
• Filed: 07/16/2010
• Published: 04/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Zhang, Peng, Chen, Yue, Gao, Yunchao, Li, Hongbing, Wang, Ye-Kui, Yu, Hong Heather
• Application Number:
  US12/837,934
• Publication Number:
  US 20110088076A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/114
• 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 21/23113 involving housekeeping operations for stored content, e.g. prioritizing content for deletion because of storage space restrictions storage management, e.g. defragmentation G06F3/0604; snloading stored programs G06F9/445; housekeeping operations in file systems, e.g. deletion policies G06F16/10; buffering arrangements in a network node or in an end terminal in packet networks H04L49/90
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23439 for generating different versions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2393 involving handling client requests scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A system and method for media adaptation are provided. A method for providing media to an electronic device includes receiving a request for a media with a set of characteristics, and determining if the media with the set of characteristics resides in a media storage. The method also includes if the media with the set of characteristics resides in the media storage, retrieving the media with the set of characteristics from the media storage. The method further includes if the media with the set of characteristics does not reside in the media storage, transcoding an alternate media with an alternate set of characteristics to produce a transcoded media with the set of characteristics. The method additionally includes providing the media with the set of characteristics from the media storage or the transcoded media with the set of characteristics to the electronic device.

Claims

1. A method for providing media to an electronic device, the method comprising:

receiving a request for a media with a set of characteristics;

determining if the media with the set of characteristics resides in a media storage;

if the media with the set of characteristics resides in the media storage, retrieving the media with the set of characteristics from the media storage;

if the media with the set of characteristics does not reside in the media storage, transcoding an alternate media with an alternate set of characteristics to produce a transcoded media with the set of characteristics; and

providing the media with the set of characteristics from the media storage or the transcoded media with the set of characteristics to the electronic device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the media comprises a plurality of media fragments, and wherein the method further comprises:

retrieving a media fragment list for the media; and

selecting a media fragment from the media fragment list.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining if the media with the set of characteristics resides in a media storage, the if the media with the set of characteristics resides in the media storage, the if the media with the set of characteristics does not reside in the media storage, and the providing all operate with the selected media fragment.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the selecting a media fragment, the determining if the media with the set of characteristics resides in a media storage, the if the media with the set of characteristics resides in the media storage, the if the media with the set of characteristics does not reside in the media storage, and the providing are repeated for each media fragment in the media fragment list.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein retrieving a media fragment list comprises retrieving the media fragment list for the media from a server.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein transcoding an alternate media comprises:

obtaining the alternate media from a server; and

transcoding the alternate media obtained from the server to produce the transcoded media with the set of characteristics.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein transcoding an alternative media further comprises storing the transcoded media with the set of characteristics in the media storage.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein transcoding an alternative media further comprises storing the alternate media in the media storage.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining if the media with the set of characteristics resides in a media storage comprises searching the media storage for the media with the set of characteristics.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein searching the media storage comprises:

applying a hashing function to the media with the set of characteristics; and

searching the media storage using a result of the hashing function.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the media with the set of characteristics from the media storage or the transcoded media with the set of characteristics to the electronic device comprises transmitting the media with the set of characteristics from the media storage or the transcoded media with the set of characteristics to the electronic device.

12. A method for providing media to an electronic device, the method comprising:

receiving a request for a media with a set of characteristics;

determining if the media with the set of characteristics resides in a media storage;

if the media with the set of characteristics resides in the media storage, retrieving the media with the set of characteristics from the media storage;

if the media with the set of characteristics does not reside in the media storage,

transcoding an alternate media with an alternate set of characteristics to produce a transcoded media with the set of characteristics, or

retrieving the media with the set of characteristics from a media server; and

providing the media with the set of characteristics from the media storage, the media with the set of characteristics from the media server, or the transcoded media with the set of characteristics to the electronic device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the media comprises a plurality of media fragments, and wherein the method further comprises:

retrieving a media fragment list for the media; and

selecting a media fragment from the media fragment list.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the determining if the media with the set of characteristics resides in a media storage, the if the media with the set of characteristics resides in the media storage, the if the media with the set of characteristics does not reside in the media storage, and the providing all operate with the selected media fragment.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the selecting a media fragment, the determining if the media with the set of characteristics resides in a media storage, the if the media with the set of characteristics resides in the media storage, the if the media with the set of characteristics does not reside in the media storage, and the providing are repeated for each media fragment in the media fragment list.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein transcoding an alternate media comprises:

obtaining the alternate media from the media storage; and

transcoding the alternate media obtained from the server to produce the transcoded media with the set of characteristics.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein transcoding an alternate media further comprises storing the transcoded media with the set of characteristics to the media storage.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein retrieving the media with the set of characteristics from a media server comprises sending a request for the media with the set of characteristics to the media server.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein retrieving the media with the set of characteristics from a media server further comprises:

receiving the media with the set of characteristics from the media server; and

storing the media with the set of characteristics from the media server to the media storage.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the transcoding an alternate media with an alternate set of characteristics to produce a transcoded media with the set of characteristics and the retrieving the media with the set of characteristics from a media server are initiated concurrently.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the media with the set of characteristics does not reside in the media storage, and wherein providing the media with the set of characteristics from the media storage, the media with the set of characteristics from the media server, or the transcoded media with the set of characteristics to the electronic device comprises providing either the media with the set of characteristics from the media server or the transcoded media with the set of characteristics to the electronic device, whichever completes first.

22. An electronic device comprising:

a receiver configured to receive incoming information from a data input port;

a transmitter configured to transmit outgoing information to a data output port;

a controller coupled to the transmitter and to the receiver, the controller configured to combine fixed bit-rate media with on demand transcoding of media fragments to produce a media stream with support for a wide range of properties; and

a memory coupled to the controller, to the receiver, and to the transmitter, the memory configured to store media fragments.

23. The electronic device of claim 22, wherein the controller comprises:

a media fragment query unit configured to determine if a media fragment with a set of characteristics is present in media fragment store;

a media fragment store control unit coupled to the media fragment query unit, the media fragment store control unit configured to store and retrieve media fragments from the media fragment store;

a transcoder unit coupled to the media fragment query unit, the transcoder unit configured to encode a first media fragment with a first set of characteristics into a transcoded media fragment with a second set of characteristics; and

a combine unit coupled to the media fragment query unit, to the media fragment store control unit, and to the transcoder, the combine unit configured to combine media fragments from the media fragment store and transcoded media fragments produced by the transcoder unit to produce the media stream.

24. The electronic device of claim 23, wherein the controller further comprises a media request unit coupled to the media fragment query unit, to the transcoder unit, and to the combine unit, the media request unit configured to process a received media request.

25. The electronic device of claim 23, wherein the controller further comprises a media delivery unit coupled to the media fragment store control unit and to the transcoder unit, the media delivery unit configured to ensure a sequencing of media fragments in the media stream.