Video Service Buffer Management

• US 20130308919A1
• Filed: 05/18/2012
• Published: 11/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.), AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.), AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Shaw, Venson, Shen, Jun
• Granted Patent: US 8,861,932 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/239
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2143 located in a single building, e.g. hotel, hospital or museum arrangements specially adapted for plural spots in a confined site in broadcast systems H04H20/63; adaptations for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution in television systems H04N7/106
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2221 being a cable television head-end CATV in broadcast systems H04H20/78
• 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 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6373 for rate control , e.g. request to the server to modify its transmission rate flow control in packet networks H04L47/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6379 directed to encoder , e.g. for requesting a lower encoding rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6473 Monitoring network processes errors for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity H04L69/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64738 Monitoring network characteristics, e.g. bandwidth, congestion level data switched network analysis H04L41/14; monitoring functioning in data switched networks H04L43/0817; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64753 directed to the client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64769 for rate control flow control in packet networks H04L47/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the subject disclosure may include, for example, receiving video content at a communication device, providing the video content to a video buffer of the communication device, commencing playback of the video content at the communication device, determining buffer status information that represents a capacity of the video buffer and an amount of the capacity that has been utilized, monitoring for a buffer exhaustion condition based on the buffer status information, and adjusting the playback of the video content responsive to a detection of the buffer exhaustion condition. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A communication device comprising:

a memory storing computer instructions; and

a processor coupled with the memory, wherein the processor, responsive to executing the computer instructions, performs operations comprising;

receiving video content over a network from a content source device;

providing the video content to a video buffer of the communication device, wherein the video buffer has a fixed capacity;

obtaining network condition information representing a network status;

determining a playback start time based on the network condition information;

commencing playback of the video content based on the playback start time;

determining a high mark for usage of the video capacity based on parameters associated with the video content and the communication device;

periodically communicating buffer status information to the content source device to enable the content source device to adjust a transmission rate for the video content being received by the communication device based on the buffer status information and the network status, wherein the buffer status information represents the fixed capacity of the video buffer, an amount of the capacity that has been utilized, and the high mark for the video buffer;

monitoring for a buffer exhaustion condition based on the buffer status information, wherein the buffer exhaustion condition comprises a determination that the video buffer has fallen below a minimum threshold prior to the processor receiving all of the video content; and

adjusting the playback of the video content responsive to a detection of the buffer exhaustion condition.

2. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the processor, responsive to executing the computer instructions, performs operations comprising:

monitoring for a buffer overflow condition based on the buffer status information, wherein the buffer overflow condition comprises a determination that the video buffer has risen above the high mark; and

responsive to a detection of the buffer overflow condition, adjusting the playback of the video content by removing target frames from a group of frames of the video content stored in the video buffer, wherein each of the target frames is selected based on a degree of similarity of the target frame to a previous or subsequent frame.

3. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the periodic communicating of the buffer status information to the content source device is based on polling received from the content source device, wherein the adjusting of the playback comprises reducing a frame rate for the video content during the playback, and wherein the subject matter of the video content is determined by the processor based on metadata associated with the video content.

4. The communication device of claim 3, wherein the minimum threshold is based on at least one of a time period or a number of video frames prior to reaching the video buffer exhaustion, and wherein the processor, responsive to executing the computer instructions, performs operations comprising:

determining an amount for the reducing of the frame rate based on the minimum threshold and an amount of a remaining portion of the video content to be received by the communication device.

5. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the adjusting of the playback comprises:

utilizing the processor for generating duplicated frames from original frames of the video content, wherein the original frames selected for duplication are based on an analysis of the original frames performed by the processor without receiving metadata indicating frames for duplication; and

inserting the duplicated frames with the original frames in the video buffer.

6. The communication device of claim 5, wherein the minimum threshold is based on at least one of a time period or a number of video frames prior to reaching the video buffer exhaustion, and wherein the processor, responsive to executing the computer instructions, performs operations comprising:

determining an amount of the duplicated frames based on the minimum threshold and an amount of a remaining portion of the video content to be received by the communication device.

7. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the adjusting of the transmission rate is based on satisfying a threshold associated with the video buffer, wherein the threshold is based on at least one of a time period or a number of video frames.

8. The communication device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the communication device or the content source device is a mobile device that enables voice communications, and wherein a schedule for the periodic communicating of the buffer status information to the content source device is determined by the processor.

9. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the network status comprises at least one of a network load, a history of network load corresponding to a transmission time for the video content, or an identification of a network element failure.

10. A method comprising:

receiving video content at a communication device, wherein the video content is received over a network from a content source device;

providing, by the communication device, the video content to a video buffer of the communication device;

commencing, by the communication device, playback of the video content at a start time determined based on a network status;

determining buffer status information that represents a capacity of the video buffer and an amount of the capacity that has been utilized, the buffer status information being determined by the communication device;

monitoring for a buffer exhaustion condition based on the buffer status information, wherein the buffer exhaustion condition is monitored by the communication device and comprises a determination that the video buffer will fall below a minimum threshold prior to the communication device receiving all of the video content; and

adjusting the playback of the video content responsive to a detection of the buffer exhaustion condition, wherein the adjusting of the playback is performed by the communication device and comprises;

selecting original frames for duplication,

generating duplicated frames from the original frames, and

inserting the duplicated frames with the original frames in the video buffer.

11. The method of claim 10, comprising:

utilizing the communication device for obtaining network condition information representing the network status, wherein the selecting of the original frames is based on analysis of the video content performed by the communication device without receiving information indicating frames to be duplicated.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the network status comprises at least one of a network load, a history of network load corresponding to a transmission time for the video content, or an identification of a network element failure.

13. The method of claim 10, comprising:

communicating the buffer status information to the content source device to enable the content source device to adjust a transmission rate for the video content being received by the communication device based on the buffer status information.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the minimum threshold is based on at least one of a time period or a number of video frames, and comprising:

determining an amount of the duplicated frames based on at least one of the minimum threshold, a network status or an amount of a remaining portion of the video content to be received by the communication device.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein at least one of the communication device or the content source device is a mobile device that enables voice communications.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising computer instructions which, responsive to being executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

commencing encoding video content to generate encoded video content;

commencing transmitting the encoded video content from the processor over a network to a communication device;

obtaining network condition information representing a current network status and a historical network status;

receiving buffer status information from the communication device, wherein the buffer status information represents a capacity of a video buffer of the communication device and an amount of the capacity that has been utilized by the communication device; and

adjusting a transmission rate and an encoding rate for the video content being transmitted to the communication device by the processor based on the buffer status information and the network condition information.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the current network status comprises a network load.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the historic network status comprises a history of network load corresponding to a transmission time for the video content, and wherein the adjusting of the transmission and encoding rate comprises:

an increase in the transmission and encoding rate responsive to a prediction of an upcoming increase in network load; and

responsive to a detection of an increase in network load, a decrease in the transmission and encoding rate.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the current network status comprises an identification of a network element failure.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the adjusting of the transmission rate comprises:

monitoring for a buffer exhaustion condition based on the buffer status information, wherein the buffer exhaustion condition comprises a determination that the video buffer of the communication device will be empty prior to the communication device receiving all of the video content; and

reducing the transmission rate responsive to a detection of the buffer exhaustion condition, wherein the reducing of the transmission rate is commenced based on satisfying a threshold associated with reaching video buffer exhaustion, and wherein the threshold is based on at least one of a time period or a number of video frames prior to the video buffer exhaustion.