DISTRIBUTION METHOD, PLAYBACK APPARATUS, AND DISTRIBUTION APPARATUS

• US 20150264100A1
• Filed: 02/05/2015
• Published: 09/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Client Computing Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: OHBITSU, Toshiro
• Granted Patent: US 10,284,681 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1094 Inter-user-equipment sessions transfer or sharing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/752 adapting media to network capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/756 adapting media to device capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 intermediate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70

Abstract

A distribution apparatus packetizes streaming data of a variable bit rate, and distributes the resulting data to a plurality of playback apparatuses. The distributed streaming data is transferred from one playback apparatus to other one or more playback apparatuses. One playback apparatus measures the communication quality between the one playback apparatus and each of the other playback apparatuses of transfer destinations. One playback apparatus redivides the received streaming data into packets based on a playback data amount for each unit playback time in the received streaming data and on the measured communication quality and transfers the resulting streaming data.

Claims

1. A distribution method in a distribution system, in which streaming data of a variable bit rate is packetized and distributed from a distribution apparatus to one playback apparatus among a plurality of playback apparatuses, and the distributed streaming data is transferred from the one playback apparatus to other one or more playback apparatuses among the plurality of playback apparatuses, the distribution method comprising:

measuring, by a playback apparatus, among the plurality of playback apparatuses, which transfers the received streaming data to the other one or more playback apparatuses, a communication quality between the playback apparatus and each of the other one or more playback apparatuses of transfer destinations; and

redividing, by the playback apparatus, the received streaming data into packets based on a playback data amount for each unit playback time in the received streaming data and on the measured communication quality and transferring the resulting streaming data.

2. The distribution method according to claim 1, further comprising, determining, by the distribution apparatus, a distribution path of the streaming data so that the streaming data is transferred in a daisy chain fashion among the plurality of playback apparatuses, based on the communication quality between the distribution apparatus and each of the plurality of playback apparatuses and on the communication quality between every two of the plurality of playback apparatuses.

3. A playback apparatus which receives streaming data of a variable bit rate in a packetized state, plays back the received streaming data, and transfers the received streaming data to another playback apparatus, the playback apparatus comprising a processor configured to perform a procedure including:

measuring a communication quality between the playback apparatus and the another playback apparatuse; and

redividing the received streaming data into packets based on a playback data amount for each unit playback time in the received streaming data and on the measured communication quality and transferring the resulting streaming data.

4. The playback apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the redividing the received streaming data includes redividing the streaming data so that the streaming data included in the redivided packet is transmitted in a time not more than a playback time taken in playing back the streaming data included in the packet.

5. The playback apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the procedure further includes determining, upon receiption of the streaming data in the packetized state, whether to redivide the streaming data included in the received packet into other packets, based on a comparison between a playback data amount for each unit playback time about the streaming data included in the received packet and a determination threshold based on the measured communication quality.

6. The playback apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the procedure further includes redividing, when it is determined to redivide the streaming data included in the received packet into other packets, the streaming data included in the received packet and in at least one of the previous and next packets of the received packet into a plurality of divided sections, storing the streaming data included in each of the plurality of divided sections in individual packets, and transmitting the streaming data, and

wherein the redividing the streaming data into a plurality of divided sections includes determining the plurality of divided sections so that the streaming data included in one divided section is transmitted in a time not more than a playback time taken in playing back the streaming data included in the one divided section.

7. A distribution apparatus which distributes streaming data to a plurality of playback apparatuses, the distribution apparatus comprising a processor configured to perform a procedure including:

acquiring a communication quality between the distribution apparatus and each of the plurality of playback apparatuses and a communication quality between every two of the plurality of playback apparatuses; and

determining a distribution path of the streaming data so that the streaming data is transferred in a daisy chain fashion among the plurality of playback apparatuses, based on each of the acquired communication qualities.

8. The distribution apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the procedure further includes, upon determining the distribution path, notifying each of the plurality of playback apparatuses of information indicative of the determined distribution path.

9. The distribution apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the determining a distribution path includes a distribution path pattern in which a total value of numerical values each indicating a communication quality between the apparatuses in a distribution path becomes the largest, as the distribution path of the streaming data, among a plurality of distribution path patterns obtained by connecting the plurality of playback apparatuses in a daisy chain fashion.