Methods and systems for adaptive delivery of multimedia contents

• US 7,636,768 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2004
• Issued: 12/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Zhang, Hong-Jiang, Yang, Yudong
• Primary Examiner(s): Winder; Patrice
• Assistant Examiner(s): Elfervig; Taylor
• Application Number:
  US11/025,255
• Publication Number:
  US 20050154743A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,819 Days
• Field of Search: 709/219, 707/100
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5651 Reducing the amount or size of exchanged application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

Methods and systems for generic adaptive multimedia content delivery are described. In one embodiment, a novel framework features an abstract content model and an abstract adaptive delivery decision engine. The abstract content model recognizes important aspects of contents while hiding their physical details from other parts of the framework. The decision engine then makes content adaptation plans based on the abstracted model of the contents and needs little knowledge of any physical details of the actual contents. Thus, under the same framework, adaptive delivery of generic contents is possible.

Claims

1. A data structure embodied on one or more computer-storage media, the data structure comprising:

an abstract content model that represents content that can be requested by a content requester, the abstract model comprising a directional graph that features a top-down hierarchical structure having nodes that represent components of the content and edges that represent relationships between the nodes, the nodes being configured to have a node status that defines dynamic statuses of the nodes during content delivery, wherein the node status comprises one or more of the following;

an activable status wherein an active condition of the node is satisfied but the node is not yet included in a delivery plan, the active condition is satisfied when an automatically activable condition is present, an OR condition such that an input edge of the node is an ignition edge is present, or an AND condition such that all input edges of the node are ignition edges is present;

or

an activated status wherein the node is included in the delivery plan;

the abstract content model being configured for processing so that the delivery plan for delivering the content corresponding to the nodes having an activated status can be selected.

2. The data structure of claim 1, wherein the node status further comprises an inactive status where the node is not yet a deliverable object.

3. The data structure of claim 1, wherein the node status further comprises a delivered status wherein the node has been delivered successfully to a content receiver.

4. The data structure of claim 1, wherein the node status further comprises a skipped status wherein the node is not delivered and will not be included in the delivery plan.

5. The data structure of claim 1, wherein there are multiple different types of edges.

6. The data structure of claim 5, wherein the multiple different types of edges comprise a dependency edge type that defines a logical dependency between nodes.

7. The data structure of claim 5, wherein the multiple different types of edges comprise a route edge type that defines an ordered or hierarchical dependency between nodes.

8. The data structure of claim 5, wherein the multiple different types of edges comprise a mixed edge type that defines a logical dependency between nodes and an ordered or hierarchical dependency between nodes.

9. The data structure of claim 5, wherein the multiple different types of edges comprise one or more of the following:

a dependency edge type that defines a logical dependency between nodes,

a route edge type that defines an ordered or hierarchical dependency between nodes, or

a mixed edge type that defines a logical dependency between nodes and an ordered or hierarchical dependency between nodes.

10. A system comprising:

a computing device having a memory, the memory storing a data structure comprising;

an abstract content model that represents content that can be requested by a content requester, the abstract model comprising a directional graph that features a top-down hierarchical structure having nodes that represent components of the content and multiple different types of edges that represent relationships between the nodes, the nodes being configured to have a node status that defines dynamic statuses of the nodes during content delivery, wherein the node status comprises at least one of;

an inactive status where the node is not yet a deliverable object;

an activable status wherein an active condition of the node is satisfied but the node is not yet included in a delivery plan, the active condition is satisfied when an automatically activable condition is present, an OR condition such that an input edge of the node is an ignition edge is present, or an AND condition such that all input edges of the node are ignition edges is present;

an activated status wherein the node is included in the delivery plan;

a delivered status wherein the node has been delivered successfully to a content receiver;

or

a skipped status wherein the node is not delivered and will not be included in the delivery plan; and

the multiple different types of edges comprise one or more of the following;

a dependency edge type that defines a logical dependency between nodes;

a route edge type that defines an ordered or hierarchical dependency between nodes; and

a mixed edge type that defines a logical dependency between nodes and an ordered or hierarchical dependency between nodes; and

the abstract content model being configured for processing so that the delivery plan for delivering content corresponding to the nodes having an activated status can be selected.

11. The system claim 10 wherein the active condition defines how a one of the nodes is designated as having the activable status.

12. The system claim 11 wherein nodes that are automatically activable have the activable status.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein the multiple different types of edges further comprise ignition edges defined as a dependency edge from a node that has the activated status, delivered status, or the skipped status.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein nodes that satisfy an OR condition have the activable status, the OR condition comprising nodes wherein at least one input edge is the ignition edge.

15. The system claim 13 wherein nodes that satisfy an AND condition have the activable status, the AND condition comprising nodes wherein all input edges are ignition edges.

16. A method implemented on a computing device by a processor configured to execute instructions that, when executed by the processor, direct the computing device to perform acts comprising:

receiving multimedia contents;

processing, by the processor, the multimedia contents to build an abstract content model that represents multimedia content that can be requested by a content requester, wherein the abstract content model is represented by a data structure comprising;

a directional graph that features a top-down hierarchical structure having nodes that represent components of the multimedia contents and multiple different types of edges that represent relationships between the nodes;

wherein the nodes have a node status that defines dynamic statuses of the nodes during content delivery, the node status comprising at least one of;

an inactive status where the node is not yet a deliverable object;

an activable status wherein an active condition of the node is satisfied but the node is not yet included in a delivery plan, the active condition is satisfied when an automatically activable condition is present, an OR condition such that an input edge of the node is an ignition edge is present, or an AND condition such that all input edges of the node are ignition edges is present;

an activated status wherein the node is included in the delivery plan;

a delivered status wherein the node has been delivered successfully to a content receiver;

or

a skipped status wherein the node is not delivered and will not be included in the delivery plan;

wherein the edges have an edge type comprising at least one of;

a dependency edge type that defines a logical dependency between nodes;

a route edge type that defines an ordered or hierarchical dependency between nodes;

a mixed edge type that defines a logical dependency between nodes and an ordered or hierarchical dependency between nodes; and

an ignition edge type defined as a dependency edge from a node that has the activated status, delivered status, or the skipped status; and

processing, by the processor, the abstract content model to select the delivery plan for delivering the multimedia contents.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the active condition of the node is satisfied when:

the node is automatically activable;

at least one input edge of the node is an ignition edge;

or

all the input edges of the node are ignition edges.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein a top most node is automatically activable.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the node status changes from the activable status to the active status when an input condition is satisfied.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the input condition is satisfied when the node has an incoming a route edge from another node having the activated status, the delivered status, or the skipped status.