Method to measure the perceived quality of streaming media

• US 7,647,616 B2
• Filed: 08/23/2006
• Issued: 01/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Puthiyedath, Leena K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Koenig; Andrew Y
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chin; Ricky
• Application Number:
  US11/508,793
• Publication Number:
  US 20060288391A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,238 Days
• Field of Search: 725/107, 725/125
• US Class Current: 725/107
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/509 wherein the managed service relates to media content delivery, e.g. audio, video or TV
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/50 Testing arrangements
• 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

Abstract

A method and system of analyzing the perceived quality of streaming media that includes transmitting at least one data packet from a stream sender to a stream receiver via a network connection; analyzing the data packets at the stream receiver, where the stream receiver determines whether there are data packets missing from the stream sender'"'"'s data packets; requesting retransmission of specific data packets missing from the stream receiver; and retransmitting at least one specific data packet missing from the stream sender to the stream receiver.

Claims

1. A method of receiving and comparing data streams, comprising:

receiving, from a stream sender, a data stream of data packets having a known arrangement at a stream receiver via a network connection;

storing a copy of the received data stream of data packets into both an original data buffer and a rendered data buffer at substantially a same time after receipt at the stream receiver;

analyzing the received data packets'"'"' sequence number and timestamp information received at the stream receiver to determine whether any missing known data packets in the known data packet arrangement were not received by the stream receiver;

requesting the stream sender to retransmit any missing known data packets not received at the stream receiver;

recreating the data packets from the stream sender at the original data buffer by integrating the missing known data packets from a retransmission into the data packets stored at the original data buffer; and

transmitting contents of the original data buffer and contents of the rendered data buffer to a perception quality measuring device in order for the perception quality measurement device to calculate a quality score.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the analyzing procedure is performed by comparing the data packets received at the stream receiver to the known arrangement of data packets.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein recreating the data packets from the stream sender at the original data buffer includes at least one of the following:

(1) reordering out of sequence data packets; and

(2) discarding duplicate data packets.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein recreating the data packets from the stream sender at the original data buffer includes synchronizing audio and video data packets in the original data buffer.

5. A computer-implemented method, the computer implemented method causing a stream receiver to execute instructions stored thereon, the computer implemented comprising:

receiving, at the stream receiver, a data stream of data packets from a stream sender via a network connection;

storing a copy of the data stream of data packets into both an original data buffer and a rendered data buffer at substantially the same time after receipt at the stream receiver;

analyzing the transmitted data packets sequence number and timestamp information received at the stream receiver to determine whether any missing data packets were not received by the stream receiver;

requesting the stream sender to retransmit any missing data packets not received at the stream receiver;

receiving the missing data packets from the stream sender;

recreating the data packets from the stream sender at the original data buffer by integrating the missing data packets received from the stream sender into the data packets stored at the original data buffer; and

transmitting contents of the original data buffer and contents of the rendered data buffer to a perception quality measuring device.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the analyzing procedure is performed by comparing the data packets received at the stream receiver to the known arrangement of data packets.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein recreating the data packets from the stream sender at the original data buffer includes at least one of the following:

(1) reordering out of sequence data packets;

(2) discarding duplicate data packets;

or

(3) synchronizing audio and video data packets.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, the computer-implemented method further including:

comparing, at a device, the recreated data packets in the original data buffer to the data packets stored at the rendered data buffer to form a perceived quality of streaming data score; and

sending, from the device, the perceived quality of streaming data score to a third party for evaluation purposes.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the rendered data buffer delays transmitting the stored data packets to the device until the missing known data packets are integrated into the data packets stored at the original data buffer.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the third party evaluates the perceived quality of streaming data score to track the Service Level Agreements at the stream receiver.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the device sends the perceived quality of streaming data store to an analyzer and the analyzer evaluates the perceived quality of streaming data score to allocate sufficient bandwidth to provide acceptable quality of service to the stream receiver.

12. A system comprising:

a stream sender configured to transmit a data stream of data packets having a known arrangement via a network connection;

a stream receiver to receive the data stream of data packets, to store a copy of the data stream of data packets to an original data buffer and a rendered data buffer at substantially the same time after receipt at the stream receiver, and to analyze the received data stream of data packets'"'"' sequence number and time stamp information to determine whether any missing known data packets in the known data packet arrangement were not received by the stream receiver, the stream receiver also including a retransmit protocol configured to allow the stream receiver to request the stream sender to retransmit any missing known data packets not received at the stream receiver to receiving the missing known data packets from the stream sender and to recreate the data packets from the stream sender at the original data buffer by integrating the missing known data packets received from the stream sender into the data packets stored at the original data buffer, transmitting contents of the original data buffer and contents of the rendered data buffer; and

a device, receiving the contents of the original data buffer and the contents of the rendered data buffer, and configured to form a perceptual quality measurement score based on the contents of the original data buffer and the rendered data buffer.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the stream receiver is configured to analyze by comparing the received data packets with the known arrangement of data packets.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the original data buffer recreates the data packets transmitted from the stream sender, using a recreation process that includes at least one of the following:

(1) reordering out of sequence data packets;

(2) discarding duplicate data packets;

or

(3) synchronizing audio and video data packets.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the device transmits the perceptual quality measurement score to an analyzer and the analyzer analyzes the perceptual quality measurement score to allocate sufficient bandwidth to provide acceptable quality of service to the stream receiver.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the device transmits the perceptual quality measurement score to a third party evaluator and the third party evaluator analyzes the perceptual quality measurement score to track meeting Service Level Agreements at the stream receiver.

17. The system of claim 12, the system further includes

a plurality of stream sender locations;

a plurality of stream receiver locations; and

a plurality of third party evaluators,

wherein the plurality of stream sender locations and the plurality of stream receiver locations are configured to form the perceptual quality measurement score.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the plurality of stream sender locations and the plurality of stream receiver locations are configured for multicasting.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the plurality of stream sender locations and stream receiver locations are configured for conversation with any number of stream sender locations and stream receiver locations.