Proxy for facilitating streaming of media from server to client
First Claim
1. A method of preparing streaming media content to be rendered by a media player, the method comprising:
- receiving a request to receive a stream of media content;
forwarding the request over a network to content server;
in response to the request, receiving over the network a rolling manifest file that includes a sequence of media segment URLs indicating an ordering of the media segments that create a representation of a portion of the media content stream, the media segment URLs following a predefined naming convention that allows media segment URLs occurring prior to and subsequent to the media segment URLs included in the manifest file to be predicted;
modifying the manifest file by inserting at least one additional media segment URL into the manifest file comprising a private tag identifying an amount of content before or after the media segment URLs, the at least one additional media segment URL being sequentially located before or after the media segment URLs included in the manifest file;
sending the modified manifest file to the media player; and
predicting the at least one additional media segment URL using the predefined naming convention by using the private tag to describe the number of seconds of content available from the server before or after the media segment URLs.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for preparing streaming media content to be rendered by a media player employs a proxy for the media player. The proxy sends a request over a network to a content server. In response, a rolling manifest file is received by the proxy. The manifest file includes a sequence of media segment URLs indicating an ordering of the media segments that create a representation of a portion of the content stream. The URLs follow a predefined naming convention that allows URLs occurring prior to and subsequent to the URLs included in the manifest file to be predicted. The proxy predicts additional URLs that occur prior to and/or subsequent to the URLs included in the manifest file. The manifest file is modified by inserting the additional media segment URLs into the manifest file. The additional URLs are sequentially located before or after the URLs included in the manifest file.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method of preparing streaming media content to be rendered by a media player, the method comprising:
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receiving a request to receive a stream of media content;
forwarding the request over a network to content server;in response to the request, receiving over the network a rolling manifest file that includes a sequence of media segment URLs indicating an ordering of the media segments that create a representation of a portion of the media content stream, the media segment URLs following a predefined naming convention that allows media segment URLs occurring prior to and subsequent to the media segment URLs included in the manifest file to be predicted; modifying the manifest file by inserting at least one additional media segment URL into the manifest file comprising a private tag identifying an amount of content before or after the media segment URLs, the at least one additional media segment URL being sequentially located before or after the media segment URLs included in the manifest file; sending the modified manifest file to the media player; and predicting the at least one additional media segment URL using the predefined naming convention by using the private tag to describe the number of seconds of content available from the server before or after the media segment URLs. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of preparing streaming media content to be rendered by a media player, the method comprising:
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receiving a request to receive a stream of media content; forwarding the request over a network to content server; in response to the request, receiving over the network a rolling manifest file that includes a sequence of media segment URLs indicating an ordering of the media segments that create a representation of a portion of the media content stream, the media segment URLs following a predefined naming convention that allows media segment URLs occurring prior to and subsequent to the media segment URLs included in the manifest file to be predicted; modifying the manifest file by inserting at least one additional media segment URL into the manifest file, the at least one additional media segment URL being sequentially located before or after the media segment URLs included in the manifest file; and sending the modified manifest file to the media player, wherein the manifest file includes a number of media segment URLs to be inserted before or after a specified media segment URL included in the manifest file and further comprising modifying the manifest file by inserting the specified number of media segment URLs before or after the specified media segment URL.
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11. One or more computer-readable storage media, containing instructions which, when executed by one or more processors perform a method of preparing streaming media content to be rendered by a media player, the method comprising:
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receiving a request to receive a stream of media content; forwarding the request over a network to content server; in response to the request, receiving over the network a rolling manifest file that includes a sequence of media segment URLs indicating an ordering of the media segments that create a representation of a portion of the media content stream; conditioning the manifest file so that it is compatible for use by the media player; and sending the conditioned manifest file to the media player, wherein the manifest file includes a tag indicating a specified number of media segment URLs to be inserted before or after a specified media segment URL included in the manifest file and further comprising modifying the manifest file by inserting the specified number of media segment URLs before or after the specified media segment URL. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification