Method and apparatus for controlling traffic using adaptive streaming in multi-media content transmission system

• US 9,692,801 B2
• Filed: 12/05/2012
• Issued: 06/27/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Rhyu, Sung-Ryeul, Jung, Bo-Sun, Song, Jae-Yeon
• Primary Examiner(s): Ndiaye, Cheikh
• Application Number:
  US14/363,364
• Publication Number:
  US 20150039721A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,665 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/38 by adapting coding or compression rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/61 for supporting one-way streaming services, e.g. Internet radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 intermediate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS

Abstract

A method for network operators to control traffic between a server and a client so that client-induced traffic preemption may be prevented is provided. The method includes the processes of an operator determining a network status, the network in which a server is streaming content via a multi-media transmission system, in accordance with a status of the network, determining whether to modify meta data by considering a set of predetermined conditions, and transmitting to a terminal data reflecting the modification decision.

Claims

1. A method for controlling traffic by a network server in a content transmission system, the method comprising:

receiving, from a content server, representations and metadata including information on the representations, the representations and the metadata being included in a content;

measuring an amount of the traffic managed by the network server;

determining whether the amount of the traffic is greater than a threshold value;

modulating the metadata by disabling information on at least one of the representations of the content;

modulating, if the amount of the traffic is greater than the threshold value, the representations based on the disabled information on the at least one of the representations;

generating a modulated content comprising the modulated metadata and the modulated representations; and

transmitting, to a client, the modulated content,

wherein the information on the at least one of the representations is disabled based on a largest bandwidth size of the representations.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the representations is selected based on the bandwidth size of the representations.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, if the selected at least one of the representations has a same bandwidth, the at least one of the representations is reselected among the selected at least one of the representations based on at least one of quality information, width information, height information, or frame rate information.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

if the amount of the traffic is smaller than the threshold value, modulating the metadata by enabling the information on the at least one of the representations of the content, and representations based on the enabled information on the at least one of the representations.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the modulating of the metadata is performed if there is metadata modulated by disabling the information on the at least one of the representations.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the modulating of the metadata is performed if the metadata has a minimum update period.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein, until the amount of the traffic is not greater than the threshold value, the metadata is modulated by disabling the information on the at least one of the representations.

8. A method for controlling traffic by a client in a content transmission system, the method comprising:

receiving, from a content server, representations and metadata including information on the representations through a network server, the representations and the metadata being included in a content;

receiving, from the network server, information on a maximal bandwidth available for receiving the content if an amount of the traffic managed by the network server is greater than a threshold value;

modulating the metadata by disabling information on at least one of the representations of the content based on the information on the maximal bandwidth; and

modulating the representations based on the disabled information on the at least one of the representations, the modulated representations having a bandwidth equal to or smaller than the maximal bandwidth;

transmitting, to the network server, a message for a request to provide a modulated content corresponding to the modulated metadata and the modulated representations; and

receiving, from the network server, the modulated content,

wherein the information on the at least one of the representations is disabled based on a largest bandwidth size of the representations.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

modulating the metadata by enabling the information on the at least one of the representations of the content, and representations based on the enabled information on the at least one of the representations if the amount of the traffic is smaller than the threshold value.

10. A method of controlling traffic by a network server in a content transmission system, the method comprising:

determining whether an amount of the traffic managed by the network server is greater than a threshold value;

transmitting, to a client, if the amount of the traffic is greater than the threshold value, information on a maximal bandwidth available for receiving a content which includes metadata and representations, the metadata being modulated by disabling information on at least one of the representations of the content based on the information on the maximal bandwidth, the representations being modulated based on the disabled information on the at least one of the representations, and the modulated representations having a bandwidth equal to or smaller than the maximal bandwidth;

receiving, from the client, a message for a request to provide a modulated content which comprises the modulated metadata and the modulated representations; and

transmitting, to the client, the modulated content,

wherein the information on the at least one of the representations is disabled based on a largest bandwidth size of the representations.

11. A network server for controlling traffic in a content transmission system, the network server comprising:

a memory configured to store instructions therein;

a receiver configured to receive, from a content server, representations and metadata including information on the representations, the representations and the metadata being included in a content;

a processor that, when the instructions are executed, is configured to;

measure an amount of the traffic managed by the network server,

determine whether the amount of the traffic is greater than a threshold value,

modulate the metadata by disabling information on at least one of the representations of the content and modulate the representations based on the disabled information on at least one of the representations if the amount of the traffic is greater than the threshold value, and

generate a modulated content including the modulated metadata and the modulated representations; and

a transmitter configured to transmit, to a client, the modulated content,

wherein the information on the at least one of the representations is disabled based on a largest bandwidth size of the representations.

12. The network server of claim 11, wherein the at least one of the representations is selected based on the bandwidth size of the representations.

13. The network server of claim 12, wherein, if the selected at least one of the representations has a same bandwidth, the at least one of the representations is reselected among the selected at least one of the representations based on at least one of quality information, width information, height information or frame rate information.

14. The network server of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to:

if the amount of the traffic is smaller than the threshold value, modulate the metadata by enabling the information on the at least one of the representations of the content, and representations based on the enabled information on the at least one of the representations.

15. The network server of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to modulate the metadata, if there is metadata modulated, by disabling the information on the at least one of the representations.

16. The network server of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to modulate the metadata if the metadata has a minimum update period.

17. The network server of claim 11, wherein, until the amount of the traffic is not greater than the threshold value, the metadata is modulated by disabling the information on the at least one of the representations.

18. A client in a multimedia content transmission system, the client comprising:

a memory configured to store instructions therein;

a receiver configured to;

receive, from a content server, representations and metadata including information on the representations, the representations and metadata being included in a content, and

receive, from the network server, information on a maximal bandwidth available for receiving the content if an amount of the traffic managed by the network server is greater than a threshold value;

a processor that, when the instructions are executed, is configured to;

modulate the metadata by disabling information on at least one of the representations of the content based on the information on the maximal bandwidth, and

the representations based on the disabled information on the at least one of the representations, the modulated representations having a bandwidth equal to or smaller than the maximal bandwidth; and

a transmitter configured to transmit, to the network server, a message for a request to provide a modulated content corresponding to the modulated metadata and the modulated representations,

wherein the receiver is further configured to receive, from the network server, the modulated content, and

wherein the information on the at least one of the representations is disabled based on a largest bandwidth size of the representations.

19. The client of claim 18, wherein the processor is further configured to modulate the metadata by enabling information on the at least one of the representations of the content, and representations based on the enabled information on the at least one of the representations, if the amount of the traffic is smaller than the threshold value.

20. A network server in a content transmission system, the network server comprising:

a memory configured to store instructions therein;

a processor that, when the instructions are executed, is configured to determine whether an amount of the traffic managed by the network server is greater than a threshold value;

a transmitter configured to transmit, to a client, information on a maximal bandwidth available for receiving a content which includes metadata and representations if the amount of the traffic is greater than the threshold value, the metadata being modulated by disabling information on at least one of the representations of the content based on the information on a maximal bandwidth, the representations being modulated based on the disabled information on the at least one of the representations, and the modulated representations having a bandwidth equal to or smaller than the maximal bandwidth; and

a receiver configured to receive, from the client, a message for a request to provide a modulated content which includes the modulated metadata and the modulated representations,

wherein the processor is further configured to generate the modulated content,

wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit, to the client, the modulated content, and

wherein the information on the at least one of the representations is disabled based on a largest bandwidth size of the representations.