Network-controlled time-shift live media and advertisement content play for learned ABR video white spot coverage in a streaming network

• US 10,516,715 B2
• Filed: 06/22/2016
• Issued: 12/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Phillips, Chris, Chaou, Salah
• Primary Examiner(s): Sison, June Y
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Steven C
• Application Number:
  US15/189,503
• Publication Number:
  US 20170374121A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,280 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/61 for supporting one-way streaming services, e.g. Internet radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• 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 65/764 at the destination reformatting of additional data in video clients H04N21/4355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/289 Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data consumer application, e.g. in same machine, in same home or in same sub-network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5681 Pre-fetching or pre-delivering data based on network characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2402 Monitoring of the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. bandwidth available traffic monitoring in data switching networks H04L43/00; monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26258 for generating a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlist, or scheduling item distribution according to such list retrieval of multimedia data based on playlists G06F16/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

A scheme for managing ABR live media streaming of content in a wireless radio network environment that may have radio white spot areas. Upon determining that the wireless UE device executing an ABR client application is in a radio white spot area, the current ABR live media streaming session is time-shifted for a duration based on how long a service outage may last. During the video service outage, playback of advertisements pre-populated at the wireless UE device may be commenced. When the wireless UE device exits the radio white spot area, the ABR streaming session may be resumed to play the time-shifted media content from a point adjacent to the particular segment where the ABR streaming session was time-shifted.

Claims

1. A method operating at a network node disposed in an adaptive bitrate (ABR) live media streaming network, the method comprising:

determining that a wireless user equipment (UE) device engaged in a streaming session of an ABR live media stream including one or more media content segments and one or more advertisements has entered a video outage area;

obtaining a time duration of service outage associated with the video outage area depending on an estimated travel direction and an estimated speed of the wireless UE device;

time-shifting the ABR live media stream for at least the time duration of service outage;

enabling credit allocation for advertisements in the time-shifted ABR live media stream;

maintaining an accounting log of one or more wireless UE device-stored advertisements played by the wireless UE device while traversing the video outage area; and

omitting updating of a manifest associated with at least one time-shifted advertisement based at least on the accounting log, the omitting further responsive to a determination that a wireless UE device-stored advertisement played by the wireless UE device while traversing the video outage area is recognized as the at least one time-shifted advertisement of the time-shifted ABR live media stream, thereby causing the at least one time-shifted advertisement to be skipped when the wireless UE device resumes playing the time-shifted ABR live media stream upon exiting the video outage area.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising configuring an ad credit shift limit time window associated with credit allocation for advertisements in the time-shifted ABR live media stream for selectively omitting updating of manifests of time-shifted advertisements depending on whether an advertisement played by the wireless UE device is within the ad credit shift time window.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the wireless UE device-stored advertisements comprise one or more local, regional or national advertisement segments targeted based on a user demographic profile associated with the wireless UE device.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the wireless UE device-stored advertisements comprise one or more local, regional or national advertisement segments targeted based on content type of the ABR live media streaming session.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the wireless UE device-stored advertisements comprise location-based advertisement content relative to the video outage area.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

maintaining a persistent connectivity state for the streaming session while the wireless UE device is traversing the video outage area;

responsive to determining that the wireless UE device stopped playing the wireless UE device-stored advertisements while traversing the video outage area, terminating the persistent connectivity state for the ABR live media streaming session; and

providing a manifest associated with a non-time-shifted ABR live media stream to the wireless UE device when the wireless UE device exits the video outage area.

7. A network node disposed in an adaptive bitrate (ABR) live media streaming network for facilitating control of advertisements delivered during ABR live media streaming sessions, the network node comprising:

one or more processors; and

a persistent memory coupled to the one or more processors and having program instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, perform following acts;

determine that a wireless user equipment (UE) device engaged in a streaming session of an ABR live media stream including one or more media content segments and one or more advertisements has entered a video outage area;

obtain a time duration of service outage associated with the video outage area depending on an estimated travel direction and an estimated speed of the wireless UE device;

cause the ABR live media stream to be time-shifted for at least the time duration of service outage;

enable credit allocation for advertisements in the time-shifted ABR live media stream;

maintain an accounting log of one or more wireless UE device-stored advertisements played by the wireless UE device while traversing the video outage area; and

omit updating of a manifest associated with at least one time-shifted advertisement based at least on the accounting log, the omitting further responsive to a determination that a wireless UE device-stored advertisement played by the wireless UE device while traversing the video outage area is recognized as the at least one time-shifted advertisement of the time-shifted ABR live media stream, thereby causing the at least one time-shifted advertisement to be skipped when the wireless UE device resumes playing the time-shifted ABR live media stream upon exiting the video outage area.

8. The network node as recited in claim 7, wherein the program instructions further comprise instructions for configuring an ad credit shift limit time window associated with credit allocation for advertisements in the time-shifted ABR live media stream for selectively omitting updating of manifests of time-shifted advertisements depending on whether an advertisement played by the wireless UE device is within the ad credit shift time window.

9. The network node as recited in claim 7, wherein the program instructions further comprise instructions for performing:

maintaining a persistent connectivity state for the streaming session while the wireless UE device is traversing the video outage area;

responsive to determining that the wireless UE device stopped playing the wireless UE device-stored advertisements while traversing the video outage area, terminating the persistent connectivity state for the ABR live media streaming session; and

providing a manifest associated with a non-time-shifted ABR live media stream to the wireless UE device when the wireless UE device exits the video outage area.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing program instructions stored thereon which, when executed by one or more processors of at least a network node disposed in an adaptive bitrate (ABR) live media streaming network for facilitating control of advertisements delivered during ABR live media streaming sessions, the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising:

a code portion for determining that a wireless user equipment (UE) device engaged in a streaming session of an ABR live media stream including one or more media content segments and one or more advertisements has entered a video outage area;

a code portion for obtaining a time duration of service outage associated with the video outage area depending on an estimated travel direction and an estimated speed of the wireless UE device;

a code portion for time-shifting the ABR live media stream for at least the time duration of service outage;

a code portion for enabling credit allocation for advertisements in the time-shifted ABR live media stream;

a code portion for maintaining an accounting log of one or more wireless UE device-stored advertisements played by the wireless UE device while traversing the video outage area; and

a code portion for omitting updating of a manifest associated with at least one time-shifted advertisement based at least on the accounting log, the omitting further responsive to a determination that a wireless UE device-stored advertisement played by the wireless UE device while traversing the video outage area is recognized as the at least one time-shifted advertisement of the time-shifted ABR live media stream, thereby causing the at least one time-shifted advertisement to be skipped when the wireless UE device resumes playing the time-shifted ABR live media stream upon exiting the video outage area.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 10, further comprising a code portion for configuring an ad credit shift limit time window associated with credit allocation for advertisements in the time-shifted ABR live media stream for selectively omitting updating of manifests of time-shifted advertisements depending on whether an advertisement played by the wireless UE device is within the ad credit shift time window.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as recited in claim 10, further comprising:

a code portion for maintaining a persistent connectivity state for the streaming session while the wireless UE device is traversing the video outage area;

a code portion, responsive to determining that the wireless UE device stopped playing the wireless UE device-stored advertisements while traversing the video outage area, for terminating the persistent connectivity state for the ABR live media streaming session; and

a code portion for providing a manifest associated with a non-time-shifted ABR live media stream to the wireless UE device when the wireless UE device exits the video outage area.