Media Transcoding in Multimedia Delivery Services

• US 20080147864A1
• Filed: 12/24/2004
• Published: 06/19/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telecom Italia S.p.A.
• Original Assignee: Telecom Italia S.p.A.
• Inventors: Rodi, Pierfranco, De Bonis, Roberto, Drogo De Iacovo, Rosario
• Granted Patent: US 7,991,908 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1063 Application servers providing network services systems providing special services to telephonic subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 intermediate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS

Abstract

A method for managing the delivery of multimedia contents to users'"'"' communications terminals over a communications network includes transcoding the multimedia contents to be delivered. The transcoding includes: determining a transcoding method based on historical information of previous transcoding operations; performing a transcoding of the multimedia contents to be delivered according to the determined transcoding method to obtain transcoded multimedia contents to be delivered, and updating the historical information according to the performed transcoding of the multimedia contents to be delivered.

Claims

1-21. -21. (canceled)

22. A method for managing the delivery of multimedia contents to users'"'"' communications terminals over a communications network, comprising transcoding the multimedia contents to be delivered, said transcoding comprising:

determining a transcoding method based on historical information of previous transcoding operations;

performing a transcoding of the multimedia contents to be delivered according to the determined transcoding method to obtain transcoded multimedia contents to be delivered; and

updating the historical information according to the performed transcoding of the multimedia contents to be delivered.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein said determining a transcoding method further comprises:

extracting one or more of;

information about users'"'"' communications terminal capabilities, information about communications network capabilities, and information about users'"'"' preferences from a multimedia contents request by a users'"'"' communications terminal; and

determining at least one constraint for the transcoded multimedia contents to be delivered from said one or more information.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein said determining the transcoding method comprises using the historical information for optimizing an allocation of resources taking into account the at least one constraint.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein said optimizing the allocation of resources comprises exploiting dynamic programming techniques.

26. The method according to claim 22, wherein said historical information comprises a statistic frequency of a plurality of transcoded multimedia contents obtained as a result of previous transcoding operations.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein said determining a transcoding method further comprises:

identifying a list of transcoded multimedia contents typologies;

classifying each of said transcoded multimedia contents obtained as a result of previous transcoding operations according to said identified list of transcoded multimedia contents typologies, said classifying affecting a statistic frequency of the transcoded multimedia contents typologies; and

associating with each transcoded multimedia contents typology in said list a weight factor indicative of said statistic frequency.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein said list of multimedia contents typologies comprises:

a list of multimedia contents components;

for each multimedia contents component, at least one multimedia contents component format; and

for the at least one multimedia content component format, a list of transcoded multimedia content component size values.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein said statistic frequency is representative, for each size value in each list of transcoded multimedia content component size values, of an indication of the number of times in the previous transcoding operations, a transcoded multimedia contents comprised of a multimedia contents component with that size value.

30. The method according to claim 22, further comprising:

providing a repository of transcoded multimedia contents obtained as a result of previous transcoding operations, wherein said performing a transcoding of the multimedia contents to be delivered according to the determined transcoding method comprises;

ascertaining if the repository comprises a transcoded multimedia contents transcoded according to the determined transcoding method; and

in the affirmative case, delivering the transcoded multimedia contents in the repository; and

he negative case, having the multimedia contents to be delivered transcoded using the determined method, and storing the transcoded multimedia contents in the repository.

40. A web service providing transcoding services in a TCP/IP network, and comprising adaptation to implement the transcoding method according to claim 22.

41. A computer program directly loadable into a working memory of a data processing apparatus and capable of being adapted to implement, when executed, a method according to claim 22.

42. A computer program product comprising the computer program of claim 41 stored on a computer readable medium.

31. A transcoding platform for transcoding multimedia contents to be delivered to users'"'"' communications terminals over a communications network, comprising:

a database adapted to store historical data indicative of previous transcoding operations performed by the transcoding platform;

a transcoding method determination module adapted to determine a transcoding method to be applied for transcoding the multimedia contents to be delivered based on said historical data;

a transcoder module adapted to transcode the multimedia contents to be delivered based on the determined transcoding method, so as to obtain transcoded multimedia contents to be delivered; and

a historical data updating module adapted to update said historical data in said database according to the transcoding.

32. The transcoding platform according to claim 31, wherein said transcoding method determination module comprises an adaptation to:

extract one or more of;

information about users'"'"' communications terminal capabilities, information about communications network capabilities, and information about users'"'"' preferences from a multimedia contents request by a users'"'"' communications terminal; and

determine at least one constraint for the transcoded multimedia contents to be delivered from said one or more information.

33. The transcoding platform according to claim 32, wherein said transcoding method determination module is adapted to use the historical data in said database for optimizing an allocation of resources taking into account the at least one constraint.

34. The transcoding platform according to claim 33, wherein said transcoding method determination module is adapted to exploit dynamic programming techniques.

35. The transcoding platform according to claim 31, wherein said historical data in said database comprise a statistic frequency of a plurality of transcoded multimedia contents obtained as a result of previous transcoding operations.

36. The transcoding platform according to claim 35, wherein said historical data in said database comprise:

a list of transcoded multimedia contents typologies;

a classification of each of said transcoded multimedia contents obtained as a result of previous transcoding operations according to said identified list of transcoded multimedia contents typologies, said classification determining a statistic frequency of the transcoded multimedia contents typologies; and

associated with each transcoded multimedia contents typology in said list, a weight factor indicative of said statistic frequency.

37. The transcoding platform according to claim 36, wherein said list of transcoded multimedia contents typologies comprises:

a list of transcoded multimedia contents components;

for each transcoded multimedia contents component, at least one multimedia contents component format; and

for the at least one transcoded multimedia content component format, a list of transcoded multimedia content component size values.

38. The transcoding platform according to claim 37, wherein said statistic frequency is representative, for each size value in each list of transcoded multimedia content component size values, of an indication of the number of times in the previous transcoding operations, a transcoded multimedia contents comprises a multimedia contents component with that size value.

39. The transcoding platform according to claim 31, further comprising a repository of transcoded multimedia contents obtained as a result of previous transcoding operations, wherein said transcoding method determination module comprises further adaptation for:

ascertaining if the repository comprises a transcoded multimedia contents transcoded according to the determined transcoding method; and

in the affirmative case, delivering the transcoded multimedia contents in the repository; and

in the negative case, having the multimedia contents to be delivered transcoded using the determined method and storing the transcoded multimedia contents in the repository.