Amazon Technologies, Inc.

John Saxton

Ryan Paul Hegar

Kevin Moore

Khawaja Salman Shams

Brian Lewis

Michael Reddick Coleman

Olaf Nielsen

David Montgomery

Evan Gerald Statton

James Ka Sin Au

Mathew Persons Jack

Timur Kiykioglu

Matthew Rehrer

Systems and methods, to efficiently prepare for live and stored file content, implement one or more warm inputs, which actively ingest and demux content, but do not actively decode the content until an input switch is commanded. Each warm input can cache a most recent instantaneous decoder refresh and subsequent reference frames (I-frames and P-frames). Upon an input switch being commanded, the subject input commences decoding of such preserved frames. The formerly-warm input then acts as a hot input (decoding every frame) until the input switch completes. The use of warm inputs, which avoid the decoding stage, reduces computational resource use, allows preparation of all inputs by default, and permits metrics, status reports, and thumbnails to be generated regarding non-active inputs.

Preparation of warm inputs for digital content streaming

A video packaging and origination service can include one or more encoder components that receive content for encoding and transmitting to requesting entities. During the operation of the encoder components, individual encoders receive input signals for encoding and determine quality metric information related to the generation of an encoded segment. The encoder components exchange quality metric information and an encoder component is selected to transmit an encoded segment. The selection of an individual encoder component per segment can continue throughout the streaming process.

Encoder output coordination

A content delivery service that facilitates the selection of virtual machine instances utilized to implement the transcoding function. A management service first implements a test channel configuration routine that selects worst case scenario configurations for implementing the transcoding function and measures performance metrics for different virtual machine instances implementing the transcoding function. The management system can then match incoming requests for video channel transcoding with signature data from the test channel configurations to identify which virtual machine instances can implement the requested transcoding functionality.

Managing transcoding resources in content delivery systems by comparing signatures of transcoding requests with signatures of test channel configurations

A content stream matching and processing process is provided. A computing device receives a plurality of content streams. The computing device processes the content streams to generate picture data information. The picture data information can be utilized to determine whether the content streams can be aligned. Based on the alignment, the computing device can characterize the similarity of the content streams.

Matching based on video data

Techniques for managing encoder configuration based on content delivery network performance are described. A computer-implemented method may include obtaining availability metrics from one or more content delivery networks (CDNs), the availability metrics associated with one or more content streams provided by the one or more CDNs, determining at least one CDN has less than a threshold capacity based at least on the availability metrics, and sending a request to one or more encoders associated with the one or more content streams to reduce a quality of at least one of the one or more content streams based at least on the availability metrics.

Managing encoder configuration based on content delivery network performance

Systems and methods are described to enable synchronized encoding of streaming audio or video content between multiple encoders, in a manner that provides for seamlessly interchangeable encodings. Within a pool of encoders, each encoder can generate state information regarding its state of encoding, and share that state information with a controller. The control can compare the state information of the various encoders to determine whether a desynchronization has occurred. When a desynchronization does occur, such as due to intermittent network packet loss, the controller can determine an authoritative state for the pool, and instruct desynchronized encoders to resynchronize to the authoritative state, resulting in identical or interchangeable encoded content being output from each encoder of the pool.

Controller to synchronize encoding of streaming content

Systems and methods are described to enable replacement, in a packaged content stream, of a first encoded content stream with a second encoded content stream, without requiring decoding of the encoded content streams. A controller can receive a request to replace the first encoded content stream with the second encoded content stream at a specified location (e.g., a particular time). The controller can then instruct encoders associated with the respective content streams to insert a splice point frame into the respective content streams at the specified location, which splice point frame breaks inter frame dependency before and after the splice point frame. A packager can then replace the first encoded content stream with the second encoded content stream at the location of the splice point frame in the packaged content stream, without introducing errors into the packaged content stream as a result of broken inter frame dependency.

Output switching for encoded content streams

Media inputs, such as serial digital interface (SDI) inputs, can be concurrently monitored and ingested. An ingest process can be configured to concurrently monitor each of a set of SDI inputs. A transcoding job requiring content from one of the inputs can send a request over shared memory to the ingest process, which can copy the data to the media transcoding pipeline over shared memory while concurrently monitoring the SDI inputs. In at least some embodiments, multiple processes can concurrently ingest from a single SDI input.

Concurrent input monitor and ingest

Systems and methods are described to enable synchronized encoding of streaming audio or video content between multiple encoders, in a manner that provides for seamlessly interchangeable encodings. A first encoding begins encoding streaming content at a first point in time, and at a later point in time, a second encoder is configured to begin encoding the streaming content in a manner synchronized with the first encoder. The second encoder communicates via a synchronization protocol with the first encoder, and receives state information of the first encoder, such as a timecode of the streaming content at which the first encoder began encoding. The second encoder uses the received state information to determine a difference in encoding start times between the first and second encoder, and to adjust its timestamp values to match those of the first encoder. Thereafter, the first and second encoders can encode content in a synchronized manner.

Synchronization of multiple encoders for streaming content

Systems and methods are described to enable synchronized encoding of streaming audio or video content between multiple encoders, in a manner that provides for seamlessly interchangeable encodings. Within a pool of encoders, each encoder can periodically generate state information regarding its state of encoding, and share that state information with other encoders. The other encoders can compare the state information to their current state, to determine whether a desynchronization has occurred. When a desynchronization does occur, such as due to intermittent network packet loss, the encoders within the pool can evaluate the shared state information to determine an authoritative state, and then resynchronize to the authoritative state, resulting in identical or interchangeable encoded content being output from each encoder of the pool.

Encoder output responsive to quality metric information

A video packaging and origination service can include one or more encoder components that receive content for encoding and transmitting to requesting entities. During the operation of the encoder components, individual encoders receive input signals for encoding and determine picture data related to the generation of an encoded segment. The encoder components exchange picture data information and individual encoder components select synchronization information based processing the exchanged picture data information. The exchange of picture data and synchronization can continue throughout the streaming process.

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Portland, OR, United States of America

John Saxton