Apple Inc.

Cisco Technology, Inc.

Disney Enterprises, Inc.

William B May, Jr

Roger N Pantos

David L Biderman

Alan Tseng

James David Batson

Kenneth A Moberg

Eric Ross Klein

Scott C Labrozzi

John Samuel Bushell

Andrew J Valencia

John Y Su

Claude Alan Cartee

Kirk Stewart Lougheed

Pedro Marques

Gregory D Stovall

David R Hampton

Timothy D Kolar

William J Zurat

Philip Roland Graham

Jeffrey Edwin Grubb

Hassan A Shojania

Christopher J Zucker

Wen-hsiung Chen

Guenter E Roeck

Richard Thayer Wales

Christopher L Flick

Dean Hiller

Eric Colin Friedrich

David J Mackie

Kristen Marie Robins

Joseph S Rice

Joseph A Inzerillo

Blane A Eisenberg

Jordan B Schneider

Ofrit Lesser

Joseph C Hart

Frank Klotz

Ian Kluft

Aashish J Shah

Robert M Haragan, Jr

John Kevin Calhoun

Derek J Brown

Embodiments provide for methods, computer program products, and systems to improve media playback comprising receiving a variant stream, identifying respective maximum segment durations for a plurality of different types of client devices that will play media content contained in the variant stream, generating, using the variant stream, a respective playlist for each of the plurality of different types of client devices, wherein the respective playlists each contain different maximum segment durations, and delivering the respective playlists to at least one of the plurality of different types of client devices via a distribution network.

Packager for segmenter fluidity

A system includes a computing platform having processing hardware, and a memory storing software code. The software code is executed to receive content having a sequence of content segments, and marker data identifying a location within the sequence, identify, using the content and the marker data, segment boundaries of a content segment containing the location, determine, using the location and the segment boundaries, whether the location is situated within a predetermined interval of one of the segment boundaries, and re-encode a subsection of the sequence to produce a new segment boundary at the location. When the location is not situated within the predetermined interval, the subsection of the sequence includes the content segment containing the location. When the location is situated within the predetermined interval, the subsection of the sequence includes the content segment containing the location and a content segment adjoining the content segment containing the location.

Surgical micro-encoding of content

Embodiments provide for a system, comprising a plurality of encoders configured to generate a plurality of variant streams, and a cross-variant Instantaneous Decoder Refresh (IDR) identifier configured to inspect the plurality of variant streams, identify IDR frames in each of the plurality of variant streams, determine which IDR frames correspond to cross-variant boundaries, and demarcate the IDR frames corresponding to cross-variant boundaries.

Transcoder conditioning for segment fluidity

Various embodiments set forth a computer-implemented method for selectively caching digital content for streaming, comprising analyzing a set of traffic data associated with streaming of a plurality of media items in a first time period, selecting, based on the set of traffic data, a first media item for storage in a cache during a second time period, and storing in the cache, prior to receiving a request for the first media item in the second time period, at least a portion of a first media stream of a plurality of media streams associated with the first media item, and at least a portion of a second media stream of the plurality of media streams, wherein each media stream in the plurality of media streams is encoded with different characteristics.

Selective pre-caching of media streams

Techniques for improved media streaming are provided. A request for a variant list for streaming media content is received from a requesting entity, where the request includes a predefined flag. A set of predefined rules corresponding to the predefined flag is identified. The variant list is pruned based on the set of predefined rules, and the pruned variant list is transmitted to the requesting entity.

Dynamic variant list modification to achieve bitrate reduction

A near real time content streaming system can use a playlist file, in one embodiment, that includes an indicator of the type of content represented by the playlist file. The type can be indicated by a parameter, such as Video on Demand (VOD) or live, or event, that specifies the type of playlist file, and a client device can process the playlist file based upon the type of playlist file indicated by the parameter. For example, the client device, after determining the type of playlist from a playlist file can make efficiency optimizations when processing the playlist file. For example, the client, knowing the playlist file is a VOD playlist, can save the previously used variant playlist when switching to a new variant playlist rather than discarding the previously used variant playlist.

Real-time or near real-time streaming

Methods and apparatuses for real-time or near real-time streaming of content using transfer protocols such as an HTTP compliant protocol. In one embodiment, a method includes dividing a stream of data, representing the contiguous time based content of a program (e.g. a live video broadcast), into a plurality of distinct media files, and generating a playlist file having a plurality of tags and Universal Resource Indicators (URIs) indicating an order of presentation of the plurality of distinct media files. The plurality of media files and the playlist file can be made available for transmission to a client device which can retrieve the media files using the playlist file.

Playlists for real-time or near real-time streaming

This document describes a protocol for transferring unbounded streams of multimedia data. It specifies the data format of the files and the actions to be taken by the server (sender) and the clients (receivers) of the streams. It describes version 2 of this protocol.

Methods and apparatuses provide real-time or near real-time streaming of content, specified in one or more playlists, using transfer protocols such as an HTTP compliant protocol. In one embodiment, a method can execute a user application on a client device to present media files and to control presentation of the media files. The method can further run a media serving process on the client device to retrieve a playlist specifying the media files and a media source at which the media files are available, to retrieve the media files from the media source, and to decode the media files retrieved. The media serving process can call the user application to process a custom URL in order to obtain an object referred to by the custom URL.

Methods and systems for switching between media streams can use a comparison of an average bandwidth for a new stream to an observed bit rate for an existing stream in order to determine whether to switch to the new stream. A check on the amount of data buffered for the existing stream can also be performed in order to determine whether a system should switch to the new stream.

Switching between media streams

Methods and apparatuses provide real-time or near real-time streaming of content, specified in one or more playlists, using transfer protocols such as an HTTP compliant protocol. In one embodiment, a method can adaptively determine a minimum overlap for an overlap in time between two streams being received concurrently in order to determine when to switch between the two streams, and the minimum overlap can be determined based on connection speed. In another embodiment, a minimum playlist duration can be set as a multiple of a target duration which specifies a maximum duration of a media file specified in a playlist. In another embodiment, a method can enforce a start point for playback at a client device.

A method of streaming media may include opening a single connection between a client device and a media source; requesting a first media segment of a media stream corresponding to selected tier of a media title over the single connection; determining a download bitrate of the single connection; comparing the download bitrate to a predetermined bitrate of the media title; and in response to determining that the download bitrate is less than the predetermined bitrate, opening a plurality of connections between the client device and media source. The predetermined bitrate may be a predetermined bitrate of a next higher bitrate tier in a group of tiers containing the selected tier when the selected tier is not a highest bitrate tier in the group, and a predetermined bitrate of the selected tier otherwise. The method may further include, in response to determining that an aggregate download bitrate of the plurality of connections is less than a multiple of a download bitrate of an individual one of the connections, closing some of the plurality of connections so that only the individual connection remains.

Adaptive connection switching

Growing community of inventors

Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

William B May, Jr