Situation-dependent dynamic bit rate encoding and distribution of content

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11792250-B2
Application number	US-202016884225-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 27, 2020
Priority date	Nov 16, 2012
Publication date	Oct 17, 2023
Grant date	Oct 17, 2023

Abstract

An encoder resource receives segments of content on one or more data feeds. The encoder resource receives and/or produces encoder control information specifying multiple different bit rate data streams on which to encode the segments of content. As specified by the encoder control information, in accordance with encoding rules, the encoder resource adaptively encodes the segments of content into a varying number of different bit rate data streams. Clients in a network environment initiate retrieval of the varying number of different bit rate data streams to playback content.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method comprising:
receiving original segments of content;
determining a magnitude of complexity of each respective original segment of the original segments of content, the original segments of content specifying how to reproduce a rendition of a corresponding image associated with the respective original segment during playback;
dynamically adjusting a number of different bit rates in which each respective original segment of the original segments of content is encoded based at least in part on the magnitude of the complexity of the respective original segment;
producing multiple different bit rate data streams from the original segments of content encoded at the dynamically adjusted bit rates, the original segments of content including a first segment and a second segment; and
wherein producing the multiple different bit rate data streams includes: i) producing a first bit rate data stream to include the first segment encoded at the first bit rate and the second segment encoded at the first bit rate, and ii) producing a second bit rate data stream to include the second segment encoded at the second bit rate, the first segment of content encoded at the second bit rate being absent from the second bit rate data stream.

2. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:
receiving the first segment of the original segments of content;
encoding the first segment into a first set of multiple bit rate data stream portions;
receiving the second segment of the original segments of content, the second segment being logically disposed in a sequence of the original segments of content following the first segment;
in response to detecting that a magnitude of complexity of the first segment of content is less than a threshold value, encoding the second segment into a second set of data stream portions including more bit rate data stream portions than data stream portions of the first segment in the first set.

3. The method as in claim 2 , wherein the second set of multiple different bit rate data stream portions includes at least one higher level of quality of data stream portion than data stream portions included in the first set.

4. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:
producing content access information to indicate availability of the original segments of content encoded according to the dynamically adjusted bit rates.

5. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:
receiving encoder control information indicating a range of the multiple different bit rate data streams in which to potentially encode the received original segments of content; and
dynamically adjusting the number of different bit rates to vary within the range as specified by the encoder control information depending on the magnitude of complexity associated with each respective original segment of the original segments of content.

6. The method as in claim 1 further comprising:
in response to detecting that a particular segment of the original segments of content requires a transmission bandwidth below a particular threshold value, reducing the number of different bit rates in which the particular segment is encoded.

7. The method as in claim 1 , wherein dynamically adjusting the number of different bit rates includes:
determining a complexity of the first segment of the original segments of content;
based on the determined complexity of the first segment, encoding the first segment at the first bit rate;
determining a complexity of the second segment of the original segments of content; and
based on the determined complexity of the second segment, encoding the second segment at the first bit rate and the second bit rate.

8. The method as in claim 7 , wherein the second segment is encoded at a greater number of bit rates than the first segment in response to detecting that the complexity of the second segment is greater than the complexity of the first segment.

9. The method as in claim 7 , wherein the first segment is encoded at the first bit rate in response to detecting that the complexity of the first segment is less than a complexity threshold level; and
wherein the second segment is encoded at the first bit rate and the second bit rate in response to detecting that the complexity of the second segment is greater than the complexity threshold level.

10. A method comprising:
receiving original segments of content;
determining a magnitude of complexity of each respective original segment of the original segments of content, the original segments of content specifying how to reproduce a rendition of a corresponding image associated with the respective original segment during playback;
dynamically adjusting a number of different bit rates in which each respective original segment of the original segments of content is encoded based at least in part on the magnitude of the complexity of the respective original segment; and
producing multiple different bit rate data streams from the original segments of content encoded at the dynamically adjusted bit rates, the method further comprising:
receiving a first segment of the original segments of content;
in response to detecting that a magnitude of complexity of the first segment of content falls below a threshold value, encoding the first segment into a first set of multiple different bit rate encoded segments;
receiving a second segment of the original segments of content; and
in response to detecting that a magnitude of complexity of the second segment of content is greater than the threshold value, encoding the second segment into a second set of multiple different bit rate encoded segments, the second set including a greater number of different encoded bit rate segments than included in the first set.

11. The method as in claim 10 , wherein the second set of multiple different bit rate encoded segments includes encoding of the second segment at least one higher level of quality of encoding than the encoding of the first segment in the first set.

12. A system comprising:
an encoder operative to:
receive original segments of content;
determine a magnitude of complexity of each respective original segment of the original segments content, the original segments of content specifying how to reproduce a rendition of the respective original segment during playback;
dynamically adjust a number of different bit rate data streams into which the original segments of content are encoded based at least in part on the magnitude of the complexity of each of the respective original segments;
produce multiple different bit rate data streams from the original segments of content encoded at the dynamically adjusted bit rates, the original segments of content including a first segment and a second segment; and
wherein the encoder is further operative to: i) produce a first bit rate data stream to include the first segment encoded at the first bit rate and the second segment encoded at the first bit rate, and ii) produce a second bit rate data stream to include the second segment encoded at the second bit rate, the first segment of content encoded at the second bit rate being absent from the second bit rate data stream.

13. The system as in claim 12 , wherein the encoder is further operative to:
receive the first segment of the content;
in response to detecting that a magnitude of complexity of the first segment of content falls below a threshold value, encode the first segment into a first set of multiple bit rate data streams;
receive the second segment of the content; and
in response to detecting that a magnitude of complexity of the second segment of content is greater than a threshold value, en

Assignees

• Charter Communications Operating Llc
• Time Warner Cable Entpr Llc

Inventors

• Manchester James S
• Miles Wilfred Jaime
• Zelesko Matthew
• Wolf Ethan

Classifications

• H04L65/70 Primary

  Media network packetisation · CPC title

• H04L65/612

  for unicast · CPC title

• H04L65/762

  at the source  (reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355) · CPC title

• H04L65/80

  Responding to QoS · CPC title

• H04N21/2662 Primary

  Controlling the complexity of the video stream, e.g. by scaling the resolution or bitrate of the video stream based on the client capabilities · CPC title