Optimizing ABR segment sizes for mobile video outage coverage in an ABR streaming network

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9338486-B2
Application number	US-201414474535-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 2, 2014
Priority date	Sep 2, 2014
Publication date	May 10, 2016
Grant date	May 10, 2016

Abstract

A scheme for optimizing segment sizes for an adaptive bitrate (ABR) streaming client engaged in a current ABR streaming session. In one implementation, a determination is made whether a wireless UE device executing the ABR streaming client is approaching a radio white spot area. If so, a video buffer of the ABR client is configured to preload a fixed number of segments having an adjusted size depending on the duration of the radio white spot area. The preloaded segments may comprise lower quality video segments, and as the wireless UE device exits the radio white spot area, the segment size and/or bitrates may be restored depending on the signal quality.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for modulating an adaptive bitrate (ABR) streaming client engaged in a current ABR streaming session, the method comprising:
anticipating, at an ABR streaming server, that a wireless UE device executing the ABR streaming client is approaching a radio white spot area;
learning, by the ABR streaming server, that the ABR streaming client has a buffer for storing a fixed number of media segments for the current ABR streaming session; and
responsive to the anticipating and the learning, dynamically adjusting segment sizes of a plurality of media segments to be downloaded to the ABR streaming client by calculating an optimal segment size based on how long a service outage is estimated to be while the wireless UE device is in the radio white spot area, estimated travel direction of the wireless UE device and the learned number of media segments that can be cached in the ABR streaming client's buffer.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the leaning of the fixed number of media segments of the ABR streaming client's buffer is based on estimating a download duty cycle associated with the buffer.

3. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of media segments to be downloaded for playout during the service outage comprise media segments encoded in a bitrate resolution different from a bitrate resolution of media segments being streamed before the wireless UE device enters the radio white spot area.

4. The method as recited in claim 3 , wherein the bitrate resolution of the plurality of media segments is lower than the bitrate resolution of the media segments being streamed before the wireless UE device enters the radio white spot area.

5. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the segment sizes of the plurality of media segments to be downloaded are of longer duration than segment sizes of media segments being streamed before the wireless UE device enters the radio white spot area.

6. The method as recited in claim 5 , further comprising:
determining that the wireless UE device is exiting the radio white spot area; and
responsive to the determining, readjusting segment sizes of media segments for streaming outside the radio white spot area.

7. The method as recited in claim 6 , wherein the readjusting comprises restoring the segment sizes of media segments being streamed before the wireless UE device enters the radio white spot area.

8. The method as recited in claim 6 , further comprising, responsive to the determining that the wireless UE device is exiting the radio white spot area, readjusting a bitrate resolution of media segments for streaming outside the radio white spot area.

9. The method as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:
interfacing with a dynamic virtual ABR segmenter for constructing appropriate manifest files corresponding to the plurality of media segments having adjusted segment sizes based on virtualized media segment information; and
sending the manifest files to the wireless UE device.

10. An adaptive bitrate (ABR) stream delivery server configured to modulate an ABR streaming client engaged in a current ABR streaming session, the ABR stream delivery server comprising:
an interface to a video outage and Quality of Service (QoS) datastore having geographic location data pertaining to white spot areas where radio coverage is suboptimal for streaming content to a wireless user equipment (UE) device executing the ABR streaming client;
an interface to a segmenter configured to receive an ABR content stream encoded at different bitrates and to provide a virtual representation of the segmented ABR content stream at different bitrates; and
one or more processors coupled to a persistent memory module having program instructions configured to:
anticipate that the wireless UE device is approaching a radio white spot area;
learn that the ABR streaming client's buffer is configured to store a fixed number of media segments for the ABR streaming session; and
responsive to the anticipating and learning, dynamically adjust segment sizes of a plurality of media segments to be downloaded to the ABR streaming client by calculating an optimal segment size based on how long a service outage is estimated to be while the wireless UE device is in the radio white spot area, estimated travel direction of the wireless UE device and the learned number of media segments that can be cached in the ABR streaming client's buffer.

11. The ABR stream delivery server as recited in claim 10 , wherein the plurality of media segments to be downloaded for playout during the service outage comprise media segments encoded in a bitrate resolution different from a bitrate resolution of media segments being streamed before the wireless UE device enters the radio white spot area.

12. The ABR stream delivery server as recited in claim 11 , wherein the bitrate resolution of the plurality of media segments is lower than the bitrate resolution of the media segments being streamed before the wireless UE device enters the radio white spot area.

13. The ABR stream delivery server as recited in claim 10 , wherein the segment sizes of the plurality of media segments to be downloaded are of longer duration than segment sizes of media segments being streamed before the wireless UE device enters the radio white spot area.

14. The ABR stream delivery server as recited in claim 13 , wherein the persistent memory module further comprises program instructions configured to readjust segment sizes of media segments for streaming outside the radio white spot area responsive to a determination that the wireless UE device is exiting the radio white spot area.

15. The ABR stream delivery server as recited in claim 14 , wherein the readjusting comprises restoring the segment sizes of media segments being streamed before the wireless UE device enters radio white spot area.

16. The ABR stream delivery server as recited in claim 10 , wherein the persistent memory module further comprises program instructions configured to readjust, responsive to a determination that the wireless UE device is exiting the radio white spot area, a bitrate resolution of media segments for streaming outside the radio white spot area.

17. The ABR stream delivery server as recited in claim 10 , wherein the persistent memory module further comprises program instructions configured to facilitate transmission of appropriate manifest files to the wireless UE device corresponding to the plurality of media segments with adjusted segment sizes, the manifest files includes pointers to virtualized portions of the ABR content stream encoded at different bitrates.

Assignees

• Ericsson Television Inc
• Ericsson Ab

Inventors

• Phillips Chris

Classifications

• H04L65/70 Primary

  Media network packetisation · CPC title

• H04N21/4331

  Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback · CPC title

• H04N21/25841

  involving the geographical location of the client (retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; arrangements for identifying locations of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/51; location of the user terminal in data switching networks H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00) · CPC title

• H04N21/4524

  involving the geographical location of the client (retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00) · CPC title

• H04W4/028

  Electricity · mapped topic