Multicast streaming
US10659502B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 24, 2015 |
| Grant date | May 19, 2020 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 24, 2035 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04W76/40
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The invention presents a method of providing feedback for receipt of a multicast video stream. The feedback mechanism allows the number of clients receiving over multicast to be determined, which can then be used to manage multicast delivery, including switching decisions between multicast and unicast. Video content is delivered over a multicast stream from a content server to a plurality of client devices. The client devices are each configured to respond at regular intervals whilst receiving the multicast video stream by transmitting an HTTP HEAD request message to the content server. The HTTP HEAD request refers to metadata relating to a manifest file associated with the video stream. The number of client devices receiving the multicast video stream is determined based on the number of HEAD requests received at the content server. The multicast video delivery can then be managed accordingly, and can also take into account the number of unicast clients that are requesting the corresponding unicast stream to the multicast stream.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.