Multiple bitrate format-agnostic streaming architecture
US9532092B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 30, 2010 |
| Grant date | Dec 27, 2016 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 30, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L67/02
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for delivering a content stream is implemented within a content delivery network (CDN) and, in one embodiment, includes the high level functions of recording the stream using a recording tier, and playing the stream using a player tier. For a live stream, the step of recording the stream includes a set of sub-steps that begins when the stream is received at a CDN entry point in a source format. The stream is then converted into an intermediate format (IF), which is an internal format for delivering the stream within the CDN and comprises a stream manifest, a set of one or more fragment indexes (FI), and a set of IF fragments. The player process begins when a requesting client is associated with a CDN HTTP proxy. In response to receipt at the HTTP proxy of a request for the stream or a portion thereof, the HTTP proxy retrieves (either from the archive or the data store) the stream manifest and at least one fragment index. Using the fragment index, the IF fragments are retrieved to the HTTP proxy, converted to a target format, and then served in response to the client request. The source format may be the same or different from the target format. Preferably, al…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.