Media.Player

Systems and Methods for Live Streaming of Pre-Indexed Media Files

Summary

Multimedia files such as audio and video are often compressed to reduce storage size and to reduce bandwidth consumption during transmission. Moreover these compressed multimedia files will need to be stored in some form of file structure so that the required media data within the file can be retrieved and decoded. Access to the file structure is further assisted by the use of indexing information such as size, timing, and location of individual media data units within the file are stored. There are many types of multimedia file structure in use today but generally they can be classified into two types: pre-indexed and post-indexed. Pre-indexed file structure typically contains a separate section within the file where the indexing information is collectively stored. By contrast, in post-indexed file structure the indexing information is either stored alongside the media data in a distributed manner, or the indexing information is to be determined from the individual media data themselves. Pre-indexed file structure however, requires the indexing information of the entire file to be computed and stored before the file can be used for decoding and this requirement prevents the use of pre-indexed file structure in streaming live media contents. This invention provides a series of solutions to this problem, enabling the use of pre-indexed file structure in live streaming applications.

Supplementary Information

Inventor: Lee, Yiubun
Priority Number: US20110246603A1
IPC Current: G06F001516
US Class: 709217
Assignee Applicant: The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Title: METHODS AND DEVICES FOR LIVE STREAMING USING PRE-INDEXED FILE FORMATS
Usefulness: METHODS AND DEVICES FOR LIVE STREAMING USING PRE-INDEXED FILE FORMATS
Summary: Media data unit live streaming method for live streaming media data units using pre-indexed media file format. Can be used in showing e.g. live soccer games, live TV news, radio, interactive video applications.
Novelty: Media data unit live streaming method for live streaming media data units using pre-indexed media file format, involves transmitting encoded media data units to receiver after transmission of pre-generated indexing information to receiver

Industry

ICT/Telecom

Sub Category

Multimedia

Application No.

08/ENG/294 Patent Status: US Patent Pending

Others

Inventor(s): Professor Jack Lee, Department of Information Engineering

Country/Region

Hong Kong