Patent ID: 9727873
Date: 2017-08-08
CPC Classifications: G06Q

Claim:
1. A method comprising: under control of one or more computer systems configured with specific computer-executable instructions: receiving, at a content provider from a client device associated with a user, a request to receive a digital content item in return for a payment; determining a performance of a network associated with the client device; generating testing results based at least partly on the performance of the network; determining, based at least partly on the testing results, that request attributes received from the client device are not likely to cause a reduction in a first quality of an output of the digital content item; streaming the digital content item from the content provider to the client device at a second quality that varies based at least in part on at least one of network bandwidth or a buffer fill level of the client device; monitoring, at the content provider, the streaming of the digital content item from a start of the streaming of the digital content item to an end of the streaming of the digital content item; storing, at the content provider, metrics associated with the second quality of the streaming of the digital content item during the streaming of the digital content item; comparing, at the content provider, the metrics with one or more threshold values that are associated with an encoding bit rate of the digital content item; and providing restitution to the user based at least partly on a determination that the metrics indicate that the second quality of the streaming of the digital content item fails to achieve at least one threshold value of the one or more threshold values, wherein the restitution comprises at least one of an extension of a term to receive the digital content item or a refund of at least a portion of the payment from the user for the digital content item.