Abstract:
Methods and arrangements for replacing segments or portions of a media file that was received via adaptive streaming or other transfer mechanism, to obtain a media file for local storage and further playback as if it came from a download. This maximizes the experience of both instant viewing and delayed viewing, and additionally provides a capability to extend the viewing experience to in-home streaming and copying to other devices. Accordingly, there is provided herein a capability to take advantage of adaptive streaming to provide a highly reliable mechanism for consumers to view media in real-time transmission, and also to obtain a resultant, locally stored media file of high quality. There is further provided herein a capability to obtain complete copies of media at different quality levels. Moreover, embodiments of the present invention facilitate adaptive streaming and copying within the home environment.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation (divisional) application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/573,093, entitled “Method and System for Optimizing Download and Instantaneous Viewing of Media Files”, filed on Oct. 2, 2009, the contents of which are fully incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Internet-delivered media takes two primary forms today. Download, or progressive download (referred to hereinafter simply as “download”), is a method to deliver a media file for local storage and playback to a media application or device (i.e., a receiving device), while streaming is a method to deliver and view a media file in real-time without storing it on a local receiving device. Media may also be delivered via local copy from physical media such as a portable drive, an optical disc, or another arrangement. 
     In the download scenario, a media file is downloaded to the receiving device at the quality (e.g., resolution, bit rate, etc) of the originating file. While it is possible to view the media file as it is downloading, delivery conditions may affect playback performance. For example, changes in network bandwidth, transmission delays or packet loss will decrease the effective download rate, forcing the receiving device to pause on playback until enough media is available again in the playback buffer. 
     Streaming employs real-time communication protocols to provide an uninterrupted viewing experience. However, streaming delivery is also vulnerable to changes in network bandwidth, transmission delays, and packet loss that can negatively impact playback and incur buffering problems. Furthermore, streaming protocols are designed to not provide a local copy of a media file to a consumer for further local storage and playback. 
     “Adaptive streaming” has been recently introduced to overcome the shortcomings of Internet delivery. Adaptive streaming allows different quality levels (e.g. different bit rates, or resolutions) of the same media file to be sent to a receiving device during the streaming as conditions change over time, depending on a number of factors, including net measured bandwidth, transmission delay, and available CPU resources of the receiving device. Among two primary approaches to adaptive streaming, one makes available multiple versions of a streamable media file at different quality levels, with the receiving device “jumping” from one media source to another in response to specific criteria. In the second approach, a media file is first divided into short segments (e.g. 3 seconds of video) before being encoded at different quality levels, and the receiving device can then request a subsequent portion at an appropriate bit rate depending on a similar set of criteria. (Media file “segments”, as broadly discussed and understood herein, could alternatively be termed “blocks” or “portions”.) In both approaches, if the delivery conditions are good the receiving device will receive media at the highest available quality level while if delivery conditions degrade, the receiving device will receive media at a lower quality level. In a typical scenario, the receiving device will playback multiple quality levels of the same media file over a period of time, since the network and device CPU conditions (and any other criteria taken into account) will vary over the same time. 
     While adaptive streaming provides a manner for playing back media files more reliably in a variable delivery network such as the Internet, it is not currently employed for transmitting a file to a consumer for local storage and further playback. While a streamed media file could well be stored for that purpose, it would almost inevitably contain segments of mixed quality throughout, and this clearly would fall short of a likely consumer expectation of a consistently high quality media file when playing back a downloaded file from a device. 
     Accordingly, a need has been recognized in connection with combining the specific advantages of both streaming and download, in such a way that consumers have the best experience possible in all consumption scenarios, whether that be streaming or download. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     Broadly contemplated, in accordance with at least one presently preferred embodiment of the present invention, are methods and arrangements for replacing segments or portions of a media file that was received via adaptive streaming, to obtain a media file for local storage and further playback as if it came from a download. This maximizes the experience of both instant viewing and delayed viewing, and additionally provides a capability to extend the viewing experience to in-home streaming and copying to other devices. 
     Accordingly, there is provided herein a capability to take advantage of adaptive streaming to provide a highly reliable mechanism for consumers to view media in real-time transmission, and also to obtain a resultant, locally stored media file of high quality. By using a background download process, media file segments can be examined in memory as a result of the adaptive streaming process and segments that are not of the desired quality can be selectively requested and replaced. 
     There is further provided herein a capability to obtain complete copies of media at different quality levels. Moreover, embodiments of the present invention facilitate adaptive streaming and copying within the home environment. 
     In summary, one aspect of the invention provides a system comprising: a media device comprising a first media device and a second media device; said first media device comprising one or more processors and instructions executable by the one or more processors to: read a multi-resolution copy of an initial media file adaptively streamed to the first media device and comprising file segments each having a resolution quality, the file segments comprising a first file segment having a first resolution quality and the second segment having a second resolution quality, the second resolution quality being different from the first resolution quality; employ resolution quality information to the file segments to obtain at least one replacement segment for the initial media file and to modify the initial media file such that the first file segment retains the first resolution quality and the at least one second file segment is replaced to match the first resolution quality; store a modified version of the initial media file as a second media file comprising file segments all having the first resolution quality; and copy to the second media device a media file comprising at least one file segment from the read media file corresponding to a single predetermined audio visual quality. 
     Another aspect of the invention provides a method, comprising: reading, at a first media device, a multi-resolution copy of an initial media file adaptively streamed to the first media device and comprising file segments each having a resolution quality, the file segments comprising a first file segment having a first resolution quality and the second segment having a second resolution quality, the second resolution quality being different from the first resolution quality; employing, at the first media device, resolution quality information to the file segments to obtain at least one replacement segment for the initial media file and to modify the initial media file such that the first file segment retains the first resolution quality and the at least one second file segment is replaced to match the first resolution quality; storing, at the first media device, a modified version of the initial media file as a second media file comprising file segments all having the first resolution quality; and copying, to a second media device, a media file comprising at least one file segment from the read media file corresponding to a single predetermined audio visual quality. 
     A further aspect of the invention provides a computer program product comprising: a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising: computer program code configured to read, at a first media device, a multi-resolution copy of an initial media file adaptively streamed to the first media device and comprising file segments each having a resolution quality, the file segments comprising a first file segment having a first resolution quality and the second segment having a second resolution quality, the second resolution quality being different from the first resolution quality; computer program code configured to employ, at the first media device, resolution quality information to the file segments to obtain at least one replacement segment for the initial media file and to modify the initial media file such that the first file segment retains the first resolution quality and the at least one second file segment is replaced to match the first resolution quality; computer program code configured to store, at the first media device, a modified version of the initial media file as a second media file comprising file segments all having the first resolution quality; and computer program code configured to copy, to a second media device, a media file comprising at least one file segment from the read media file corresponding to a single predetermined audio visual quality. 
     For a better understanding of exemplary embodiments of the invention, together with other and further features and advantages thereof, reference is made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and the scope of the claimed embodiments of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a computer system. 
         FIG. 2  schematically depicts an arrangement for providing media content to a receiving device. 
         FIG. 3  schematically depicts a first variant arrangement for providing media content to a receiving device. 
         FIG. 4  schematically depicts a second variant arrangement for providing media content to a receiving device. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     It will be readily understood that the components of the embodiments of the invention, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations in addition to the described presently preferred embodiments. Thus, the following more detailed description of the embodiments of the invention, as represented in the figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of the invention, as claimed, but is merely representative of selected presently preferred embodiments of the invention. 
     Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” (or the like) means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” or the like in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. 
     Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided to give a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the various embodiments of the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention. 
     The illustrated embodiments of the invention will be best understood by reference to the drawings/figures. The following description is intended only by way of example and simply illustrates certain selected presently preferred embodiments of the invention as claimed herein. 
     Regarding the figures, the flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions. 
     The description now turns to the figures and select, presently preferred embodiments of the invention will be described. The following description of various embodiments of the invention is presented to highlight certain aspects of the invention, and the scope of the claimed embodiments of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , there is depicted a block diagram of an illustrative embodiment of a computer system  100 . The illustrative embodiment depicted in  FIG. 1  may represent a device such as a game console, a set top box, a mobile device, a laptop, or a desktop or workstation computer. As is apparent from the description, however, embodiments of the invention may be implemented in any appropriately configured device or computing system, as described herein. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , computer system  100  includes at least one system processor  42 , which is coupled to a Read-Only Memory (ROM)  40  and a system memory  46  by a processor bus  44 . System processor  42 , which may comprise one of the AMD line of processors produced by AMD Corporation or a processor produced by INTEL Corporation is a general-purpose processor that executes boot code  41  stored within ROM  40  at power-on and thereafter processes data under the control of an operating system and application software stored in system memory  46 . System processor  42  is coupled via processor bus  44  and host bridge  48  to Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) local bus  50 . 
     PCI local bus  50  supports the attachment of a number of devices, including adapters and bridges. Among these devices is network adapter  66 , which interfaces computer system  100  to a LAN, and graphics adapter  68 , which interfaces computer system  100  to display  69 . Communication on PCI local bus  50  is governed by local PCI controller  52 , which is in turn coupled to non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM)  56  via memory bus  54 . Local PCI controller  52  can be coupled to additional buses and devices via a second host bridge  60 . 
     Computer system  100  further includes Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus  62 , which is coupled to PCI local bus  50  by ISA bridge  64 . Coupled to ISA bus  62  is an input/output (I/O) controller  70 , which controls communication between computer system  100  and attached peripheral devices such as a keyboard, mouse, serial and parallel ports, etc. A disk controller  72  connects a disk drive  99  with PCI local bus  50 . The USB Bus and USB Controller (not shown) are part of the Local PCI controller ( 52 ). 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , in accordance with at least one presently preferred embodiment of the present invention, an originating media server in the form of an adaptive streaming source  202  may preferably provide, via a network  204 , a partial multi-resolution copy  206  of a media file to a receiving device  200 . A media file may also be transferred via local copy to a receiving device  200 , e.g., prior to the file being read. Receiving device  200  could be a media device that takes any of a very wide variety of conceivable forms, which may preferably include (but not be limited to) a mobile device, a gaming console, a set top box, a desktop or a laptop computer, including a computer system similar or analogous to that indicated at  100  in  FIG. 1 . Source  202  can preferably include individual sources for segments of high, medium and low resolution. As such, the partial copy  206  may be composed of high, medium and low resolution segments (H, M, L, respectively), as shown. (Of course, these three levels of resolution are provided herein merely by way of example. A greater number of levels of resolution is of course conceivable, such as levels of resolution intermediate to those commonly understood as “high”, “medium” and “low”.) 
     Once the streaming or transfer is completed, any segments not of high quality can be provided to the receiving device by a secondary source  210  to make stored media file  208 . (This action may also be undertaken in parallel to the streaming [ 206 ] if available bandwidth would allow.) In this manner, while the instant streaming ( 206 ) can be adequate for real-time viewing if so desired by a user, the user may also now retain a copy of a higher-quality file on the device  200  for viewing at a later time. The secondary source  210  can conceivably take any of a very wide variety of forms, including (but not limited to) the originating source  202  itself, a singular source that is separate from the originating source  202 , or a distributed source as could be the case with connected peer devices. The process of providing high quality segments to replace lower quality segments (transitioning from  206  to  208 ) can be brought about in any of a variety of ways. For instance, the receiving device  200  may request the “missing” high-quality segments, or the originating source  202  could proactively provide those segments and/or direct a different device (e.g., a separate secondary source  210 ) to send those segments. 
     It is conceivable to further employ an indexing mechanism (or indexer) as an arrangement to convey information about all of the segments being downloaded to other receiving devices. The indexer keeps a record of the information about any or all of the segments being downloaded, such as the duration, position and bit rate of the segments. The indexer may store the indexed information in memory or in an indexing file  206   a  or other suitable medium to convey information about the segments to other receiving devices. The indexer could be particularly useful if containing information at least about the “missing” segments, or the non-high resolution segments (in  206 ) that are to be replaced (at  208 ). Further, the indexed information (e.g., as can be provided in index file  206   a ) may be created by the originating source  202  or the receiving device  200 . In the latter case, the indexed information may be employed by the receiving device  200  to request the missing segments from the originating source  202 , or the indexed information may be sent to the originating source  202 , which would then deliver the missing (high resolution) segments to the receiving device  200  (e.g., directly or via a third party). 
     Alternatives to an index file could replicate a similar function. For instance, the media file itself (being downloaded) could have an identifier (explicit or derived) in each portion that declares or marks the resolution of that portion. This information could be requested or sent to a secondary source  210  or written to disk as an index file. However, an advantage to employing an index file  206   a  as discussed above is that in conveying information about portion types/resolutions, it is easily transportable, accessible and transferable 
     A variant embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in  FIG. 3 , where reference numerals identifying similar components with respect to  FIG. 2  are advanced by 100. Here, media content is preferably provided to receiving device  300  as one file but then modified and stored as three files  308   a/b/c , corresponding to high, medium and low resolution files, respectively. (Again, the provision of three files and levels of resolution is shown here merely by way of illustrative and non-restrictive example, wherein additional streams of different, such as intermediate, resolution can certainly be provided.) Accordingly, the receiving device  300  ends up storing one copy of the media file for each of the three resolutions. Essentially, for each media file  308   a/b/c , the process for restoring “missing” segments can be the same as described with respect to  FIG. 2 , except the process would now be carried out for each of the different levels of resolution. 
     By way of the embodiment of  FIG. 3 , the receiving device  300  can become something of a “base” source of adaptive streaming for in-home distribution to other devices, in the context of a home network which may have variable bandwidth, using the same adaptive streaming techniques described earlier. Such bandwidth variations may be due to the inherent network (e.g. a wireless network), other activity on the network, activity on the receiving device or the destination device or both, and so on). Similar principles could be applied here as discussed above with relation to  FIG. 2 , wherein the receiving device  300  may be thought of as an “originating source” [as at  202  in  FIG. 2 ], albeit possibly limited by a lower processing power CPU, or other limitations, as compared to a typical originating source. 
     In a further refinement of the embodiment of  FIG. 3 , receiving device  300  could copy one of the media files  308   a/b/c  to a destination device  312  (as opposed to streaming the file) at a resolution which is most appropriate for the destination device. Thus, in as much as the receiving device  300  will have copies of the media file in different resolutions (e.g., H/M/L), second application of this particular variant wherein all segments of all resolutions are filled is one by which the receiving device copies the media file to the destination device  312  (instead of streaming it) at a resolution which is optimal for that destination device  312 . As such, receiving device  300  could preferably retain information about capabilities of a destination device  312  (e.g., whether the latter is a portable player, PC, network attached storage [NAS], etc) and determine, as such, which media file  308   a/b/c  of which resolution would be appropriate for the destination device  312 . Such a selection process could, e.g., be user-driven (i.e., the user would directly select which file he/she wants to transfer) or the process could be based on either an implicit deterministic process or an explicit choice based on pre-set device preference (explicit) settings. 
     A second variant embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in  FIG. 4 , where reference numerals identifying similar components with respect to  FIGS. 2  and  3  are advanced by a multiple of 100. In this case, the receiving device  400  receives media file segments of variable quality or bit rates (406) and copies the segments corresponding to one particular resolution (here, medium or “M”) to another destination device (e.g., portable device)  412  in the form of a “partial” media file  408   a . In other words, the copied media file  408   a  is “partial” in that it contains solely segments of one given resolution, but does not have all segments of the original media file  406  (and also may preferably contain a copied version  406   b  of the index file  406   a ). The destination device  412  may then preferably receive any and all “missing” media file segments (at the resolution associated with or desired for destination device  412 ) using a process such as that contemplated hereinabove for a receiving device  200 / 300  in either or both of  FIGS. 2 and 3 . The “portion filling” process can be undertaken whenever the “partial” media file  408   a  is copied over to destination device  412 , or may be done with a delay or responsive to a predetermined condition. This thus allows for automated synchronization, real time synchronization and/or parallel synchronization of copies of the original media file  406 . A very wide a variety of processes for “portion filling” are conceivable. Such processes can act independently and can serve to control the analysis, requesting and filling in of necessary segments per resolution. Depending on settings, opportunity and other factors, download may or may not take place immediately, and the process indeed could vary from one download to another, or be governed by factors such as characteristics of the device CPU and network. 
     By way of another variant, which can be applied to the embodiments discussed hereinabove and/or conceivably to a very wide range of other embodiments, it is conceivable to download a media file of a given quality, e.g. of high quality, and then transform the same into a file of medium or low quality merely by degrading the high quality file, via essentially any suitable mechanism, to obtain the file of medium or low quality. This of course can also apply to mere segments of a downloaded high (or higher) quality file as opposed to a file in its entirety. Such actions would obviate the need to download an entire new media file which itself would contain the desired medium or low quality segments. 
     As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the invention may be embodied as a system, method or computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects of the invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon. 
     Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may be utilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
     A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
     Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing. 
     Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on the user&#39;s computer (device), partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). 
     Aspects of the invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     This disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain principles and practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. 
     Although illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention are not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various other changes and modifications may be affected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure.