WO2011075016A1

WO2011075016A1 - Pausing of a live media stream

Info

Publication number: WO2011075016A1
Application number: PCT/SE2009/051419
Authority: WO
Inventors: Calin Curescu
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 2009-12-15
Filing date: 2009-12-15
Publication date: 2011-06-23

Abstract

A system (10) comprising at least a media handling device (2), a storage device (6) and a display device (3) configured to store a live media stream in the storage device (6) during a pause, and provide the stored and time-shifted media content to the display device (3) after the pause. The time-shifted media content is played-out faster than the live media stream, in order to catch-up the live media stream, and the faster play-out is achieved by an increase of the play-out speed, and/or by a skipping of frames. The fast play-out of the stored media content is controlled by the media handling device, and/or by the end-user via a user input device (1). When the stored media content has caught-up the live media stream, the live media stream will be played-out on the display device.

Description

Pausing of a live media stream. TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method for a media handling device of pausing a live media stream, to a media handling device arranged to pause a live media stream, as well as to a system comprising said media handling device.

BACKGROUND

Presently, digital media transport and media manipulation is replacing the conventional analogue media transmission, and digital media transmission could be divided into live media streaming and on-demand media presentation. A live media stream transports multimedia content directly to a presentation device, without any intermediate saving of the content, e.g. on a server, while media transported on-demand is saved on a hard disk or on a server before being presented to a user on-demand.

Live media streaming resembles the conventional analogue

broadcasting, and is able to present media content

simultaneously to a large number of individual end-users. On the contrary, the on-demand media presentation allows a targeted content to reach each individual user, without any timing restrictions. Thus, both solutions have advantages, and will continue to be used side-by-side. However, there is no

interaction between live media streaming and on-demand media presentation, and the transport mechanism and the requirements could vary, e.g. regarding bandwidth and scheduling. While live media streaming requires a streaming solution, an on-demand media content could be downloaded in advance, e.g. to a STB (Set Top Box) , which converts a received signal into a media content to be displayed on a television screen. However, none of these two solutions is able to support a large number of end-users wishing to watch the same media content, such as e.g. a live concert of a sports event, but not the same commercials and advertisements. The currently available

statistics and recommendation systems enable delivery of

advertisements (media clips) to an end-user, with the media clips being targeted to the individual profile of the end-user. However, even though it is possible to insert user-targeted advertisements at specific slots in the above described

broadcasted media content, this is a very inflexible system, since the advertisements must have the same frequency and length for the different users.

Further, it would be advantageous if an end-user could specify e.g. a specific service level agreement (SLA) to allow

commercials to subsidize the watching of a desired part of the televisions programs. For instance, the most expensive gold subscription would yield completely commercial free television programs, a silver subscription would subsidize only a part of the subscription cost with commercials, while "free"

broadcasting would be totally subsidized by frequent commercials appearing in the television programs.

Additionally, it would be desirable for an end-user to be able to pause the live media stream, e.g. in order to answer the phone, and still be able to resume watching the live media stream later, synchronized with the EPG (Electronic Program Guide) . In conclusion, existing systems have not addressed problems such as e.g. how to enable an end-user to pause a live media stream, or to enable the insertion of personalized advertisements with different lengths into a live media stream, and seamlessly resume watching the live media stream later. SUMMARY

An object of the present invention is to address the problems and disadvantages outlined above, and this object and others are achieved by the method and the arrangement according to the appended independent claims, and by the embodiments according to the dependent claims.

According to one aspect, the invention provides a method for a media handling device of pausing a live media stream playing on a display device. The method comprises at least the following:

- The media handling device starts storing the live media stream on a storage device;

- After a pause interval, the media handling device starts playing-out the stored media content on the display device as a time-shifted media stream, wherein the play-out of the time- shifted media stream is faster than the live media stream;

- The media handling device resuming the play-out of the live media stream on the display device, when the time-shifted media stream catches-up the live media stream.

The media handling device may further stop storing the live media stream in the storage device, when resuming the play-out of the live media stream.

The pause interval may correspond to the play-out time interval of a clip, or may be initiated from a user input device.

The faster play-out of the time-shifted media stream may be achieved by the media handling device adapting the speed of the play-out to be higher than the speed of the live media stream, and/or by the media handling device skipping frames in the play- out, based on frame information received from a media streaming server . The media handling device may further adapt the play-out of the stored media content to user preferences. Additionally, the media handling device may adapt the play-out of the stored media content to catch-up the live media stream within a certain time interval, and the play-out of the stored media content may be controlled from a user input device. The media handling device may further retrieve the live media stream from a media streaming server, and schedule a pause interval in the live media stream for playing-out a clip on the display device. According to a second aspect, the invention provides a media handling device connectable to a storage device and a display device, and arranged to pause a live media stream playing on the display device. The media handling device comprises a

communication device for communicating with the storage device and a communication device for communicating with the display device, and the communication devices are arranged to:

Store the live media stream in the storage device;

Play-out the stored media content on the display device after the pause interval as a time-shifted media stream, wherein the play-out of the time-shifted media stream is faster than the live media stream;

Resume the play-out of the live media stream on the display device, when the time-shifted media stream catches-up the live media stream.

The communication devices are further arranged to stop the storing of the live media stream, when the play-out of the live media stream on the display device is resumed. The media handling device may further be controllable by a user input device, and may be connectable to a media streaming server for retrieving a live media stream, and to an advertisement server for retrieving an advertisement to be played-out on the display device.

According to a third aspect, the invention provides a system comprising a media handling device according to the second aspect, as well as a storage device and a display device.

The system may further comprise a user input device for

controlling the media handling device, and the system may be connectable to an advertisement server and to a media streaming server .

An advantage with the present invention is that it allows an end-user to pause a live media stream, as well as insertion of targeted advertisements, while allowing the user to resume watching the media content at the same position after the pause, and enabling a catch-up with the live media stream, in order to provide synchronization with the EPG (Electronic Program Guide)

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described in more detail, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

- Figure 1 schematically illustrates the system, comprising a media handling device, a storage device and a display device, according to the invention;

- Figure 2 schematically illustrates a media handling device, according to the invention;

- Figure 3 is an exemplary signalling diagram illustrating the play-out of live media content on a display device via a media handling device, according to an embodiment of the invention; - Figure 4a is an exemplary signalling diagram illustrating the insertion of an clip/advertisement into a live media stream, according to an embodiment of the invention;

- Figure 4b is an exemplary signalling diagram illustrating the end-user pausing a live media stream, e.g. via a remote- control, according to an embodiment of the invention;

- Figure 5 is an exemplary signalling diagram illustrating a

play-out of a time-shifted media stream after the pause, and a resumed play-out of the live media stream, and

- Figure 6 is a flow diagram showing a media handling device

pausing the play-out of a live media stream, and eventually resuming the play-out of the live media stream.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, the invention will be described in more detail with reference to certain embodiments and to accompanying drawings. For purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth, such as particular scenarios, techniques, etc., in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it is apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practised in other embodiments that depart from these specific details . Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the functions and means explained herein below may be implemented using software functioning in conjunction with a programmed microprocessor or general purpose computer, and/or using an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) . It will also be appreciated that while the current invention is primarily described in the form of methods and devices, the invention may also be embodied in a computer program product as well as in a system comprising a computer processor and a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory is encoded with one or more programs that may perform the functions disclosed herein.

This invention enables a pausing of a digital live streaming media content, e.g. for insertion of a media clip, such as e.g. a personalized advertisement, and a catch-up with the live media stream after the pause. Further, the invention enables an end- user to initiate a pause of the live media streaming content and to re-start the media content later as a time-shifted media stream, and the end-user could play, pause and resume the playing of a media stream via a suitable user input device. In order to enable the end-user to resume watching the media content as a live media stream after the pause, synchronized with the EPG, the time-shifted media stream is played-out faster, in order to eventually catch-up the live media stream.

If the speed of the play-out of the time-shifted media content is increased only slightly, e.g. by 5%, the increase will not be noticeable, but will still enable the time-shifted media stream to catch-up with the live media stream, such that the media handling device will be able to provide the live media stream to the display device directly from the media streaming server.

Preferably, the speed increase is adjustable by the end-user, and enabling the user to synchronize the media content with the timing of the EPG.

According to a preferred embodiment of this invention, the live media stream is saved on a suitable storage device, when a media clip, e.g. an advertisement, is inserted in the media stream by a media handling device and presented on a display device, or when a pause is initiated by the end-user. After the pause, or the presentation of the media clip, the user would loose the media content transmitted during the pause, if he/she would jump directly into the live media stream. Thus, in order to be able to watch the media content transmitted during the pause, the stored media content is retrieved from the storage device and presented on the display device as a time-shifted media stream. However, in order to preserve the EPG (Electronic Program

Guide) -timings or other time constraints, the time-shifted media stream has to catch-up the live media stream, and the

presentation of the live media stream on the display device has to be resumed. This is achieved by the media handling device playing-out the time-shifted media stream slightly faster than the live media stream, without deteriorating the quality of the presentation. In order to provide a faster play-out of the time- shifted media stream, the stream could be played-out at a higher speed, or some frames of scenes of the original stream could be skipped. Alternatively, the faster play-out is achieved by a combination of a higher play-out speed and skipped frames, and suitable frames to be skipped are e.g. frames before and after a scene change.

According to an embodiment of the invention, information on suitable frames to be skipped in the play-out is distributed to the media handing device by the media streaming server. Since this information is only used during a catch-up, a delay in creating and sending this information is acceptable. According to an embodiment of this invention, the media handling device computes an optimal combination of speed increase and skipping of frames depending on several factors, e.g. the remaining TV program duration, the occurrence of advertisement and skippable frames, and the length of the pause length, in order to enable a catch-up of the live media stream. According to a further exemplary embodiment, the end-user is able to participate in selecting a suitable play-out to enable a catch-up with the live media stream within a certain time-interval, but without notably altering the quality of the media presentation. Once the time-shifted media content catches-up with the live media stream, the media handling device will present the live media stream directly on the display device, and the storage of the live media stream on the storage device will be stopped, as well as the retrieval of the stored media content from the storage .

Further, clips could be downloaded from an advertisement server and stored locally in advance, i.e. the night before, in case the connection is slow.

Thus, the invention is implemented by means of a media handling device 2, a storage device 6, and a display device 3, as well as by media streaming servers 5 and advertisement servers 4, i.e. advertisement streaming servers or advertisement servers. Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary system 10 comprising a media handling device 2, according to the invention, the system further

comprising a storage device 6, a display device 3 and a user input device 1. The system 10 is further connected to an

advertisement server 4 for retrieving media clips for insertion into a live media stream, as well as a media streaming server 6 for retrieving the live media stream.

The nodes in the system 10 represent independent entities, and two or more of the entities could be co-located on the same hardware device and arranged to communicate locally.

Alternatively, all of the entities of the system could be implemented on different hardware devices, and connected e.g. through an IP network.

The media handling device 2 represents the core of the system, and it is capable of receiving commands from a user input device 1, tuning to a live media multicast, downloading clips from an advertisement server, sending store commands and forwarding the live media content to be stored in the storage device 6, and retrieving the time-shifted media content from the storage device. The media handling device is also able to determine an optimal combination of play-out speed and frame skipping in the play-out of the time-shifted media stream from the storage device, in order to enable the time-shifted media stream to catch-up with the live media stream within a suitable time- interval, while retaining a high presentation quality. Further, the media handling device mixes the clips with the time-shifted media content and the live media content and displays it on the display device 3.

The media handling device, which is further illustrated in figure 2, comprises a communication device 21 for communicating with a storage device 6, a communication device 22 for

communicating with the display device 5, as well as appropriate processing units (not illustrated in the figure) . Preferably, the media handling device is further provided with interfaces for retrieving a live media stream from a media streaming server 5, and for retrieving clips, e.g. advertisements, to be inserted in the live media stream, from an advertisement server 4. The communication devices 21, 22 are provided with suitable

transmitters and receivers, preferably wireless, to enable the media handling device to start storing the live media stream in the storage device when a pause is initiated, to play-out the stored media stream on the display device, faster than the live media stream, after a pause interval, to determine if the stored media stream has caught-up the live media stream, and resuming the play-out of the live media stream on the display device, when the stored media stream has caught-up the live media stream. According to further exemplary embodiments, the media handling device is controllable by a separate user input device 1, normally a remote control, which will provide commands from the user to the media handling device, e.g. for playing a media stream, pausing the stream, and resuming the stream.

It should be noted that the media handling device 2 could be implemented by physical or logical entities using software functioning in conjunction with a programmed microprocessor or general purpose computer, and/or using an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) . The storage device 6, e.g. a network storage device or a hard- disk of a PC (Personal Computer) , stores the live media stream, and will provide the media handling device with the time-shifted media content, as well as pre-downloaded media clips, e.g.

advertisements .

The display device 1, e.g. a TV, or the display of the PC that functions as a storage device, presents the live media stream mixed with inserted media clips, e.g. advertisements, as well as the time-shifted media stream.

Figure 3 is a signalling diagram illustrating how the end-user initiates the play-out of a selected live media stream using a user input device 1, according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. In signal SI, the media handling device 2

authenticates the end-user via the user input device 1, and fetches a list of user-targeted media clips, e.g.

advertisements, from the advertisement server 4, in signal S2, the list indicating the identity and play-out time of clips to be inserted in a media stream that the end-user will watch. In signal S3, the end-user sends a play command from the user-input device 1 to the media handling device 2, selecting a certain live media content, and the media handling device starts

streaming the selected live media stream from the media

streaming server, 5, in signal S4, as well as the stream with information regarding suitable frames to skip in the media stream, in signal S5. In signal S6, the media handling device plays-out the media stream on the display device 3. The figure 4a is an exemplary signalling diagram illustrating the initiation of a pause interval by the media handling device, according to an embodiment of the invention. The initiation of the pause is based on the play-list of advertisements, and the media handling device 2 starts storing the live media stream in the storage device 6 in signal S7, and retrieves the media clip, e.g. a user-targeted advertisement, from the advertisement server, in signal S8. In signal S9, the media handling device plays-out the clip on the display device 3. Figure 4b is an exemplary signalling diagram illustrating the initiation of a pause by the end-user sending a pause command to the media handling device 2 via the user input device 1,

according to an embodiment of the invention. In signal S8, the media handling device starts storing the live media stream in the storage device 6, and in signal S9, the end-user sends a command to the media handling device for ending the pause, and resuming watching of the selected media content.

Next, figure 5 is an exemplary signalling diagram illustrating how the play-out of the media content is resumed after a pause, which has been initiated according to figure 4a or figure 4b, i.e. initiated by the end-user or scheduled by the media

handling device for inserting a media clip in the live media stream. In signal S10, the media handling device 2 retrieves the stored media content from the storage device, and plays-out the stored media as a time-shifted stream on the display device, in signal S12. The play-out of the stored media stream is faster than the live media stream, in order to catch-up with the live media stream within a certain time interval. In order to achieve the faster play-out, the media handling device determines a suitable speed of the media stream, and the skipping of suitable frames in the stream, in signal Sll. According to an exemplary embodiment, this determination is based on the pause interval, i.e. the catch-up time, which corresponds to the length of the inserted clip, or the length of the user-initiated pause. The time-interval that is available for synchronizing the time-shifted media content with the live media stream, i.e. for catching-up the live media stream, corresponds to the remaining time before another clip should be inserted into the live media stream and played-out on the display device, and is hereinafter denoted t_inter_ad_period . First, the media handling device determines how the catch-up time should be obtained by a combination of a time gain, hereinafter denoted t_inc_speed, caused by a frame speed

increase, and a time gain, hereinafter denoted t_drop_frames , caused by skipped frames, and the combination is preferably based on user preferences, such that t_inc_speed could

correspond to e.g. 25%, 50% or 75% of the catch-up time, and t_drop_frames accordingly corresponding to 75%, 50% or 25%, respectively. However, according to a different exemplary embodiment, the combination is pre-defined, e.g. to 75%/25%. Thereafter, the increase of the play-out speed, as compared to normal play speed, could be calculated as

( t_inc_speed) / ( t_inter_ad_period) , and the number, n, of frames to be dropped could be calculated as n = (t_drop_frames) * frame_rate .

Next, in signal S12, the media handling device plays-out the stored and time-shifted stream with a speed that is increased, e.g. with (t_inc_speed) / (t_inter_ad_period) , as compared to the normal play-out speed, and drops n frames, in order to achieve a faster play-out. Accordingly, the time-shifted stream will catch-up the live media stream before next clip should be inserted in the stream, e.g. within a time interval =

t_inter_ad_period, in signal S13, and stop storing the live media stream, and resume playing the live media stream on the display device, in signal S14, and stop storing the live media stream in the storage device, in signal S15.

According to a preferred embodiment, the messages correspond to HTTP messages and the media streaming corresponds to HTTP streams, but other protocols are also suitable, such as e.g. SIP or RTSP for control, and the RTP for streaming.

Figure 5 is a flow diagram showing an embodiment of the

invention, according to which a media handling device 2 handles a pause in the live media stream. In step 62, the media handling device 2 starts storing the live media stream on a suitable and available storage device, when the pause is initiated. Step 63 determines if the pause interval, e.g. the play-out of an advertisement or a user-initiated pause, is over. When the pause is over, the media handling device retrieves the stored media content from the storage device, and plays-out on the display device, in step 64, as a time-shifted media stream, while continuing to store the live media stream in the storage device. The play-out of the time-shifted media stream is faster than the live media streaming, in order to catch-up the live media stream. Step 65 determines if the time-shifted media stream has caught-up with the live media stream, i.e. that the time-shifted media stream is synchronized with the live media stream. When the time-shifted media content has caught-up with the live media stream, then the media handling device resumes the play-out of the live media stream directly on the display device, in step 66, and stops storing the live media stream in the storage device . Thus, the invention provides an efficient solution for combining a live media streaming with on-demand targeted media clips, enabling e.g. different advertisement-ingestion quotas in a live media stream, depending on user subscription level. Further, the invention provides a flexible catch-up mechanism that may employ both an increased play-out speed and a selective frame dropping, depending on user preferences.

Further, the above mentioned and described embodiments are only given as examples and should not be limiting to the present invention. Other solutions, uses, objectives, and functions within the scope of the invention as claimed in the accompanying patent claims should be apparent for the person skilled in the art .

Claims

1. A method for a media handling device (2) of pausing a live media stream playing on a display device (3) , the method

characterized by comprising the following steps:

- Starting to store (62) the live media stream on a storage device ( 6) ;

- After a pause interval (63), starting to play-out (64) the stored media content on the display device as a time-shifted media stream, wherein the play-out of the time-shifted media stream is faster than the live media stream;

- Resuming (66) the play-out of the live media stream on the display device, when the time-shifted media stream catches-up (65) the live media stream.

2. A method according to claim 1, comprising stopping the storing of the live media stream in the storage device, when resuming the play-out of the live media stream.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pause

interval corresponds to the play-out time interval of a clip.

4. A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pause is initiated from a user input device (1) .

5. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the faster play-out of the time-shifted media stream is achieved by the media handling device adapting the speed of the play-out to be higher than the speed of the live media stream.

6. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the faster play-out of the time-shifted media stream is achieved by the media handling device skipping frames in the play-out, based on frame information received from a media streaming server (5) .

7. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the media handling device adapts the play-out of the stored media content to user preferences.

8. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the media handling device adapts the play-out of the stored media content to catch-up the live media stream within a certain time interval.

9. A method according to any of the claims 1 - 6, wherein the play-out of the stored media content is controlled from a user input device (1) .

10. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the media handling device retrieves the live media stream from a media streaming server (5) .

11. A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the media handling device schedules a pause interval in the live media stream for playing-out a clip on the display device.

12. A media handling device (2) connectable to a storage device (6) and a display device (3), and arranged to pause a live media stream playing on the display device, the media handling device characterized in that it comprises a communication device (21) for communicating with the storage device (6), and a

communication device (22) for communicating with the display device (5), the communication devices arranged to:

Store the live media stream in the storage device;

13. A media handling device, according to claim 12,

characterized in that the communication devices (21, 22) are further arranged to stop the storing of the live media stream, when the play-out of the live media stream on the display device is resumed.

14. A media handling device, according to claim 12 or 13, controllable by a user input device (1) .

15. A media handling device, according to any of the claims 12 - 14, connectable to a media streaming server (5) for retrieving a live media stream.

16. A media handling device, according to claim 15, further connectable to an advertisement server (4) for retrieving an advertisement to be played-out on the display device.

17. A media handling device according to any of the claims 12 - 16, arranged to adapt the play-out speed of the time-shifted media stream to be higher that the speed of the live media stream.

18. A media handling device according to any of the claims 12 - 17, arranged to skip frames in the play-out of the time-shifted media stream, based on frame information received from a media streaming server (5) .

19. A media handling device according to any of the claims 12 -

18, further arranged to adapt the play-out of the stored media content to user preferences.

20. A media handling device according to any of the claims 12 -

19, arranged to adapt the play-out of the stored media content to catch-up the live media stream within a certain time- interval .

21. A system (10) comprising a media handling device (2) according to any of the claims 12 - 20, characterized in that the system further comprises a storage device (6) and a display device (3) .

22. A system according to claim 21, wherein the system further comprises a user input device (1) for controlling the media handling device (2) .

23. A system according to claim 21 or 22, wherein the media handling device (2) is connectable to an advertisement server (4) and to a media streaming server (5) .