US 12,464,175 B2
Simulation-based techniques for evaluating encoding ladders for video streaming
Xiaoqing Zhu, Austin, TX (US); Sagar Bharadwaj Kalasibail Seetharam, Pittsburgh, PA (US); Te-Yuan Huang, Campbell, CA (US); Kaylie Alexa Kwon, San Francisco, CA (US); Kyle Christopher Swanson, Los Gatos, CA (US); and Renata Cruz Teixeira, Palo Alto, CA (US)
Assigned to NETFLIX, INC., Los Gatos, CA (US)
Filed by NETFLIX, INC., Los Gatos, CA (US)
Filed on Jan. 13, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/154,709.
Prior Publication US 2024/0244281 A1, Jul. 18, 2024
Int. Cl. H04N 21/238 (2011.01); H04N 21/647 (2011.01); H04N 21/84 (2011.01)
CPC H04N 21/238 (2013.01) [H04N 21/64738 (2013.01); H04N 21/84 (2013.01)] 23 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A computer-implemented method for evaluating candidate encoding ladders to use when streaming a media title, the method comprising:
generating a first streaming header based on a first plurality of rungs associated with a first candidate encoding ladder, wherein each rung included in the first plurality of rungs specifies a resolution and a bitrate of a different encoded video included in a plurality of encoded videos;
executing an adaptive bitrate algorithm on the first streaming header over a first plurality of simulated streaming sessions based on a first plurality of network throughput traces to compute a first metric value for a first metric based on a parameterized objective function, wherein the parameterized objective function receives, as input, both a quality of experience and one or more cost terms associated with the first candidate encoding ladder for each simulated streaming session included in the first plurality of simulated streaming sessions, and the parameterized objective function outputs the first metric value that is a single value for the first metric;
generating a second streaming header based on a second plurality of rungs associated with a second candidate encoding ladder;
executing the adaptive bitrate algorithm on the second streaming header over a second plurality of simulated streaming sessions based on the first plurality of network throughput traces to compute a second metric value for the first metric based on the parameterized objective function, wherein the parameterized objective function receives, as input, both a quality of experience and one or more cost terms associated with the second candidate encoding ladder for each simulated streaming session included in the second plurality of simulated streaming sessions, and the parameterized objective function outputs the second metric value that is a single value for the first metric; and
comparing the first metric value to the second metric value to determine that the first candidate encoding ladder instead of the second candidate encoding ladder should be used to stream the media title.