Stream it to me! Why is it challenging?
Thomas Allan Scott · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 2009
We describe design and deployment infrastructure considerations for streamed delivery of multimedia. The system addresses constraints introduced by variations in broadband network capacity, a rich variety of playback devices, and content protection objectives. Streamed distribution, playback processing, and conditions for resource consumption are described. The constraints and design implications of streamed distribution and downloaded distribution of media are described and compared. Server resources, client resources, and broadband connectivity considerations are described, with the objective of supporting computer platforms and low-cost consumer electronics. For playback of multimedia content we describe the use cases for full and partial media views, and the digital rights considerations for authorized access from multiple playback devices. We describe client device and server state interactions to support the resumed playback use case. For time-based conditions and limitations for streamed media, we describe design considerations for calculating resource availability, rights grants, and the customer experience for media interaction as authorization windows reach their conclusion.