WO2015192683A1

WO2015192683A1 - Content distribution method, device and system based on adaptive streaming technology

Info

Publication number: WO2015192683A1
Application number: PCT/CN2015/076775
Authority: WO
Inventors: 贾记磊; 黄永菁
Original assignee: 华为技术有限公司
Priority date: 2014-06-18
Filing date: 2015-04-16
Publication date: 2015-12-23
Also published as: CN104244028B; CN104244028A

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a content distribution method, which comprises: sending a playlist description file acquiring request to a streaming media server, the acquiring request comprising a compression identifier used for indicating whether a client supports compression transmission; receiving a first compressed file that comprises a minimum-code-rate content playlist description file and is returned by the streaming media server according to the compression identifier; decompressing the first compressed file and obtaining the minimum-code-rate content playlist description file; and acquiring content fragments from the streaming media server based on the minimum-code-rate content playlist description file. In the content distribution method, when the streaming media server determines according to the compression identifier that the client supports the compression transmission, the compressed file comprising a main playlist description file and the minimum-code-rate content playlist description file is sent to the client, the number of interaction times of the client and the streaming media server at the content buffering stage is reduced, and the downloading speed is increased.

Description

Content distribution method, device and system based on code stream adaptive technology

The present application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201410272564.0, entitled "Content Distribution Method, Apparatus and System Based on Code Stream Adaptive Technology", which is filed on June 18, 2014. The entire contents are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of content distribution, and in particular, to a content distribution method, apparatus and system based on code stream adaptive technology.

Background technique

With the wide application of mobile terminals, the demand for playing video through mobile terminals has increased dramatically, and HTTP Adaptive Streaming (HAS) technology has emerged. HAS technology combines traditional Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP)/Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) streaming media technology and Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) progressive download. The advantages of technology, high efficiency, scalability and compatibility.

The general idea of HAS technology is to transcode video content into multiple code rate content, and then cut and slice the content of each code rate, each slice has the same duration, about 2-10 seconds. The playlist description file is used to describe the code rate supported by the content and the playlist of the content of each bit rate. The published content directory consists of three parts:

1. Media files: content fragment files including multiple code rates;

Second, a playlist description file of each code rate content: a media file slice list defining a specific code rate content;

Third, the main playlist description file: define the code rate supported by the content, the playlist description file name corresponding to each code rate content, and the audio track, subtitle and other information.

When the client plays the content, the user first downloads the main playlist description file, obtains the code rate supported by the content, the playlist description file name of each content rate content, and the like, and then describes the file name according to the playlist of each code rate content. Download the first rate playlist description file, the client is based on the first The rate playlist description file requests content slices from the media server for playback. During the playback of the content, the client also downloads the playlist description file of other code rate content, and detects the network download bandwidth according to the download speed of the content slice in real time, and then dynamically requests the content of the code rate from the media server according to the network state. Fragmentation.

The inventor found in the application of the HAS technology that since the client needs to download the main playlist description file and the playlist description file of the first code rate content before playing the first code rate content fragmentation, the content playback buffer time is longer. The user experience is not good.

Summary of the invention

In view of this, it is necessary to provide a content distribution method based on rate adaptive technology capable of reducing content playback buffer time and improving user experience.

The first aspect provides a content distribution method based on a code stream adaptive technology, including: sending a playlist description file acquisition request to a streaming media server, where the acquisition request includes a compression identifier for indicating whether the client supports compressed transmission; Receiving, by the streaming media server, a first compressed file that includes a lowest code rate content playlist description file returned according to the compressed identifier; decompressing the first compressed file to obtain the lowest code rate content playlist description file; The lowest bit rate content playlist description file obtains content segments from the streaming server.

According to the first embodiment of the first aspect, the obtaining, according to the lowest code rate content playlist description file, the content fragment from the streaming media server comprises: parsing the lowest bit rate content playlist description file to obtain the lowest bit rate content a playlist; obtaining a lowest code rate content slice from the streaming server according to the lowest bit rate content playlist.

The second aspect provides a client that supports the HAS technology, including: a sending unit, configured to send a playlist description file obtaining request to the streaming media server, where the obtaining request includes indicating whether the client supports compressed transmission. a receiving unit, configured to receive a first compressed file that includes a lowest code rate content playlist description file returned by the streaming media server according to the compressed identifier, and a processing unit, configured to decompress the first compressed file to obtain a minimum a content rate playlist description file; the sending unit is further configured to: play the list description file according to the lowest bit rate content to the streaming media The server sends a content fragmentation acquisition request; the receiving unit is further configured to receive the content fragment returned by the streaming media server.

According to the first embodiment of the second aspect, the sending, by the processing unit, the content rate playlist according to the lowest code rate content playlist description file to the streaming media server Describe a file to obtain a lowest bit rate content playlist; the sending unit sends a lowest bit rate content slice acquisition request to the media server according to the lowest content playlist.

The third aspect provides a streaming media server that supports the HAS, including: a receiving unit, configured to receive a playlist description file obtaining request sent by the client, where the obtaining request includes a compressed identifier for indicating whether the client supports compressed transmission a processing unit, configured to determine, according to the compression identifier, that the client supports compressed transmission; and a sending unit, configured to send, according to the determination result of the processing unit, the playlist file including the lowest code rate content playlist to the client The first compressed file.

According to the first embodiment of the third aspect, the first compressed file sent by the sending unit further includes a primary playlist description file.

In the HAS-based content distribution method of the embodiment of the present invention, when the streaming media server determines that the client supports the compressed transmission according to the compressed identifier, the compressed file of the playlist description file including the primary playlist description file and the lowest code rate media file is sent to the compressed file. The client reduces the number of interactions between the client and the streaming server in the content buffering phase, improves the download speed, and compresses the playlist description file to reduce the amount of data downloaded by the client buffer, further improving the download speed and reducing the buffering time. Improve the user experience.

DRAWINGS

1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a schematic flow chart of a content distribution method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a schematic flow chart of a content distribution method according to another embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a schematic structural diagram of a client according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a streaming media server according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a user terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention are clearly and completely described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. It is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts are within the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario architecture according to an embodiment of the invention.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the streaming media system based on the HAS technology includes: a streaming media management system 101, a content distribution system 102, and a client 103. The streaming media management system 101 is responsible for digitally encoding, encapsulating, and publishing the input media stream. The content distribution system 102 is composed of a plurality of standard web servers 1021 (also referred to as streaming media servers), and is responsible for accepting requests from clients and transmitting the content requested by the client to the client. It should be noted that for large-scale deployment of streaming media systems, edge networks or other content distribution networks may be used. The client 103 is configured to retrieve content from the content distribution system 102 and reassemble the content for presentation to the user in the form of a continuous media stream.

The media management system 101 includes at least one media encoder 1011 and one media stream segmenter 1012. The media encoder 1011 is configured to receive audio and video from an audio or video source device for encoding and encapsulation. The encoding format should be one of the set of encodings supported by the client device, such as H.264 for video and HE-AAC for audio. The encapsulation format may be an MPEG-2 Transport (TS) stream containing audio and video, or an audio-only MPEG elementary stream. In addition, the media encoder 1011 can transcode and package the same video content into a plurality of code rate media streams, so that the client dynamically selects content of different code rates according to the network status.

The media encoder 1011 publishes the packaged media stream to the media stream segmenter 1012. The media stream segmenter 1012 reads the media stream from the media encoder 1011 and divides it into a series of media file fragments. The length of each segment of the media file is the same, about 2-10 seconds. The media stream segmenter 1012 also creates an index file containing the reference information of each media file, and the index file is used to confirm the location of the media file fragment. It should be noted that in this application, the index file is also referred to as a playlist description file, and includes a playlist description file for each code rate content, and a media file fragment column defining a specific code rate content. Table; a main playlist description file, which defines a playlist description file name corresponding to each code rate content, and information such as audio tracks and subtitles.

The content distribution system 102 can be a web server or a web caching system that publishes media files and index files based on the HTTP protocol.

The client 103 may be a smart terminal embedded with a player supporting the HTTP protocol, such as a smart phone, a tablet or a computer, or the client is a player supporting the HAS technology. It can be used to obtain an index file, and select a media stream according to the index file. For the selected media stream, the client 103 downloads each available media file fragment in order, and once sufficient data is downloaded, the client 103 starts to play back to the user. Combined media stream.

2 is a schematic flow chart of a content distribution method according to an embodiment of the present invention, which may be performed by the streaming media system shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the content distribution method includes:

201. The client sends a playlist description file obtaining request to the streaming media server, where the obtaining request includes a compressed identifier for indicating whether the client supports compressed transmission.

Specifically, the client sends an HTTP GET message to the streaming server, that is, the WEB server in the content distribution system in FIG. 1, for requesting to obtain the playlist description file, and the HTTPGET message carries the indication that the client supports the support. The compressed ID of the compressed transmission. Optionally, the compressed identifier may be carried by adding a parameter to the HTTP GET header field. For example, C=0 indicates that the client does not support compressed transmission, and C=1 indicates that the client supports compressed transmission. Optionally, you can also carry a supported compression format, such as gzip. If the client does not support compressed transfer, the original uncompressed playlist description file is returned, and the processing flow is the same as the prior art. In this embodiment, the client may be a player that supports the HAS technology, and the client supports the compressed transmission, indicating that the player supports decompressing the compressed content to obtain the original content.

202. The streaming media server returns a playlist description file of the compressed lowest bit rate content to the client according to the compressed identifier.

Further, the streaming media server also returns the compressed main playlist description file to the client.

Specifically, the streaming media server deploys a main playlist description file compression file, and a playlist description file compression file of each bit rate content.

Optionally, the main playlist description file and the playlist description file of each code rate content may be separately released and released one by one.

Optionally, the playlist description file of the main playlist description file and the lowest bit rate content may be combined into a first compressed file, and the playlist description files of other code rate contents are respectively compressed and deployed.

Optionally, the main playlist description file may be separately compressed and released, and the playlist description files of each code rate content are combined and compressed and released.

After receiving the playlist description file acquisition request from the client, the streaming media server determines whether the client supports compressed transmission according to the compressed identifier that is used in the request to indicate whether the client supports compressed transmission. If the client supports compressed transmission, the client will support the compressed transmission. A compressed file of the playlist description file including the main playlist description file and the lowest bitrate content is returned to the client. Optionally, the compressed file including the primary playlist description file and the compressed playlist description file compressed file including the lowest bit rate media file may be separately and separately returned to the client.

203. The client decompresses the compressed file returned by the streaming media server, and obtains a playlist description file of the lowest bit rate content.

Further, the client also decompresses the compressed file to obtain a main playlist description file.

Specifically, if the streaming media server returns the main playlist description file and the playlist description file of the lowest bit rate content in the same compressed file, decompress the compressed file and obtain the playlist of the main playlist description file and the lowest bit rate content. Description file.

If the streaming media server respectively returns a compressed file including the main playlist description file and a compressed file including the playlist description file of the lowest bit rate content, the client decompresses the compressed file one by one to obtain the main playlist description file and the minimum respectively. A playlist description file for the rate content.

204. The client sends a lowest code rate content fragmentation acquisition request to the streaming media server according to the playlist description file of the lowest bit rate content, and obtains the lowest bit rate content fragmentation from the media server.

Specifically, the client parses the playlist description file of the lowest bit rate media content to obtain a playlist of the lowest bit rate content, where the playlist includes a series of segment identifiers of the lowest bit rate content, such as a fragment URL, and the client segmentation The slice URL obtains the selected content slice from the streaming server and plays it.

Further, the client can download the playlist description file compression file of other code rate content from the streaming media server while playing the lowest bit rate content fragmentation, and the client can dynamically download the data according to the network, such as the network download speed. Other rate content segments that match the client network condition are requested from the streaming server based on the playlist description file of the other code rate content.

The HAS-based content distribution method as described above, when the streaming media server determines that the client supports the compressed transmission according to the compressed identifier, the compressed file including the primary playlist description file and the playlist description file of the lowest bit rate content is sent to the client. The number of interactions between the client and the streaming server in the content buffering stage is reduced, the download speed is improved, and the compressed playlist description file reduces the amount of data downloaded by the client buffer, further improving the download speed, reducing the buffering time, and improving the user. Experience.

The embodiment of the present invention is further described in detail below by taking Apple's dynamic rate adaptation (HLS) as an example. HLS is an HTTP-based streaming media network transmission protocol proposed by Apple, which is an implementation scheme of HAS technology. It can realize live and on-demand streaming media, mainly used in iOS system, providing audio and video live broadcast and on-demand programs for iOS devices (such as iPhone and iPad). The content of HLS includes the following parts:

1. The main playlist description file: a text file with the extension m3u8, which defines the playlist description file name corresponding to each bit rate content, and information such as multiple audio tracks and subtitles.

2. A playlist description file of each code rate content: a text file with an extension of m3u8, wherein a TS file list corresponding to the bit rate is defined, and when the client plays a content of a certain bit rate, the corresponding request is requested according to the file list order. The TS file is played.

3. TS fragmentation: TS fragment file including multiple code rates.

As shown in FIG. 3, another embodiment of the present invention provides an HLS-based content distribution method, including: Two stages of content publishing and content playback.

Content publishing phase: At the time of content distribution, the streaming media management system compresses the playlist description file, wherein the playlist description file of the main playlist description file and the lowest bitrate content can be compressed into one file, and other code rates. The playlist description files of the content are compressed into a plurality of compressed files one by one. Publish the above compressed file to the streaming server. After the content is published, the following content list in the streaming media server includes the following playlist description files:

1. The main playlist description file (original file);

2. The compressed main playlist description file (the compressed play file includes a main playlist description file and a playlist description file of the lowest bit rate content);

3. A playlist description file (original file) of each code rate content;

4. A playlist description file of each code rate content after compression (a playlist description file including a code rate content in each compressed file)

As shown in the following table:

The content playback phase, as shown in Figure 3, includes the following steps:

301. The client sends a primary playlist description file request to the streaming media server, where the request carries a compressed identifier indicating whether the client supports compressed transmission.

Specifically, the client sends an HTTP GET message for requesting to obtain a playlist description file, and the HTTP GET message carries a client capability field for indicating whether the client supports compressed transmission. Optionally, the compressed identifier may be carried by adding a parameter to the HTTP GET header field. For example, C=0 indicates that the client does not support compressed transmission, and C=1 indicates that the client supports compressed transmission. Optionally, you can also carry a supported compression format, such as gzip. If the client does not support compressed transfer, the original uncompressed playlist description file is returned, and the processing flow is the same as the prior art. In this embodiment, the client may be a player that supports the HLS protocol.

302. The streaming media server determines, according to the compressed identifier in the request message, whether the client supports compressed transmission.

303. After determining that the client supports the compressed transmission, the streaming media server returns the compressed playlist description file to the client.

Specifically, the compressed playlist description file includes a main playlist description file and a playlist description file of the lowest bitrate content.

304. The client decompresses and parses the compressed primary playlist description file and the playlist description file of the lowest bitrate content returned by the streaming media server.

305. The client requests content fragmentation of the lowest bit rate content from the streaming media server.

Specifically, after parsing the lowest bit rate playlist description file, the client obtains a playlist of the lowest bit rate content, where the playlist includes a series of fragment identifiers of the lowest bit rate content, such as a fragment URL, and the client is segmented according to the fragment. The URL sends a content slice to the streaming server to obtain the selection.

306. The streaming media server returns the lowest bit rate content fragment to the client.

307. The client plays the received content fragment.

308. The client requests a playlist description file of other code rate content from the streaming media server.

Specifically, the client sends a request for acquiring another content rate content playlist description file to the streaming media server while playing the lowest bit rate content fragment file.

309. The streaming media server returns a playlist description file of the compressed other code rate content to the client.

310. The client determines the network status according to the download speed of the content fragment, and dynamically switches the code rate.

Specifically, the client can dynamically request other content rate content fragments matching the client network status according to the network downloading status, such as the network download speed, according to the playlist description file of the other code rate content.

In another optional implementation manner, in the content publishing phase, the main playlist description file may be separately compressed, the playlist description files of each code rate content are compressed together, or the main playlist description file is separately compressed, and each The playlist description files of the code rate content are compressed separately.

The HLS-based content distribution method as described above, when the streaming media server determines that the client supports the compressed transmission according to the compressed identifier, the compressed file including the primary playlist description file and the playlist description file of the lowest bit rate content is sent to the client. The number of interactions between the client and the streaming server in the content buffering stage is reduced, the download speed is improved, and the compressed playlist description file reduces the amount of data downloaded by the client buffer, further improving the download speed, reducing the buffering time, and improving the user. Experience.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a client. As shown in FIG. 4, the client includes:

The sending unit 401 is configured to send a playlist description file acquisition request to the streaming media server, where the obtaining request includes a compression identifier used to indicate whether the client supports compressed transmission;

The receiving unit 402 is configured to receive, by the streaming media server, the first compressed file that includes the lowest code rate playlist description file that is returned according to the compressed identifier;

The processing unit 403 is configured to decompress the first compressed file to obtain a lowest code rate playlist description file.

The sending unit 401 is further configured to send a content fragmentation acquisition request to the streaming media server according to the lowest code rate playlist description file; the receiving unit is further configured to receive the content content returned by the streaming media server sheet.

Specifically, the client may be a user terminal that supports a HAS player, such as a smart phone, a tablet, or the like, or a player that supports HAS. When the content distribution method of the embodiment of the present invention is executed, the sending unit 401 sends an HTTP request message to the streaming media server, where the HTTP request message is requested to obtain the primary playlist description file, where the HTTP request message carries the indication whether the client is Supporting a compressed identification of the compressed transmission, the streaming server determining, according to the compressed identifier, whether the client supports the compressed transmission, and when determining that the client supports the compressed transmission, sending the primary playlist description file and the lowest to the receiving unit 402 of the client The compressed file of the code rate content playlist description file. The processing unit 403 decompresses the compressed file received by the receiving unit 402 to obtain a primary playlist description file and a lowest bit rate content playlist description file. At the same time, the processing unit 403 parses the lowest bit rate content playlist description file to obtain a playlist of the lowest bit rate content, the playlist containing a series of slice identifiers of the lowest bit rate content. The processing unit 403 sends a content fragmentation acquisition request to the streaming media server according to the playlist instruction sending unit 404, where the content carries the content fragmentation identifier, and the streaming media server obtains the content fragmentation identifier in the content fragmentation request according to the received content. After the query obtains the fragment file corresponding to the content fragment identifier, it returns to the receiving unit 402 of the client, and the processing unit 403 parses the received content fragment for playing.

Further, when parsing the received content fragment, the processing unit 403 further instructs the sending unit 401 to send another content rate content playlist description file acquisition request to the streaming media server, and the streaming media server displays the other content rate content playlist description file. Send to the receiving unit 402. The processing unit 403 parses the other code rate content playlist description file received by the receiving unit 402, and obtains other code rate content. The playlist determines the network status according to the download speed of the content slice, and dynamically specifies the sending unit 401 to send a code rate content fragmentation request suitable for the current network state to the media server according to the network condition.

Another embodiment of the present invention further provides a streaming media server that supports the HAS technology. As shown in FIG. 5, the method includes: a receiving unit 501, configured to receive a playlist description file obtaining request sent by a client, where the obtaining request includes a processing unit 502, configured to determine, according to the compressed identifier, that the client supports compressed transmission, and a sending unit 503, configured to: according to the judgment result of the processing unit, The client sends the first compressed file including the lowest bit rate playlist description file.

Optionally, the receiving unit 501 further receives a content fragmentation request sent by the client, where the content fragmentation request carries the content fragmentation identifier, and the processing unit 502 obtains, according to the content fragmentation identifier, the content fragment identifier corresponding to the content fragmentation identifier. After the content is fragmented, the instruction sending unit 503 sends the content slice to the client for playing.

In addition, the receiving unit 501 further receives another content rate content playlist description file acquisition request sent by the client, and the processing unit 502 instructs the sending unit 503 to send the compressed file of the other code rate content playlist description file to the client, so as to facilitate the client. According to the network downloading situation, content fragments of different code rates adapted to the network state are dynamically obtained from the streaming media server.

Specifically, the streaming media server may be a web server that supports the HTTP protocol. Optionally, the streaming media server may adopt a module design as shown in FIG. 6.

The streaming media server and the client, when the client requests the playlist description file from the streaming media server, carries the compressed identifier indicating whether the client supports the compressed transmission, and the streaming media server determines that the client supports the compressed transmission according to the compressed identifier. Transmitting the compressed file including the main playlist description file and the playlist description file of the lowest bit rate content to the client, reducing the number of interactions between the client and the streaming server in the content buffering stage, improving the download speed, and compressing the playback The list description file reduces the amount of data downloaded by the client buffer, further improving the download speed, reducing the buffer time, and improving the user experience.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram of a user terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 6, the user terminal includes: at least one processor 601, such as a CPU, at least A communication interface 604 or other communication interface, memory 602, and at least one communication bus 605 are used to enable session communication between these devices. The processor 601 is configured to execute an executable module, such as a computer program, stored in the memory. The user terminal optionally also includes a user interface 603 including, but not limited to, a display, a keyboard, and a pointing device (eg, a mouse, a trackball, a touchpad, or a tactile display). The memory 602 may include a high speed RAM memory and may also include a non-volatile memory such as at least one disk memory. The communication session between the user terminal and at least one other computer is implemented by at least one network interface (which may be wired or wireless), and an Internet, a wide area network, a local network, a metropolitan area network, etc. may be used.

Optionally, the communication interface 604 is configured to send a playlist description file acquisition request to the streaming media server, where the acquisition request includes a compression identifier used to indicate whether the client supports compressed transmission, and is further configured to receive the flow. The media server returns a first compressed file including the lowest code rate playlist description file according to the compressed identifier, and the memory 602 is configured to store the communication interface 604 to receive the first compressed file, and the processor 601 is configured to use the first compressed file from the memory 602. Compressing the file and decompressing the first compressed file to obtain a lowest bit rate playlist description file. At the same time, the processor 601 parses the lowest bit rate content playlist description file to obtain a playlist of the lowest bit rate content, and the playlist includes a series of slice identifiers of the lowest bit rate content. The processor 601 instructs the communication interface 604 to send a content fragmentation acquisition request to the streaming media server according to the playlist instruction. The request carries the content fragmentation identifier, and the streaming media server obtains the content fragmentation identifier in the request according to the received content fragmentation. After obtaining the fragment file corresponding to the content fragment identifier, the query returns to the communication interface 604 of the client, and the processor 601 parses the received content fragment to call the player to play. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the elements and algorithm steps of the various examples described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both, for clarity of hardware and software. Interchangeability, the composition and steps of the various examples have been generally described in terms of function in the above description. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the solution. A person skilled in the art can use different methods for implementing the described functions for each particular application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of the present invention.

A person skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of the description, the specific working process of the system, the device and the unit described above can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiment, and details are not described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other manners. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the unit is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be another division manner, for example, multiple units or components may be combined or Can be integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, device or unit, or an electrical, mechanical or other form of connection.

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, may be located in one place, or may be distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the embodiments of the present invention.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit.

The integrated unit, if implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as a standalone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present invention contributes in essence or to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium. A number of instructions are included to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in various embodiments of the present invention. The foregoing storage medium includes: a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk. The medium in which the program code is stored.

The above is only the specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any equivalent person can be easily conceived within the technical scope of the present invention by any person skilled in the art. Modifications or substitutions are intended to be included within the scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

A content distribution method based on HTTP Adaptive Streaming (HAS) technology, comprising:

The client sends a playlist description file acquisition request to the streaming media server, where the obtaining request includes an identifier for indicating that the client supports the compressed transmission;

Receiving, by the client, the first compressed file that includes the lowest code rate content playlist description file returned by the streaming media server according to the identifier;

The client decompresses the first compressed file to obtain the lowest code rate content playlist description file;

The client obtains a content slice from the streaming server based on the lowest bit rate content playlist description file.
The content distribution method according to claim 1, wherein the obtaining the content fragment from the streaming media server based on the lowest bit rate content playlist description file comprises:

Parsing the lowest code rate content playlist description file to obtain a media file fragment list of the lowest bit rate content;

And obtaining, according to the media file fragmentation list of the lowest code rate content, the lowest code rate content fragment from the streaming server.
The content distribution method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first compressed file further comprises a main playlist description file.
The content distribution method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the method further comprises: acquiring, from the streaming media server, a second compressed file including a primary playlist description file.
The content distribution method according to claim 3, wherein the method further comprises:

Decompressing the first compressed file to obtain the primary playlist description file, and acquiring a third compressed file that includes a third playlist description file according to the primary playlist description file, where the third playlist description file is used to describe Other rate content outside the lowest bit rate content.
The content distribution method according to claim 4, wherein the method further comprises:

Decompressing the second compressed file, acquiring the primary playlist description file, and acquiring a third compressed file that includes a third playlist description file according to the primary playlist description file, where the third playlist description file is used to describe Other rate content except the lowest bit rate content.
A client supporting HAS technology, comprising:

a sending unit, configured to send a playlist description file obtaining request to the streaming media server, where the obtaining request includes an identifier for indicating that the client supports compressed transmission;

a receiving unit, configured to receive, by the streaming media server, a first compressed file that includes a lowest code rate content playlist description file returned according to the identifier;

a processing unit, configured to decompress the first compressed file to obtain a lowest code rate content playlist description file;

The sending unit is further configured to send a content fragmentation acquisition request to the streaming media server according to the lowest code rate content playlist description file;

The receiving unit is further configured to receive the content fragment returned by the streaming media server.
The client according to claim 7, wherein the processing unit is specifically configured to:

Parsing the lowest code rate content playlist description file to obtain a media file fragmentation list of the lowest bit rate content;

The sending unit is specifically configured to:

And sending, according to the media file fragmentation list of the lowest code rate content obtained by the processing unit, a minimum code rate content fragmentation acquisition request to the media server.
The client according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the first compressed file received by the receiving unit further comprises a main playlist description file.
The client according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to receive, from the streaming media server, a second compressed file including a primary playlist description file.
The client according to claim 9, wherein the processing unit is further configured to decompress the first compressed file to obtain the primary playlist description file, and obtain a third play according to the primary playlist description file. a third compressed file of the list description file, the third playlist description text The pieces are used to describe other code rate content except the lowest bit rate content.
The client according to claim 10, wherein the processing unit is further configured to decompress the second compressed file to obtain the primary playlist description file, and obtain a third play according to the primary playlist description file. The third compressed file of the list description file is used to describe other code rate content except the lowest bit rate content.
A streaming media server supporting HAS, comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a playlist description file obtaining request sent by the client, where the obtaining request includes an identifier for indicating that the client supports the compressed transmission;

a processing unit, configured to determine, according to the identifier, that the client supports compressed transmission;

And a sending unit, configured to send, to the client, a first compressed file that includes a lowest code rate content playlist description file according to the determination result of the processing unit.
The streaming media server according to claim 13, wherein the first compressed file sent by the sending unit further comprises a main playlist description file.
The streaming media server according to claim 13, wherein the sending unit is further configured to send, to the client, a second compressed file that includes the primary playlist description file.
The streaming media server according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the sending unit is further configured to send, to the client, a third compressed file including a third playlist description file, the third The playlist description file is used to describe other code rate content except the lowest bit rate content.