Advanced Buffering Startegy
The decoder (or player) automatically detects server disconnects and then automatically
re-connects to that server or another server at the exact frame where the disconnect
occurred. The result is that the viewer has an uninterrupted experience even
though the server may experience multiple disconnects during the viewing of
a short or long video presentation.
Audio Video Synchronization
The ESPRE LIVE encoding process separates the audio file from the video file
in order to ensure synchronization of audio and video in lengthy video presentations
such as full length movies or extended training videos. This approach also allows
multiple language audio tracks to be used and be perfectly synchronized with
the original video tracks. Time stamping the encoded files every one hundred
milliseconds and synchronizing the decoding insures that any loss of synchronization
will not be visible to the viewer.
Advanced Player
The ESPRE LIVE player provides advanced controls, such as gesturing, so that
the cursor can be used to pause, play, fast forward, rewind and stop in addition
to the ability to provide these functions through the standard button type interface.
Other Advanced Player controls can be built by the web developer using the ESPRE
SDK to build a webpage (stage) where multiple video windows (actors) interact,
under programmatic controls. The video player for each video (actor) can be
queued and directed as needed to delivery a truly interactive multi-media experience.
Still another Advanced Player controls can be built by the web developer using
the ESPRE SDK to insert advertising or make user and session dependent choices
for alternative video materials and sequencing. The result is that the Advanced
Player delivers the benefits of a real-time video editor.
Advanced Player controls take technology application issues
off the table and allow developers more freedom in applying "art"
to the development of an interactive video presentation to simplify and enhance
the user experience.
Time Stamping
Since video file is time stamped every one hundred milliseconds, the advanced
player has the ability to display the progress of the video presentation in
terms of chapters, percentage or other representations as the developer chooses.
Time stamping also provides the ability to synchronize two video presentations
such as a "talking head" synchronized with a Power Point presentation
in a collaborative session with full ability to control the viewing experience
of other participants through moderator controls.
Multiple Encoding Formats
The ESPRE LIVE toolset has the ability to produce multiple versions of encoded
files from a single pass encoding process. These multiple files are needed for
offering tradeoffs between video quality level, bandwidth that will be used
and CPU resources that will be consumed. Since there is a broad spectrum in
available bandwidth to end devices and available CPU resources in them, intelligent
applications can determine the resource availability and select the most appropriate
encoded file to match the resources and to maximize the user experience.
The multiple encoding formats also allow applications to switch
between formats in real time. Since the frame reference numbers are synchronized
between the various formats, the end device player is able to dynamically switch
between formats in real-time without interruption or stall of the video presentation
in response to network interruptions, bandwidth variability, bandwidth demand
by the user, or available CPU variability.
Encoding Efficiency
The ESPRE codec is highly effecient in speed of encoding, the level of compression
achieved and in color quality that is retained during compression. Speed of
encoding and the high level of compression are critical to real time conferencing.
This effeciency enables the ESPRE toolset to perform local encoding and uplink
of a video channel while simultaneously performing decoding of several downlink
video channels. No other codec operates at the effeciency level that allows
all these sessions simultaneously.
The encoding efficiency provides other benefits. For content
owners planning to post large volumes of video, the prospect of lengthy encoding
periods translates into purchasing large server farms to maximize parallel processing.
With the ESPRE codec, even high definition encoding can be accomplished in nearly
the same time as the video running time; while other codecs are known to need
5-7 times the running time for the encode process. The retention of color quality
during the compression process is extremely important in order to maximize the
user experience and provide DVD-like quality video for entertainment purposes.
Pull Strategy Using HTTP
The ESPRE LIVE player in the user end device controls the streaming of video
frames from the streaming server. This is in contrast to the push strategy in
most other video streaming technology that leads to difficulties. With the intelligence
of the player in the end device, the player knows the exact status of the user
experience and what to do about it. Recovery from interruptions is simple: the
player repeats the pull requests from exactly where they were interrupted without
any wasted buffering, without loss of frames and especially without loss of
synchronization.
This pull strategy also enables the smooth switch over in real-time
from one streaming server to another. Nearly every video provider invests heavily
in redundant servers but they are of little use if the player intelligence in
centralized in those servers. With the pull strategy, switch over from one server
to another is smooth, since the pull requests are simply directed to another
server.
Implementing a pull strategy allows users to experience the
best video quality possible over adverse conditions such as delay, jitter, packet
loss and connection loss. The architectural strategy of having the Advanced
Player in control on of the user experience has proven to be a dramatic improvement
over the standard push strategy invoked by most companies delivering streaming
video today.
Seamless Integration
The ESPRE LIVE tool kit allows a developer to build an application that provides
the user the ability to watch a video on one device, then switch to another
device, and resume viewing at the exact same position in which the viewer left
off. In today's world of frequently switching between multiple electronic devices,
seamless integration means that a user could be watching a full-length movie
while on a commuter train and stop the video when they arrive at their destination.
Later, the user could resume watching the movie on either the home PC or IP
Set Top Box connected to a home theatre and start at the exact scene at which
they had stopped viewing earlier.
Live Interaction Media Presentation and
Controls
ESPRE LIVE provides developers with the ability to design applications that
incorporate pre-recorded video presentations with live interactive video capabilities
within the same browser page. Designers and developers are able to focus on
the "art" of creating compelling multimedia applications.
In a video conferencing or collaboration application, the moderator
or presenter has the ability to control the participant's views and interactions.
For example, in a synchronous learning application with multiple participants,
the moderator has floor controls to allow participants to "take the floor"
and address all other active participants in the session, or to share materials
with participants.
Video Messaging Services
Provide a comprehensive solution for video encoding, hosting and distribution
for applications such as video email systems, video blogging, and commercial
streaming video hosting services.
Publishing API's
Provide direct control over encoding parameters tocreate video from 120x96 to
1024x768 resolution. Indexing and segmentation allow sub-clipping of single
clips and aggregation of multiple clips into feature length video. Intelligent
streaming capabilities adjust the streams to available bandwidth and CPU.
Collaboration Service API's
manage encoding of live video streams and distribution to multiple end points
for video conferencing, workgroup collaboration and broadcast applications.
An exclusive approach to encrypted, tunnelling communications provides secure,
reliable video streams that traverse corporate networks.
Broadband Distribution Mirroring
Consumer Broadband providers have deployed services using a model of high down-link
bandwidth and low up-link bandwidth. ESPRE LIVE incorporates a patented and
economical solution to providing multiparty video conferencing to match up with
this type of broadband availability. Participants in a multiparty video conference
need only to transmit one up-link and at the same time receive multiple down-links
for all the other participants in the conference. ESPRE uses a Virtual eXchange
Netowrk (VXN) to effeciently manage the replication of down-links in real-time
video conferencing. The VXN Server is capable of managing as many as one thousand
concurrent sessions at a time.
Internet Broadcasting
The VXN in configurable to cascade to other VXN Servers. Use of a single layer
of cascading VXN servers enables the ESPRE LIVE solution to broadcast to 1000x1000
or one million participants. Use of multiple layers of cascading VXN servers
surpasses current thinking on how live internet video broadcasting can be applied.
Recording and Archiving
Within the confines of a video messaging application, the user encodes and compresses
audio and video on their local machine using Java applet. When compression is
complete the application sends a highly compressed version up to a server for
distribution and archiving. For live interactive sessions, ESPRE LIVE has incorporated
an HTTP Gateway acting as a virtual file system to provide recording and archiving
functionality on demand.
