A method of processing media content in Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) Network Based Media Processing (NBMP) includes obtaining a plurality of tasks for processing the media content, providing an interface between an NBMP workflow manager and a cloud manager by providing an NBMP Link application program interface (API), which links the plurality of tasks together, identifying an amount of network resources to be used for processing the media content, by using the NBMP Link API, and processing the media content in accordance with the identified amount of network resources.

Techniques are described for low-latency streaming of media content using a lossless protocol. For example, a media stream, comprising encoded video data, can be streamed to a plurality of streaming clients via the lossless protocol. The plurality of streaming clients can be monitored to determine whether any of them have fallen behind in streaming the media stream. When a streaming client falls behind, a portion of video data to be streamed to the streaming client can be selectively dropped based on scalability information and/or long term reference (LTR) frame information. The low-latency streaming can be performed without using per-client quality feedback from the plurality of streaming clients. When streaming using a semi-lossy protocol, a plurality of delivery modes can be used, where each delivery mode is for a different type of encoded video data and provides a different level of reliability.

Systems and methods are described herein for streaming during unavailability of a content server. Upon determining that there are conditions indicating buffering issues during delivery of a media asset, a server determines a first group of devices suitable for receiving the media asset from the server and sharing the media asset on a peer-to-peer network. Then, the server determines a second group of devices suitable for receiving the media asset on a peer-to-peer network from a first group device. The server then determines groupings within which to share and receive the media asset. Next, the server transmits instructions to the devices in the first group to maintain in buffer and share certain portions of the media asset with the second group devices within their grouping. Finally, the server updates information detailing the media asset portions the devices are maintaining in buffer and sharing.

Example video data transmission methods and apparatus are described. One example method includes receiving a plurality of data packets corresponding to a plurality of video frames by a network device from a server. The network device determines that a transmission phase of one or more data packets corresponding to each video frame in the plurality of video frames, and determines a corresponding priority based on the transmission phase of the one or more data packets corresponding to each video frame. The network device sends, based on the priority of the one or more data packets corresponding to each video frame, the one or more data packets corresponding to each video frame to a terminal device corresponding to each video frame.

A set-top box with self-monitoring and system and method for use of the same are disclosed. In one embodiment of the set-top box, a housing secures a television input, a television output, a processor, memory, and storage therein, which are communicatively interconnected by a busing architecture. The memory is accessible to the processor, and the memory includes processor-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to detect when the television is not being utilized. Responsive thereto, the instructions cause the processor to scan channels received from the television input and generate a composite TV screen image data that may be resolved to a single TV screen image made from an assemblage of TV screen image captures corresponding to the scanned channels.

A method and a system for distributing load in a network including a requesting node and a set of external processing nodes are disclosed. The method comprises sending an Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) message to each external processing node of the set of external processing nodes. The method further comprises identifying one or more external processing nodes from the set of external processing nodes as responding nodes based on a receipt of response to a corresponding ICMP message thereto. The method further comprises selecting an external processing node from the identified responding nodes as a most suitable external processing node having capability to fulfill a video processing request submitted by the requesting node. The method further comprises sending a transmission package from the requesting node to the selected external processing node for processing thereof. The method further comprises receiving a binary response from the selected external processing node.

A computer-implemented method for selecting efficient encoders for streaming media may include (i) predicting that an expected download demand for a higher-demand segment of a media file is higher than an expected download demand for a lower-demand segment, (ii) encoding each segment of the media file with an encoder that correlates to the expected download demand of the segment by (a) encoding the higher-demand segment with a more computationally intensive encoder that produces a more efficiently compressed segment compared to a less computationally intensive encoder that produces a less efficiently compressed segment and (b) encoding the lower-demand segment with the less computationally intensive encoder, and (iii) enabling streaming of the media file by providing the more efficiently compressed encoding of the higher-demand segment and the less efficiently compressed encoding of the lower-demand segment. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

A distributed transcoding method includes splitting image content into segments of a fixed interval; allocating the split segments to a plurality of workers and performing parallel transcoding; and concatenating the transcoded segments and merging same into one encoded file.

A cable distribution system includes a head end connected to a plurality of customer devices through a transmission network that includes a remote fiber node, that converts received data to analog data suitable to be provided on a coaxial cable for the plurality of customer devices. The cable distribution system includes a license manager.

The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a transparency overlay method for a virtual set top box, a virtual set top box and a storage medium. Transparency layout features of a picture presented by an application scenario of the virtual set top box are acquired; whether compression processing of transparency data is allowed for each block on the picture is determined according to the transparency layout features; and compression processing of transparency data is performed on each allowed block, and transparency overlay is performed according to transparency data sampling points less than full number of transparency data sampling points in each allowed block.