US-12627717-B2 - Controlling communications from content server to end device

US12627717B2US 12627717 B2US12627717 B2US 12627717B2US-12627717-B2

Abstract

Communications from a content server to an end device via a proxy device are controlled. The content server and the proxy device are connected by a first link using a streaming control protocol. The proxy device also has a connection to the end device over a second link. The method includes obtaining information about a context of the end device. The method further includes determining where a decision should be made about controlling transmissions from the content server over the first link, based on the information about the context of the end device. The method further includes controlling transmissions from the content server over the first link, based on information relating to a Quality of Experience at the end device.

Inventors

Selim Ickin
Tor Kvernvik
Rafia Inam
Burak Demirel

Assignees

TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20200529

Claims (20)

1 . A method for controlling communications from a content server to an end device via a proxy device, wherein the content server has a connection to the proxy device over a first link using a streaming control protocol, and the proxy device also has a connection to the end device over a second link, the method comprising, at the end device: transmitting, from the end device, information to the proxy device about a context of the end device; and in response to the end device being instructed by the proxy device to make a decision about controlling transmissions from the content server to the end device via the proxy device, making by the end device said decision based on information relating to a Quality of Experience at the end device, wherein the instruction from the proxy device comprises a message requesting the end device to make an assessment as to whether transmissions from the content server over the first link should be controlled based on the Quality of Experience at the end device.
2 . A method according to claim 1 , comprising transmitting the information to the proxy device about the context of the end device in a field of a short-range wireless protocol message.
3 . A method according to claim 2 , wherein the short-range wireless protocol is Bluetooth.
4 . A method according to claim 1 , comprising transmitting the information relating to the Quality of Experience at the end device to the proxy device in a field of a short-range wireless protocol message.
5 . A method according to claim 4 , wherein the short-range wireless protocol is Bluetooth.
6 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein the information relating to the Quality of Experience at the end device comprises information relating to time gaps between packets received at the end device.
7 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein the information relating to the Quality of Experience at the end device comprises information relating to a state of a buffer containing packets received at the end device.
8 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of making said decision about controlling transmissions from the content server to the end device via the proxy device, based on information relating to the Quality of Experience at the end device comprises comparing at least one parameter relating to the Quality of Experience at the end device with a threshold value.
9 . A method according to claim 1 , further comprising, after making said decision about controlling transmissions from the content server to the end device via the proxy device, sending a notification over the second link to the proxy device for forwarding to the content server.
10 . A method for controlling communications from a content server to an end device via a proxy device, wherein the content server has a connection to the proxy device over a first link using a streaming control protocol, and the proxy device also has a connection to the end device over a second link, the method comprising, in said proxy device: receiving from the end device information about a context of the end device; determining where a decision should be made about controlling transmissions from the content server to the end device via the proxy device; and in response to determining that the decision about controlling transmissions from the content server to the end device via the proxy device should be made in the end device, notifying the end device of the determination, wherein notifying the end device of the determination comprises sending, to the end device, a message requesting the end device to make an assessment as to whether transmissions from the content server over the first link should be controlled based on a Quality of Experience at the end device.
11 . A method according to claim 10 , comprising receiving the information from the end device about the context of the end device in a field of a short-range wireless protocol message.
12 . A method according to claim 11 , wherein the short-range wireless protocol is Bluetooth.
13 . A method according to claim 10 , comprising receiving the information relating to the Quality of Experience at the end device from the end device in a field of a short-range wireless protocol message.
14 . A method according to claim 13 , wherein the short-range wireless protocol is Bluetooth.
15 . A method according to claim 10 , further comprising: in response to determining that the decision about controlling transmissions from the content server to the end device via the proxy device should be made in the proxy device, and receiving from the end device said information relating to the Quality of Experience at the end device, applying said received information relating to the Quality of Experience at the end device to a machine learning model; and using an output of the machine learning model to determine how transmissions from the content server to the end device via the proxy device should be controlled.
16 . A method according to claim 10 , further comprising: in response to determining that the decision about controlling transmissions from the content server to the end device via the proxy device should be made in the proxy device, deciding whether transmissions from the content server to the end device via the proxy device should be adapted, and sending a signal to the content server to cause the transmissions from the content server to the end device via the proxy device to be adapted.
17 . A method according to claim 16 , comprising sending said signal to the content server in a message in said streaming control protocol.
18 . A method according to claim 10 , further comprising, in response to determining that the decision about controlling transmissions from the content server to the end device via the proxy device should be made in the content server, receiving information from the end device relating to a Quality of Experience at the end device, and forwarding the received information relating to the Quality of Experience at the end device to the content server.
19 . A method according to claim 18 , comprising receiving the information relating to the Quality of Experience at the end device from the end device in a field of a short-range wireless protocol message, and forwarding the received information to the content server in a message in said streaming control protocol.
20 . A method according to claim 19 , wherein the short-range wireless protocol is Bluetooth.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a 35 U.S.C. § 371 national stage application of PCT International Application No. PCT/EP2020/064983 filed on May 29, 2020, the disclosure and content of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method of controlling communications from a content server to an end device via a proxy device, wherein the content server has a connection to the proxy device over a first link using a streaming control protocol, and the proxy device also has a connection to the end device over a second link, and to entities for performing steps in the method. BACKGROUND It is common for data to be streamed from a server to a client device such as a tablet or laptop computer, or a smartphone, for example in video or music streaming applications. The transport protocols that are used for establishing and controlling media sessions between end points, such as the Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) and Quick UDP Internet Connection (QUIC), are able to adapt the transmissions in response to the variations in the link quality. The link quality may for example be measured by metrics such as throughput, delay, jitter, and dropped frames. In the cases where the link quality degrades, for example there is a reduction in throughput, the retransmission of the packets takes place without packet loss. It is often preferred to proxy the stream from the client device (that is, the tablet or laptop computer, or a smartphone, for example), which acts as an end terminal for the transport protocol, further to another device. For example, the user may wish to transfer the data to an end device such as a wireless headset or a TV monitor, using a short-range wireless access technology such as WiFi or Bluetooth. It is known that the Bluetooth protocol can allow for the transmission of Quality of Service parameters between the two devices that are connected by the Bluetooth link. However, in cases as described above, where the client device acts as a proxy device, and the stream between the proxy device and the end device is based on the User Datagram Protocol (UDP), the original streaming from the server does not adapt to any variations in the link between the end device and the proxy device. Thus, the stream may continue between the server and the proxy device, while in reality the final presentation quality at the end device is poor, with packet drops and skipped video or audio content. SUMMARY According to a first aspect, there is provided a method for controlling communications from a content server to an end device via a proxy device. The content server has a connection to the proxy device over a first link using a streaming control protocol, and the proxy device also has a connection to an end device over a second link. The method comprises, at the end device, transmitting information to the proxy device about a context of the end device. The method further comprises, if instructed by the proxy device to make a decision about controlling transmissions from the content server over the first link, making said decision based on information relating to a Quality of Experience at the end device; or, if not instructed by the proxy device to make the decision about controlling transmissions from the content server over the first link, transmitting said information relating to the Quality of Experience at the end device to the proxy device. According to a second aspect, there is provided a method for controlling communications from a content server to an end device via a proxy device. The content server has a connection to the proxy device over a first link using a streaming control protocol, and the proxy device also has a connection to an end device over a second link. The method comprises, in the proxy device, receiving from the end device information about a context of the end device. The method further comprises determining where a decision should be made about controlling transmissions from the content server over the first link. The method further comprises, in response to determining that the decision about controlling transmissions from the content server over the first link should be made in the proxy device, receiving information from the end device relating to a Quality of Experience at the end device, and making said decision based on said received information; or, in response to determining that the decision about controlling transmissions from the content server over the first link should be made in the end device or in the content server, notifying the end device or the content server respectively of the determination. According to a third aspect, there is provided a method for controlling communications from a content server to an end device via a proxy device. The content server has a connection to the proxy device over a first link using a streaming control protocol, and the proxy device also has