Prior art

Here is an analysis of the most relevant prior art for US Patent 11184652, selected from the citations listed in the patent text. The "brief description" is primarily derived from the patent's title, and the "potential anticipation" is an inference based on this information and the claims of US11184652. A definitive determination under 35 U.S.C. § 102 would require a full review of each cited patent's specification and claims.

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Most Relevant Prior Art for US11184652

1. US20090254657A1

• Full citation: US20090254657A1 (Melnyk Miguel A) - Adaptive Bitrate Management for Streaming Media Over Packet Networks
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: 2009-10-08, Priority: 2007-07-10
• Brief description: This patent application describes methods for managing adaptive bitrates for streaming media over packet networks, suggesting techniques to dynamically adjust bitrate based on network conditions.
• Potential anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102 (Inference): This reference addresses the general concept of adaptive bitrate management, which is foundational to US11184652's claims. It could potentially anticipate the "bitrate adapted for playback" and the general idea of "adjusting the first bitrate" as described in claims 1, 6, and 11. However, it is not clear from the title alone whether it teaches the specific inventive step of maintaining the previously used bitrate when initiating playback of a new piece of content.

2. US20100158101A1

• Full citation: US20100158101A1 (Chung-Ping Wu) - Bit rate stream switching
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: 2010-06-24, Priority: 2008-12-22
• Brief description: This patent application focuses on methods for switching between different bitrates within a media stream.
• Potential anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102 (Inference): This reference is highly relevant to the "transitioning from ongoing playback of the first piece of content to the new piece of content" and "initiating playback of the new piece of content using the first bitrate" elements of US11184652's claims 1, 6, and 11. The core of US11184652 is how the bitrate is handled during this switch (preserving the old one). This reference likely addresses the mechanism of bitrate switching, and could potentially anticipate the general idea of switching between streams of various bitrates. Whether it explicitly teaches starting new content at the last used bitrate and then adapting, or only switching within the same content, would need a detailed review of its full text.

3. US20110296047A1

• Full citation: US20110296047A1 (Sony Corporation) - Method and apparatus for seamless playback of media
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: 2011-12-01, Priority: 2010-06-01
• Brief description: This patent application describes methods and apparatuses designed to achieve seamless playback of media, implying minimization of interruptions during content changes.
• Potential anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102 (Inference): While not explicitly mentioning "bitrate preservation" or "pipeline preservation" in its title, "seamless playback" is a key benefit of US11184652's invention. This reference is potentially relevant to claims 2, 7, and 12 of US11184652, which deal with preserving at least a portion of a playback pipeline. Achieving "seamless playback" may necessitate techniques for reusing or quickly re-establishing playback components, thus potentially anticipating the concept of pipeline preservation to reduce latency during content switches.

4. US20150172352A1

• Full citation: US20150172352A1 (At&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.) - System and Method of Adaptive Bit-Rate Streaming
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: 2015-06-18, Priority: 2013-12-17
• Brief description: This patent application describes systems and methods for adaptive bitrate streaming, a fundamental technique for delivering media over varying network conditions.
• Potential anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102 (Inference): Similar to US20090254657A1, this reference covers the broad concept of adaptive bitrate streaming, making it relevant to the underlying technology of claims 1, 6, and 11. It could anticipate the general dynamic adjustment of bitrate, but a deeper analysis of its content would be needed to determine if it teaches the specific invention of maintaining the previous bitrate for new content upon content switch.

5. US20160119657A1

• Full citation: US20160119657A1 (Arris Enterprises, Inc.) - Adaptive bitrate streaming latency reduction
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: 2016-04-28, Priority: 2014-10-22
• Brief description: This patent application directly addresses methods for reducing latency in adaptive bitrate streaming. Latency reduction is a key objective and benefit of the invention disclosed in US11184652.
• Potential anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102 (Inference): This reference is highly relevant to the problem US11184652 aims to solve (optimizing content change, reducing time for channel change). It potentially anticipates aspects of claims 1, 6, and 11 (bitrate maintenance) and claims 2, 7, and 12 (pipeline preservation) if its methods for latency reduction involve similar mechanisms, such as maintaining a higher bitrate from a previous stream to speed up the start of a new stream, or reusing playback resources. This would require a detailed comparison of its disclosed mechanisms with the claims of US11184652.

6. EP3050307A1

• Full citation: EP3050307A1 (Ericsson AB) - System and method for managing adjacent channels in an adaptive streaming environment
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: 2016-08-03, Priority: 2013-09-25
• Brief description: This European patent application describes a system and method for efficiently managing adjacent channels within an adaptive streaming environment. This implies optimization for channel switching.
• Potential anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102 (Inference): This reference is highly relevant to the "content change process" and "channel change" context of US11184652. Managing "adjacent channels in an adaptive streaming environment" strongly suggests techniques to optimize the user experience when switching channels, which could involve both bitrate management during transition and efficient setup/teardown of playback components. Therefore, it potentially anticipates aspects of both bitrate preservation (claims 1, 6, 11) and pipeline preservation (claims 2, 7, 12). A detailed review would be needed to determine if it teaches the specific mechanisms claimed by US11184652.