US 11677798B2

A comprehensive analysis of U.S. Patent 11,677,798 B2, based on information from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and public patent databases, is provided below. A search of the 2026 dockets for the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) did not yield any specific results for this patent.

Summary of U.S. Patent 11,677,798 B2

• Title: Apparatus, system, and method for multi-bitrate content streaming
• Assignee: DISH Technologies L.L.C.
• Inventors: David F. Brueck, Mark B. Hurst, R. Drew Major
• Filing Date: October 7, 2022
• Issue Date: June 13, 2023
• Abstract: An apparatus for multi-bitrate content streaming includes a receiving module configured to capture media content, a streamlet module configured to segment the media content and generate a plurality of streamlets, and an encoding module configured to generate a set of streamlets. The system includes the apparatus, wherein the set of streamlets comprises a plurality of streamlets having identical time indices and durations, and each streamlet of the set of streamlets having a unique bitrate, and wherein the encoding module comprises a master module configured to assign an encoding job to one of a plurality of host computing modules in response to an encoding job completion bid. A method includes receiving media content, segmenting the media content and generating a plurality of streamlets, and generating a set of streamlets.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims

This patent contains three independent claims: claim 1 (a method), claim 7 (a system), and claim 13 (a non-transitory computer-readable medium). A plain-language summary of each is as follows:

• Independent Claim 1 (Method): This claim outlines a method for a client device to adapt its video streaming quality based on network performance. The device requests and receives small segments of a video, called "streamlets." It constantly measures how long it takes to receive these streamlets. Based on this timing, it decides whether to switch to a higher or lower quality version of the video. Before switching to a higher quality, it first calculates if the network can handle the larger data stream to ensure a smooth playback experience.

• Independent Claim 7 (System): This claim describes a client device (a system) designed to implement the adaptive streaming method. The device includes a network controller to handle the requesting and receiving of video segments and an "agent controller." This agent controller is the "brain" of the operation, tasked with monitoring the download times of the video segments. It uses this information to decide when to adjust the video quality up or down, and importantly, it will first verify that the network can support a higher quality stream before making the switch.

• Independent Claim 13 (A Non-transitory Computer-Readable Medium): This claim protects a physical storage device (such as a hard drive, flash memory, or other forms of digital storage) that contains software instructions. When a device runs these instructions, it will perform the adaptive streaming method detailed in Claim 1. This includes requesting and receiving video segments, monitoring the delivery times, and intelligently switching between different quality levels of the video based on real-time network conditions.