Netflix patents system to test video quality across many devices at once
This filing describes a method where a central computer assigns video test tasks to multiple devices simultaneously. It captures video frames from these devices during playback and compares them to reference files to measure quality objectively. The system then combines these results to check how well different devices or software versions perform.
In the filing’s own words
A host device performs distributed video quality evaluation across multiple devices under test (DUTs). Configuration data identifies DUTs, test videos, reference files, frame-capture parameters, and stages of a video-processing pipeline at which frames are to be captured. The host device assigns test cycles to available DUTs, coordinates execution of the test cycles, obtains captured frames generated by the DUTs during playback of the test videos, and analyzes the captured frames relative to the reference files to generate objective video quality metrics. The host device can aggregate metrics across frames, stages, test cycles, and DUTs, and can perform actions based at least on the aggregated metrics, including reporting and comparison of DUT performance. In some embodiments, coordination is performed using status files associated with respective DUTs, which enables automated parallel execution, exception recovery, and deployment across on-premises, network-based, or cloud-based environments.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A computer-implemented method for performing distributed video quality evaluations, the method comprising: obtaining configuration data associated with a plurality of devices under test (DUTs) and a plurality of test cycles; assigning the plurality of test cycles to available DUTs of the plurality of DUTs; obtaining, from the plurality of DUTs, captured frames generated during execution of the plurality of test cycles; analyzing the captured frames relative to reference data to generate objective video quality metrics; aggregating the objective video quality metrics across at least a subset of the plurality of test cycles to generate aggregated objective video quality metrics; and performing at least one action based at least on the aggregated objective video quality metrics.
Facts
- Company
- Netflix (NETFLIX, INC.)
- Official title
- DISTRIBUTED VIDEO QUALITY EVALUATIONS
- Publication number
- US20260303881A1
- Application number
- 19632090
- Filed
- Mar 27, 2026
- Published
- Oct 1, 2026
- Inventors
- 4
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
H04N 21/23418 Electricity & electronicsH04N 21/4425 Electricity & electronicsSummaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.