Netflix patents video coding method for seamless stream switching
Netflix has filed a patent for a video coding technique that uses special "switch frames" to manage how video data is stored and retrieved. These frames include specific instructions on which parts of the video to keep in memory and which to discard, allowing the system to switch between different video streams or start playback at any point without errors.
In the filing’s own words
Techniques are disclosed for generating and decoding switch frames in a video-coding bitstream to enable controlled stream switching and random access playback. An encoder determines switch points between encodes and generates switch frames that include explicit signaling defining reference-frame preservation information across each switch point. The explicit signaling specifies which reference frames in a decoded picture buffer are to be preserved or refreshed, thereby maintaining consistent reference states across encodes and reducing bandwidth and processing overhead. Switch frames can include generalized switch frames that selectively preserve inter-referenced frames or random access switch frames that depend on a keyframe for decoding. A decoder receives the bitstream, parses the explicit signaling from each switch frame, updates the decoded picture buffer according to the indicated preservation information, and reconstructs the decoded pictures for seamless playback.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A computer-implemented method for decoding switch frames included in a bitstream, the method comprising: receiving a bitstream that includes a plurality of switch frames, each switch frame comprising explicit signaling defining reference-frame preservation information across a corresponding switch point; and for each switch frame included in the plurality of switch frames: parsing the explicit signaling included in the switch frame to identify reference frames to be preserved and reference frames to be refreshed across the corresponding switch point; and updating a decoded picture buffer in accordance with the identified reference frames to be preserved and the identified reference frames to be refreshed.
Facts
- Company
- Netflix (NETFLIX, INC.)
- Official title
- GENERALIZED SWITCH FRAMES
- Publication number
- US20260332825A1
- Application number
- 19415562
- Filed
- Dec 10, 2025
- Published
- Oct 22, 2026
- Inventors
- 2
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
H04N 19/70 Electricity & electronicsG11B 20/10527 Physics & computingG11B 27/34 Physics & computingH04N 19/105 Electricity & electronicsH04N 19/503 Electricity & electronicsMore from Netflix in AI & software
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Summaries 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.