Switching Between Adaptation Sets During Media Streaming

1. A method of retrieving media data, the method comprising: selecting a first adaptation set from which to retrieve media data, wherein the first adaptation set is in a period of a media presentation, the period including a plurality of adaptation sets including the first adaptation set and a second adaptation set, wherein the first adaptation set includes a first plurality of representations that share a first common set of coding and rendering characteristics other than bitrate, wherein the adaptation sets represent alternatives to each other for a common type of media data and differ from each other by at least one characteristic other than bitrate, and wherein each of the plurality of adaptation sets conforms to Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH); in response to the selection, retrieving, in accordance with DASH, media data from a first representation of the first adaptation set including media data of the common type, wherein the first representation comprises one of the first plurality of representations; presenting media data from the first representation of the first adaptation set; during presentation of the media data from the first representation, receiving a request to switch to the second adaptation set, wherein at the time the request to switch to the second adaptation set is received, a playout time for the switch point is less than an actual playout time at the time the request to switch is received plus a threshold value or, at the time the request to switch to the second adaptation set is received, the playout time for the switch point is greater than the actual playout time at the time the request to switch is received; and in response to the request to switch to the second adaptation set including media data of the common type, wherein the second adaptation set comprises a second plurality of representations that share a second common set of coding and rendering characteristics other than bitrate, and wherein each of the first plurality of representations differs from each of the second plurality of representations by at least one characteristic other than bitrate: retrieving, in accordance with DASH, media data from a second representation of the second adaptation set including a switch point of the second representation of the second adaptation set, wherein the second representation comprises one of the second plurality of representations, and wherein the switch point is within the period and not at a beginning of the period; and presenting media data from the second representation of the second adaptation set after an actual playout time has met or exceeded a playout time for the switch point.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the common type comprises at least one of audio data and subtitle data, wherein the first plurality of representations include media data of the common type in a first language, and wherein the second plurality of representations include media data of the common type in a second language different from the first language.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the common type comprises video data, wherein the first plurality of representations include video data for a first camera angle, and wherein the second plurality of representations include video data for a second camera angle different from the first camera angle.

4. The method of claim 1 , the method further comprising retrieving data from the first adaptation set and the second adaptation set until a playout time for retrieved media data from the second adaptation set has met or exceeded the actual playout time.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: obtaining a manifest file for the first adaptation set and the second adaptation set; and determining a playout time for the switch point using data of the manifest file, wherein retrieving the media data comprises retrieving the media data based at least in part on a comparison of the playout time for the switch point to the actual playout time when the request to switch to the second adaptation set is received.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: obtaining a manifest file for the first adaptation set and the second adaptation set; and determining a location of the switch point in the second representation of the second adaptation set using data of the manifest file.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the location is at least partially defined by a starting byte in a segment of the second representation of the second adaptation set.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the second representation comprises a selected representation, the method further comprising: determining bitrates for the second plurality of representations in the second adaptation set using the manifest file; determining a current amount of network bandwidth; and selecting the selected representation from the second plurality of representations such that the bitrate for the selected representation does not exceed the current amount of network bandwidth.

9. A device for retrieving media data, the device comprising one or more processors configured to: select a first adaptation set from which to retrieve media data, wherein the first adaptation set is in a period of a media presentation, the period including a plurality of adaptation sets including the first adaptation set and a second adaptation set, wherein the first adaptation set includes a first plurality of representations that share a first common set of coding and rendering characteristics other than bitrate, wherein the adaptation sets represent alternatives to each other for a common type of media data and differ from each other by at least one characteristic other than bitrate, and wherein each of the plurality of adaptation sets conforms to Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH); in response to the selection, retrieve, in accordance with DASH, media data from a first representation of the first adaptation set including media data of the common type, wherein the first representation comprises one of the first plurality of representations, present media data from the first representation of the first adaptation set, during presentation of the media data from the first representation, receive a request to switch to the second adaptation set, wherein at the time the request to switch to the second adaptation set is received, a playout time for the switch point is less than an actual playout time at the time the request to switch is received plus a threshold value or, at the time the request to switch to the second adaptation set is received, the playout time for the switch point is greater than the actual playout time at the time the request to switch is received, and in response to the request to switch to the second adaptation set including media data of the common type, wherein the second adaptation set comprises a second plurality of representations that share a second common set of coding and rendering characteristics other than bitrate, and wherein each of the first plurality of representations differs from each of the second plurality of representations by at least one characteristic other than bitrate: retrieve, in accordance with DASH, media data from a second representation of the second adaptation set including a switch point of the second representation of the second adaptation set, wherein the second representation comprises one of the second plurality of representations, and wherein the switch point is within the period and not at a beginning of the period, and present media data from the second representation of the second adaptation set after an actual playout time has met or exceeded a playout time for the switch point.

10. The device of claim 9 , wherein the common type comprises at least one of audio data and subtitle data, wherein the first plurality of representations include media data of the common type in a first language, and wherein the second plurality of representations include media data of the common type in a second language different from the first language.

11. The device of claim 9 , wherein the common type comprises video data, wherein the first plurality of representations include video data for a first camera angle, and wherein the second plurality of representations include video data for a second camera angle different from the first camera angle.

12. The device of claim 9 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to retrieve data from the first adaptation set and the second adaptation set until playout time for retrieved media data from the second adaptation set has met or exceeded the actual playout time.

13. The device of claim 9 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to obtain a manifest file for the first adaptation set and the second adaptation set, determine a playout time for the switch point using data of the manifest file, and retrieve the media data based at least in part on a comparison of the playout time for the switch point to the actual playout time when the request to switch to the second adaptation set is received.

14. The device of claim 9 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to obtain a manifest file for the first adaptation set and the second adaptation set, and determine a location of the switch point in the second representation of the second adaptation set using data of the manifest file.

15. The device of claim 14 , wherein the location is at least partially defined by a starting byte in a segment of the second representation of the second adaptation set.

16. The device of claim 14 , wherein the second representation comprises a selected representation, and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to determine bitrates for the second plurality of representations in the second adaptation set using the manifest file, determine a current amount of network bandwidth, and select the selected representation from the second plurality of representations such that the bitrate for the selected representation does not exceed the current amount of network bandwidth.

17. A device for retrieving media data, the device comprising: means for selecting a first adaptation set from which to retrieve media data, wherein the first adaptation set is in a period of a media presentation, the period including a plurality of adaptation sets including the first adaptation set and a second adaptation set, wherein the first adaptation set includes a first plurality of representations that share a first common set of coding and rendering characteristics other than bitrate, wherein the adaptation sets represent alternatives to each other for a common type of media data and differ from each other by at least one characteristic other than bitrate, and wherein each of the plurality of adaptation sets conforms to Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH); means for retrieving, in accordance with DASH, media data from a first representation of the first adaptation set including media data of the common type, wherein the first representation comprises one of the first plurality of representations; means for presenting media data from the first representation of the first adaptation set; means for receiving, during presentation of the media data from the first representation, a request to switch to the second adaptation set including a second plurality of representations that share a second common set of coding and rendering characteristics other than bitrate, wherein at the time the request to switch to the second adaptation set is received, a playout time for the switch point is less than an actual playout time at the time the request to switch is received plus a threshold value or, at the time the request to switch to the second adaptation set is received, the playout time for the switch point is greater than the actual playout time at the time the request to switch is received; means for retrieving, in accordance with DASH and in response to the request to switch to the second adaptation set including media data of the common type, media data from a second representation of the second plurality of representations of the second adaptation set including a switch point within the period and not at a beginning of the period, wherein each of the first plurality of representations differs from each of the second plurality of representations by at least one characteristic other than bitrate; and means for presenting, in response to the request, media data from the second representation of the second adaptation set after an actual playout time has met or exceeded a playout time for the switch point.

18. The device of claim 17 , wherein the common type comprises at least one of audio data and subtitle data, wherein the first plurality of representations include media data of the common type in a first language, and wherein the second plurality of representations include media data of the common type in a second language different from the first language.

19. The device of claim 17 , wherein the common type comprises video data, wherein the first plurality of representations include video data for a first camera angle, and wherein the second plurality of representations include video data for a second camera angle different from the first camera angle.

20. The device of claim 17 , further comprising means for retrieving data from the first adaptation set and the second adaptation set until playout time for retrieved media data from the second adaptation set has met or exceeded the actual playout time.

21. The device of claim 17 , further comprising: means for obtaining a manifest file for the first adaptation set and the second adaptation set; and means for determining a playout time for the switch point using data of the manifest file, wherein the means for retrieving the media data comprises means for retrieving the media data based at least in part on a comparison of the playout time for the switch point to the actual playout time when the request to switch to the second adaptation set is received.

22. The device of claim 17 , further comprising: means for obtaining a manifest file for the first adaptation set and the second adaptation set; and means for determining a location of the switch point in the second representation of the second adaptation set using data of the manifest file.

23. The device of claim 22 , wherein the location is at least partially defined by a starting byte in a segment of the second representation of the second adaptation set.

24. The device of claim 22 , wherein the second representation comprises a selected representation, further comprising: means for determining bitrates for the second plurality of representations in the second adaptation set using the manifest file; means for determining a current amount of network bandwidth; and means for selecting the selected representation from the second plurality of representations such that the bitrate for the selected representation does not exceed the current amount of network bandwidth.

25. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to: select a first adaptation set from which to retrieve media data, wherein the first adaptation set is in a period of a media presentation, the period including a plurality of adaptation sets including the first adaptation set and a second adaptation set, wherein the first adaptation set includes a first plurality of representations that share a first common set of coding and rendering characteristics other than bitrate, wherein the adaptation sets represent alternatives to each other for a common type of media data and differ from each other by at least one characteristic other than bitrate, and wherein each of the plurality of adaptation sets conforms to Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH); retrieve, in accordance with DASH, media data from a first representation of the first adaptation set including media data of the common type, wherein the first representation comprises one of the first plurality of representations; present media data from the first representation of the first adaptation set; during presentation of the media data from the first representation, receive a request to switch to the second adaptation set, wherein at the time the request to switch to the second adaptation set is received, a playout time for the switch point is less than an actual playout time at the time the request to switch is received plus a threshold value or, at the time the request to switch to the second adaptation set is received, the playout time for the switch point is greater than the actual playout time at the time the request to switch is received; and in response to the request to switch to the second adaptation set including media data of the common type, wherein the second adaptation set comprises a second plurality of representations that share a second common set of coding and rendering characteristics other than bitrate, and wherein each of the first plurality of representations differs from each of the second plurality of representations by at least one characteristic other than bitrate: retrieve, in accordance with DASH, media data from a second representation of the second adaptation set including a switch point of the second representation of the second adaptation set, wherein the second representation comprises one of the second plurality of representations, and wherein the switch point is within the period and not at a beginning of the period; and present media data from the second representation of the second adaptation set after an actual playout time has met or exceeded a playout time for the switch point.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 25 , wherein the common type comprises at least one of audio data and subtitle data, wherein the first plurality of representations include media data of the common type in a first language, and wherein the second plurality of representations include media data of the common type in a second language different from the first language.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 25 , wherein the common type comprises video data, wherein the first plurality of representations include video data for a first camera angle, and wherein the second plurality of representations include video data for a second camera angle different from the first camera angle.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 25 , further comprising instructions that cause the processor to retrieve data from the first adaptation set and the second adaptation set until playout time for retrieved media data from the second adaptation set has met or exceeded the actual playout time.

29. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 25 , further comprising instructions that cause the processor to: obtain a manifest file for the first adaptation set and the second adaptation set; and determine a playout time for the switch point using data of the manifest file, wherein the instructions that cause the processor to retrieve the media data comprise instructions that cause the processor to retrieve the media data based at least in part on a comparison of the playout time for the switch point to the actual playout time when the request to switch to the second adaptation set is received.

30. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 25 , further comprising instructions that cause the processor to: obtain a manifest file for the first adaptation set and the second adaptation set; and determine a location of the switch point in the second representation of the second adaptation set using data of the manifest file.

31. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 30 , wherein the location is at least partially defined by a starting byte in a segment of the second representation of the second adaptation set.

32. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 30 , wherein the second representation comprises a selected representation, further comprising instructions that cause the processor to: determine bitrates for the second plurality of representations in the second adaptation set using the manifest file; determine a current amount of network bandwidth; and select the selected representation from the second plurality of representations such that the bitrate for the selected representation does not exceed the current amount of network bandwidth.

33. The method of claim 1 , wherein the switch point of the second representation is not aligned with a switch point of the first representation.

34. The device of claim 9 , wherein the switch point of the second representation is not aligned with a switch point of the first representation.

35. The device of claim 17 , wherein the switch point of the second representation is not aligned with a switch point of the first representation.

36. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 25 , wherein the switch point of the second representation is not aligned with a switch point of the first representation.