Increasing video bit rates while maintaining video quality

A system for streaming video, the system comprising:

• an encoder configured to:
• receive video data encoded at an initial bit rate by a source of the video data, wherein the source comprises an end point that streams the video data live to other endpoints;
• re-encode the video data at a plurality of bit rates that include the initial bit rate and bit rates lower than the initial bit rate;
• and
• send the video data at the plurality of bit rates simultaneously to a relay server;
• the relay server configured to:
• send the video data at the plurality of bit rates simultaneously to an edge server;
• and
• the edge server configured to:
• stream the video data at a given bit rate to a first end point of the other endpoints, wherein the given bit rate comprises one of the bit rates;
• send test data, comprising a duplicate of at least a portion of the video data, to the first end point at an additional bit rate while streaming the video data at the given bit rate;
• increase the additional bit rate of the test data by two or more increments until a total bit rate of the video data and the test data reaches a next available bit rate of the bit rates, or until a quality of the video data fails to satisfy a quality measure;
• and
• conditionally switch from streaming the video data to the end point at the
• given bit rate to streaming the video data at the next available bit rate when the total bit rate reaches the next available bit rate;
• and
• continue to stream the video data to the first end point at the given bit rate when the quality of the video data fails to satisfy the quality measure at any of the two or more increments.

A computing apparatus comprising:

• one or more computer readable storage media;
• a processing system operatively coupled to the one or more computer readable storage media;
• and
• program instructions stored on the one or more computer readable storage media for operating an edge server, wherein the program instructions, when executed by the processing system, direct the computing apparatus to at least:
• receive, simultaneously from a relay server, a stream of video data at a plurality of bit rates that includes an initial bit rate encoded at a source of the video data, and bit rates re-encoded by an encoder from the initial bit rate at bit rates lower than the initial bit rate, wherein the encoder received the video data at the initial bit rate from the source of the video and sent the video data at the plurality of bit rates simultaneously to the relay server;
• stream the video data at a given bit rate to a first end point of the other end points, wherein the given bit rate comprises one of the bit rates;
• send test data, comprising a duplicate of at least a portion of the video data, to the first end point at an additional bit rate while streaming the video data at the given bit rate;
• increase the additional bit rate of the test data by two or more increments until a total bit rate of the video data and the test data reaches a next available bit rate of the bit rates, or until a quality of the video data fails to satisfy a quality measure;
• conditionally switch from streaming the video data to the first end point at the given bit rate to streaming the video data at the next available bit rate when the total bit rate reaches the next available bit rate;
• and
• continue to stream the video data to the first end point at the given bit rate when the quality of the video data fails to satisfy the quality measure at any of the two or more increments.