Selective just-in-time transcoding

In a computer system, a method comprising:

• determining a measure of complexity of a given segment of a given media sequence, wherein the given segment has been encoded at a base bit rate associated with a base quality level;
• evaluating a complexity condition for the given segment, including comparing the measure of complexity to a complexity threshold;
• based at least in part on whether the complexity condition is satisfied, selecting between use of preemptive transcoding and use of just-in-time (“JIT”) transcoding for the given segment at a given target bit rate different than the base bit rate, the given target bit rate being associated with a given quality level different than the base quality level, wherein:
• the preemptive transcoding, if selected, is to be performed before receipt of any request to provide encoded data for the given segment at the given target bit rate;
• and
• the JIT transcoding, if selected, is to be performed in response to receipt of a request to provide the encoded data for the given segment at the given target bit rate;
• and
• storing, in a transcoding map, an indication, for the given segment at the given target bit rate, of whether (a) encoded data is already available for the given segment at the given target bit rate or (b) JIT transcoding is to be used for the given segment at the given target bit rate.

A computer system comprising a processor set and memory, wherein the computer system is configured to perform operations comprising:

• determining a measure of complexity of a given segment of a given media sequence, wherein the given segment has been encoded at a base bit rate associated with a base quality level;
• evaluating a complexity condition for the given segment, including comparing the measure of complexity to a complexity threshold;
• based at least in part on whether the complexity condition is satisfied, selecting between use of preemptive transcoding and use of just-in-time (“JIT”) transcoding for the given segment at a given target bit rate different than the base bit rate, the given target bit rate being associated with a given quality level different than the base quality level, wherein:
• the preemptive transcoding, if selected, is to be performed before receipt of any request to provide encoded data for the given segment at the given target bit rate;
• and
• the JIT transcoding, if selected, is to be performed in response to receipt of a request to provide the encoded data for the given segment at the given target bit rate;
• and
• storing, in a transcoding map, an indication, for the given segment at the given target bit rate, of whether (a) encoded data is already available for the given segment at the given target bit rate or (b) JIT transcoding is to be used for the given segment at the given target bit rate.