Patent ID: 6766376
Filing Date: 2004-07-20
Classification: H04L,H04N

Abstract:
A system, for distributing streaming media via a data communications medium such as the Internet, said streaming media composed of a plurality of time-sequenced data elements, comprising:(a) a server connected to said data communications medium for transmitting said data elements; (b) a server buffer for storing at least one of said data elements for transmission; (c) means for receiving said data elements sequentially; (d) a server buffer manager comprising means for supplying said server buffer with a predetermined number of data elements at a constant time-sequenced fill rate, and when said server buffer is full, for each new data element to be received into the buffer, deleting the oldest data element from the buffer; (e) at least one user computer connected to said server via said data communications medium; (f) a user buffer associated with said user computer and being provided with means for storing a predetermined number of said data elements, which predetermined number may be different from the predetermined number of data elements to be stored in the server buffer; and (g) a user buffer manager associated with said user computer and being provided with means for receiving data elements into the buffer, and playing out audio/video material from said user buffer at a constant time-sequenced depletion rate; (h) a means for maintaining a record for each user of the last data element that had been sent, and for causing additional media data to be sent until all the data elements in the server buffer have been sent to said user computer, said means arranged in such a way as to maintain the pre-determined number of data elements in the user buffer, whereby said server sends said sequential data elements at a data rate as fast as the data connection between the server and the user computer will support.