Patent ID: 7886056
Filing Date: 2011-02-08
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for managing bandwidth in a content on demand service provided by a service provider to users, said method comprising: receiving a request from a user to receive the content; after said receiving, ascertaining whether a total number of users requesting the content within a predetermined time period is below a first specified threshold, wherein the time period is the time duration of the content, wherein the first specified threshold is a total number of time slots of the time period plus one, and wherein the total number of time slots of the time period consists of a plurality of time slots; if said ascertaining ascertains that the total number of users requesting the content within the predetermined time period is below the first specified threshold, then connecting the user to a unicast stream of the content; and if said ascertaining ascertains that the total number of users requesting the content within the predetermined time period is not below the first specified threshold, then connecting the user to a first multicast stream of the content, wherein a video carousel comprises a plurality of multicast streams that includes the first multicast stream, and wherein each multicast stream of the plurality of multicast streams has been or will be initiated at a unique time slot of the time period.