Patent ID: 8782305
Filing Date: 2014-07-15
Classification: G06F,H04L,H04N

Abstract:
1. A method for transmitting data, the method comprising: receiving a plurality of streams of video data from at least one data source into at least one buffer of a router via multicast, each of the plurality of streams of video data representing a same video program and having a unique data rate relative to at least some other streams of the plurality of streams, wherein each of the plurality of streams of video data comprises a plurality of contiguous, non-overlapping portions of video data; receiving a first request from a device to transmit video data to the device, wherein the first request corresponds to a single portion of video data; in response to the first request, transmitting a first portion of one of the plurality of streams of video data from the at least one buffer of the router to the device via a point-to-point connection at the data rate corresponding to the one of the plurality of streams of video data; receiving a second request from the device to transmit additional video data to the device; determining whether transmission of any of the plurality of streams of video data would not result in a communication delay to the device or another device; reducing the data rate of a second portion of another one of the plurality of streams of video data based on a determination that transmission of none of the plurality of streams of video data would not result in a communication delay; and transmitting, in response to the second request, the reduced-data-rate second portion of the other one of the plurality of streams of video data.