Patent ID: 7894465
Filing Date: 2011-02-22
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A channel-switching multicast distribution apparatus used in a system for providing a plurality of channels by multicast, the apparatus comprising: a reception device for receiving multicast data of a first multicast group as ordered packets of multicast data with respect to a first channel; a storage device for storing the received multicast data of the first multicast group; a data rearranging device for reading the multicast data from the storage device, and rearranging the multicast data by changing the order of packets of the multicast data; and a transmission device for transmitting the rearranged multicast data, in temporally parallel relation with a distribution of the multicast data of the first multicast group, through a second multicast group for performing channel switching so as to select the first channel, wherein: the transmission device transmits the multicast data of the second multicast group at a transmission speed higher than that of the first multicast group; and the data rearranging device changes the order of the packets of the multicast data in accordance with the transmission speed of each multicast group.