Patent ID: 9015779
Filing Date: 2015-04-21
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. A streaming server comprising: a virtual file system that stores playlist data corresponding to a plurality of video programs available from at least one video source and that further stores variant playlist data corresponding to each of the plurality of video programs for streaming each of the plurality of video programs; a network interface is coupled to bidirectionally communicate with a client device; a command handler, coupled to the network interface and the virtual file system, receives a request for a selected one of the plurality of video programs from the client device via the network interface; a video encoder, coupled to the command handler, encodes the selected one of the plurality of video programs into a plurality of video program segments in response to the request that each include a unique portion of the selected one of the plurality of video programs having a plurality of frames, the plurality of video program segments each have a length that is controlled based on length data, wherein the plurality of video segments includes at least one initial video program segment having at least one initialization length and a plurality of steady state video program segments having a steady state length and wherein the at least one initialization length is less than the steady state length; and a length data generator that generates the length data based on variant playlist data and further based on based on segment request data, wherein the length data generator detects a steady state condition based on the segment request data and generates the length data for the plurality of steady state video program segments as a corresponding playlist length indicated by the variant playlist data when the steady state condition is detected.