Patent ID: 7093277
Filing Date: 2006-08-15
Classification: H04L,H04N

Abstract:
1. A method for efficiently transmitting several multimedia streams to one or more multimedia receivers comprising: defining a minimum acceptable time for rendering a multimedia stream to a user when said user selects a particular stream; defining a packet size for packets containing data for each multimedia stream, said packet size defined based on one or more performance characteristics of mass storage devices on said one or more multimedia receivers; concurrently transmitting said packets for each multimedia stream to said one or more multimedia receivers; continually storing said multimedia streams on said mass storage devices; and playing back said multimedia content from said mass storage devices responsive to a user tuning to a particular multimedia stream when a delay greater than said minimum acceptable time would otherwise result waiting for a next packet containing data for said particular multimedia stream to arrive, simulcasting said multimedia streams using packets of a second defined packet size, said second defined packet size adapted to be processed by one or more legacy multimedia receivers.