Patent ID: 8156533

Claim:
A method for the transmission of a desired one of a plurality of broadcast media channels to a remote client over a network data connection, the method comprising: establishing a digital subscriber line (DSL) network data connection with the remote client, wherein the remote client comprises a set top computer; storing, in a customer reference table, an identifier identifying the remote client and an indication of a data transmission rate purchased by a customer for the remote client, from among multiple data transmission rates that are available for purchase for the remote client; storing, in a different, service availability rates table, multiple virtual channel identifiers for a particular broadcast media channel, each virtual channel identifier corresponding to a different virtual circuit that provides a broadcast feed of the particular broadcast media channel at a different network connection data transmission rate; receiving, from the remote client, a user-initiated channel change request to access the particular broadcast media channel; determining, in response to the channel change request, a maximum rate at which the broadcast feed for the particular broadcast media channel is to be provided based on the indication of the data transmission rate purchased for the remote client, stored in the customer reference table; selecting, from the service table, a particular virtual channel identifier corresponding to a particular virtual circuit that provides the broadcast feed of the particular broadcast media channel at a highest data transmission rate that is within the determined maximum rate; and causing the particular virtual circuit corresponding to the particular virtual channel identifier to provide the broadcast feed of the particular broadcast media channel at the highest data transmission rate that is within the determined maximum rate, over the DSL network data connection to the remote client.