Patent ID: 8826349

Claim:
A method, comprising: receiving, by a network device, multiple synchronized multicast streams of the same video content, where each of the multiple synchronized multicast streams includes a different video quality; receiving, by the network device and from a user device, a request for the video content; providing, by the network device and to the user device, a response, to the request for the video content, that includes information about each of the multiple synchronized multicast streams, wherein the information includes a different bit-rate indication and a different multicast Internet protocol (IP) address for each stream of the multiple synchronized multicast streams; receiving, by another network device and from the user device via a first one of the different multicast IP addresses, a request to join a first multicast group for one of the multiple synchronized multicast streams; providing, by the other network device and to the user device, the one of the multiple synchronized multicast streams corresponding to the first multicast group; monitoring, by the user device, congestion associated with the requested one of the multiple synchronized multicast streams; sending, by the user device and via a second one of the different multicast IP addresses, a request to join a different one of the multiple synchronized multicast streams when the monitoring indicates a congestion threshold has been reached; receiving, by the other network device and from the user device via the second one of the different multicast IP addresses, the request to the different one of the multiple synchronized multicast streams; and providing, by the other network device and to the user device, the different one of the multiple synchronized multicast streams corresponding to a second multicast group.