Patent ID: RE42905

Claim:
A system for serving information data over one or more channels to one or more end user devices, comprising: a plurality of storage medium units for storing information data, wherein said plurality of storage medium units include an archive storage medium unit which contains said information data and a plurality of delivery storage medium units that stores said information data from said archive storage medium unit as needed; managing means for managing distribution of the information data to any one of the end user devices, wherein the managing means receives demand data relating to information data selected through at least one respective end user device, and wherein the managing means outputs distribution control data including channel information of the selected information data and routing information for said at least one end user device; and routing means for connecting the one or more delivery storage medium units to the at least one end user device, and for routing the selected information data from the delivery storage medium units and the distribution control data from the managing means, wherein the managing means manages the distribution of the information data from one or more of said delivery storage medium units to an appropriate one or more of the end user device(s) in accordance with a predetermined number representing a number of said one or more end user devices such that the number of delivery storage medium units utilized is increased when the number of end user device(s) exceeds the predetermined number, wherein said information data are divided into a predetermined number of data groups, and the information data are divided into T (T=2,3,4 . . . ) sentences, wherein T depends on the number of channels, wherein the predetermined number of data groups is recorded in the storage medium unit in such changed order that Nth (N−1,2,3,4 . . . ) data group of the last sentence of the information data appears after the Nth data group of the first sentence and wherein said routing means deliver a continuous stream of information data to the end device by switching said data groups from the storage medium unit between virtual channels.