Patent ID: 7373653

Claim:
A channel merging method for a VOD system, wherein said method comprising the steps of: (1) in response to requests from a plurality of clients for a video program, establishing a root channel (S 1 ) and at least one sub-channel (S 11 ), said root channel (S 1 ) being established according to a request from a client that makes an earliest request, each of said sub-channels (S 11 ) being established corresponding to a request of a client that makes a later request; (2) monitoring variation of number of the clients that are using each established channel, and maintaining the established channel if the number of the clients using a monitored channel is not zero, and closing the established channel if the number of the clients using the monitored channel becomes zero, wherein step (1) includes the sub-steps of: (1-1) searching a collection of root channels (S 1 ) into which said sub-channels (S 11 ) is possibly merged for a root channel (S 1 ), said root channels (S 1 ) satisfying the condition of min(S 11 .start 13 time−S 1 .start_time)<object_length/2, wherein the min(S 11 .start_time−S 1 .start_time) indicates minimal values of the difference between the start time of said sub-channels (S 11 ) and the start time of each root channel in said collection, and the object_length/2 indicates the half of the total length of the played video program; (1-2) if said root channel (S 1 ) exists, searching a collection of posterity channels of said root channel (S 1 ) for a parent channel (S 6 ) into which said sub-channel (S 11 ) will be merged, said parent channel satisfying the condition of min(S 11 .start_time−S 6 .start 13 time)<S 6 .start_time−S 5 .start_time, wherein S 6 .start_time indicates the start time of said parent channel (S 6 ), and S 5 .start_time indicates the start time of a parent channel (S 5 ) of said parent channel (S 6 ).