Patent ID: 8140699

Claim:
A method for switching a client from displaying digital video content provided via unicasting to displaying digital video content provided via multicasting, the method comprising: providing digital video content to a client via unicasting; providing digital video content to the client via multicasting such that digital video content related to the same channel is provided to the client simultaneously via multicasting and unicasting; and once the client begins receiving duplicate frames of digital video content via both unicasting and multicasting, switching to providing the digital video content to the client via multicasting instead of unicasting; further comprising servicing channel change requests in a digital video network that distributes digital video content to clients via multicasting and unicasting, the method comprising: providing digital video content to the client via multicasting, the digital video content being related to a first channel; detecting a channel change request related to the client, the channel change request requesting a change to a second channel; providing digital video content related to the second channel to the client via unicasting in response to the channel change request; and continuing to provide digital video content related to the second channel to the client via unicasting until a pre-established condition is met, wherein continuing to provide digital video content related to the second channel to the client via unicasting until a pre-established condition is met involves unicasting multiple frames of the digital video content related to the second channel to the client.