Patent ID: 6988278

Claim:
A method of providing video-on-demand (VOD) comprising the steps of comprising the steps of: repeatedly transmitting a set comprising a plurality of N video programs at staggered time intervals from a VOD server to a network for access by a view box of an user, and responsive to a request for access to a selected one of said programs by said user, selecting that in-progress transmission of the selected program for which a lead-in portion is shortest and storing said program in a buffer associated with the view box as it is transmitted, selecting, in a memory associated with the view box, a previously stored beginning portion of said selected program having a time length sufficient to compensate for that of said staggered time intervals and outputting said beginning portion to said view box for display, and continuously splicing the in-progress transmission stored in the buffer to a conclusion of the beginning portion, wherein all different video programs in a same set are transmitted with time shifts equal to a fraction of the staggered time interval.