Patent ID: 7953882

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of adaptively distributing via a network a layered media stream, the method comprising: hosting, by a hosting device, an encoded media content stream comprising a plurality of media information layers of different priorities, including at least one highest-priority layer, wherein: said plurality of layers comprise non-redundant media information; each of at least one lower-priority layers can be decoded into a media content stream in combination with at least one higher-priority layer; and as more layers are combined, the decoded media content stream improves with respect to at least one of spatial resolution, signal-to-noise-ratio, encoding method, or bit-depth; and adaptively transmitting, by said hosting device to a client via a network on a time-windowed basis, at least one of said plurality of media information layers, wherein within each time window, said transmission of the plurality of media information layers is attempted in priority order and lower priority layers are transmitted in accordance with a network condition determination.