Patent ID: 8775566

Claim:
A method for presenting a digital media presentation including at least one sequence of digital media content, wherein each sequence is arranged in accordance with a predetermined file format and comprises a plurality of segments for sequential presentation by a digital media processing unit, each segment including a respective different predetermined amount of the digital media content to be presented, the method comprising: providing a sequence having plural segments each comprising at least a first segment instance created by encoding the digital media content of the segment based on a first set of encoding characteristics and a second segment instance created by encoding the digital media content of the segment based on a second set of encoding characteristics different from the first set of encoding characteristics, wherein the segments are independently distributable and storable, each sequence having a sequence ID associated therewith, each segment having a segment ID associated therewith and each segment instance having an instance ID associated therewith; receiving at the media processing unit segment instances of plural segments to be presented and a plurality of data structures, a first of the data structures including a map of the instance IDs, and a logical arrangement of the segments IDs to the instance IDs, a second data structure storing a replacement instance ID associated with a replacement segment instance requested by the media processing unit and a third data structure storing the replacement segment instance; storing at least the first data structure; arranging for sequential presentation of the respective digital media content of the received segments; and identifying a particular segment requiring replacement of one segment instance with another segment instance sharing a common encoding ID based on predetermined instance selection criteria applied by the media processing unit, wherein the media processing unit uses the plurality of data structures to dynamically select for presentation the replacement segment instance based on the instance selection criteria while arranging for presentation of the respective digital media content of the received segment instances, wherein using the plurality of data structures includes accessing the first data structure from storage, wherein the replacing includes forming a valid file by concatenating together and interchanging the replacement segments at distribution or playback at the media processing unit without being connected to a server.