Patent ID: 7164680

Claim:
A method for transmitting a multimedia bitstream in real-time between a server and a client over a packet network, the method comprising the steps of: (a) packetizing said multimedia bitstreams into a plurality of packets comprised of layers according to a predetermined scheme; (b) storing copies of the plurality of packets for a predetermined time period, which is updated by the client; (c) transmitting said stored packets in sequence to said client; and, (d) sending retransmission requests to said server, wherein said retransmission requests are sent upon the detection of a lost packet, wherein said predetermined time period is based on an equation of the form: MH=[∀i: max {GOP i +MD i +ADB i }]+RTT last where GOP i is Group of Pictures (GOP) length of layer i, MD i is the maximum decoding delay of layer i, ADB i is an actual delay introduced by said client system for layer i, and, RTT last is the latest estimate of the round-trip delay between said client system and said server system.