Patent ID: 8127041

Claim:
A method of operating a datacast platform for broadcasting a plurality of data objects over a network to a plurality of client devices, comprising: allocating an initial datacast bandwidth to a compound carousel for transmission of the plurality of data objects, the compound carousel comprising a plurality of elementary carousels, each elementary carousel having an associated set of broadcast parameters that are independently configurable from those of the remaining elementary carousels and each elementary carousel configured at least to transmit data objects placed on the elementary carousel one after another in a cyclical fashion; allocating a plurality of datacast bandwidths to the plurality of elementary carousels based at least in part on the initial datacast bandwidth allocated to the compound carousel; placing a first data object and a second data object of the plurality of data objects into a first elementary carousel of the plurality of elementary carousels and providing the first data object and the second data object for broadcast over the network in accordance with the set of broadcast parameters associated with the first elementary carousel; adjusting the datacast bandwidth allocated to the compound carousel based at least in part on the available network bandwidth; and responsive to the adjusting, moving the first data object to a second elementary carousel of the plurality of elementary carousels such that the first data object is broadcast over the network in accordance with the set of broadcast parameters associated with the second elementary carousel while the second data object is broadcast over the network in accordance with the set of broadcast parameters associated with the first elementary carousel.