Patent ID: 7272780

Claim:
A system for interactive delivery of program material to a viewer, comprising a processor coupled with a memory: formatting means operatively coupled with said processor for arranging media data representing program material intended for transmission to a viewer in an interactive and customized manner in accordance with a received format command, said formatting means for arranging media data arranges the media data without a need for modifying, changing, or duplicating the program material in a separate storage, wherein said media data is identified and arranged using an object hierarchy that comprises: segments, wherein each of said segments is assigned a unique seqment ID when it is stored and references a correspondinq atom of media data and is defined by an offset from a beginning of said corresponding atom, and a duration: series, wherein each of said series is assigned a unique series ID when the series is stored and comprises at least one segment, and when including a plurality of segments is formed by sequentially ordering the plurality of seqments joined or concatenated for sequential delivery of the corresponding data; and groups, wherein each of said group is assigned a unique group ID when the group is stored and comprises at least one series, and when a group includes a plurality of series is formed by ioining the plurality of series in parallel for parallel simultaneous delivery of the corresponding data; and each said group comprises at least one series, each said series comprises at least one segment, and each said segment references at least a portion of an atom of media data and said group defines a formula for arranging said program material to be delivered to a viewer.