Patent ID: 8301732

Claim:
A method for a media server to deliver a live transmission, comprising: receiving a request from a plurality of client devices to download the live transmission via a packet-based computer-network; determining an amount of backset for each one of the plurality of client devices upon receiving the request, wherein at least two client devices of the plurality of client devices are determined to have different amounts of backset, wherein the determined amount of backset is calculated based on a plurality of coefficient values and a distribution function that is weighted such that in a majority of situations the amount of backset equals the recommended backset, in a minority of situations the amount of backset is less than the recommended backset, and in a minority of situations the amount of backset is greater than a recommended backset and less than a maximum backset; and providing the plurality of client devices at least one media asset stored by the media server based on the determined amount of backset, wherein the at least one media asset comprises data of the live transmission for a time interval or data range.