Patent ID: 8224981

Claim:
A multimedia file transfer system comprising: a redirector configured to identify a request to access a multimedia file via a network; and an accelerator configured to respond to said request by identifying at least one physical data storage device on which at least a portion of said multimedia file is stored, establish a plurality of data transfer links via said network with any of said devices, download a different portion of said multimedia file via each of said data transfer links, wherein any of said portions are downloaded at least partly concurrently, provide, at least partly concurrently while downloading any of said portions, downloaded multimedia file data to a multimedia file player in the order in which said data appear in the multimedia file, determine, in advance of downloading a next portion of said multimedia file, a size of said next portion in accordance with a predefined function of a) a rate at which said multimedia file is downloaded, and b) a current play rate of any of said portions of said multimedia file preceding said next portion, specify to any of said devices said next portion to be downloaded while indicating said size of said next portion, and download said next portion of said multimedia file, wherein said redirector and said accelerator are implemented in either of a) computer hardware, and b) computer software embodied in a non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium.