Patent ID: 7770198

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving, with a first intermediate device, a video stream output by the source device for a plurality of destination devices, wherein the first intermediate device is positioned between the source device and a second intermediate device, and wherein the second intermediate device is positioned between the first intermediate device and the plurality of destination devices; forwarding, with the first intermediate device, the video stream received from the source device to the second intermediate device; sending, with the first intermediate device, a first communication to the second intermediate device directing the second intermediate device to cache a video pattern of the video stream; after sending the first communication directing the second intermediate device to cache the video pattern, comparing, with the first intermediate device, received video patterns of the video stream with previously received video patterns to detect repeated video patterns from the source device; upon detecting one of the repeated video patterns in the video stream with the first intermediate device, sending a second communication from the first intermediate device to the second intermediate device directing the second intermediate device to output the detected video pattern; and maintaining, with the first intermediate device, a directory that includes the second intermediate device and the video pattern cached in the second intermediate device.