Patent ID: 8893203

Claim:
A method of receiving video content, the method comprising: accessing, with a data network connected device having a device display controller including a native player, a reference file having a video content container file format playable by the native player, the reference file including a plurality of player control parameter values and linking data linking to a content data file from a designated content source, the content data file including at least header data and content data, and the linking data linking only to at least a portion of the content data within the content data file; playing the reference file with the native player as a video file, wherein playing the reference file with the native player comprises: providing compatible play control commands to the native player based on the player control parameter values from the reference file, the play control commands being configured to direct the native player to use the linking data to acquire the at least a portion of the content data from the designated content source and via a data network; acquiring, by the native player, the at least a portion of the content data from the designated content source as directed by the linking data, in accordance with the play control commands; and playing, by the native player, the at least a portion of the content data acquired from the designated content source, in accordance with the video content container file format of the reference file.