Patent ID: 8635355

Claim:
A system for on-demand playback of content, comprising: a receiver configured to selectively receive each of a plurality of channels on which a program is transmitted in overlapping streams with staggered start times; a storage system containing a pre-cached portion of program data corresponding to playback of the program for a staggering interval between start times for the overlapping streams; and a controller coupled to the receiver and the storage system, the controller configured, in response to initiation of on-demand playback of the program, to: begin playback of the program using the pre-cached portion from a buffer starting at a point identified by a read pointer, select a stream having a most recent start time for the program, and during the playback of the program, write program data from the selected stream into the buffer starting at a location identified by a write pointer, wherein the write pointer is separated from the read pointer by an amount of program data based on at least one of the staggering interval and a start time of the selected stream, wherein playback using the pre-cached portion terminates at a first storage location in the buffer and playback using program data from the selected stream begins at a point within the program data corresponding to a second storage location in the buffer, wherein the first and second storage locations are successive storage locations in the buffer.