Patent ID: 7594025

Claim:
A method for use in a client device, the method comprising: identifying a communication link bandwidth for a communication link between the client device and a server device, wherein identifying the communication link bandwidth comprises: sending a plurality of non-compressible packet pairs from the client device to the server device; receiving a plurality of non-compressible packet pairs from the server device; for each of the plurality of non-compressible packet pairs received from the server device, measuring a packet pair bandwidth; tracking each of the measured packet pair bandwidths in a history list; and calculating the communication link bandwidth, wherein the communication link bandwidth corresponds to a median value of the measured packet pair bandwidths in the history list; requesting from the server device a fast startup transfer of streamable media content having an encoded bit rate, the request identifying the streamable media content, the communication link bandwidth, an initial fast streaming bit rate that is faster than the encoded bit rate but less than about the communication link bandwidth, a subsequent slower streaming bit rate that is about equal to the encoded bit rate, and a first amount of the streamable media content to be streamed at the initial fast streaming bit rate; receiving the first amount of the streamable media content streamed at the initial fast streaming bit rate; and receiving a second amount of the streamable media content streamed at the subsequent slower streaming bit rate.