Patent ID: 7860161

Claim:
A method implemented in a content distribution server, the method comprising: obtaining a bitstream of encoded video data, the encoded video data including an encoded base layer and one or more encoded enhancement layers, the video data having been encoded according to a high HQRB (high quality reference bit-rate) that determines how many bits of an enhancement layer bitstream are used to reconstruct a high quality reference image; decoding the enhancement layer bitstream from the bitstream of encoded video using the content distribution server; extracting motion vectors from the encoded base layer and skipping coded coefficients and other information at the encoded base layer to transcode the enhancement layer bitstream; determining data throughput characteristics of a content distribution network coupled to a client computing device using the content distribution server; calculating a new HQRB based at least on a difference between the data throughput characteristics of the network and a bit rate of the encoded base layer in the bitstream of encoded video data using the content distribution server; encoding the decoded enhancement layer bitstream based at least on the new HQRB to generate a transcoded enhancement layer bitstream using the content distribution server; and streaming the transcoded enhancement layer bitstream to the client computing device using the content distribution server with the encoded base layer bitstream with encoding that is at least partially optimized for the throughput characteristics of the content distribution network.