Patent ID: 7450612

Claim:
A method for encapsulating media packets having data therein into network streams of media data, comprising: providing base-layer media packets corresponding to a base layer stream of the network streams, the base layer stream comprising network packets; providing enhancement-layer media packets corresponding to an enhancement layer stream of the network streams, the enhancement layer stream comprising network packets, wherein a one-to-one correspondence exists between the base-layer media packets and the enhancement-layer media packets; encapsulating the base-layer media packets into the network packets of the base layer stream, wherein each network packet of the base layer stream includes a header field, and wherein each network packet of the base layer stream includes one, and no more than one, corresponding base-layer media packet; and encapsulating the enhancement-layer media packets into the network packets of the enhancement layer stream, wherein each network packet of the enhancement layer stream includes a header field, wherein a first portion and a second remaining portion of any enhancement-layer media packet may be respectively included in successive network packets of the enhancement layer stream in order to have each network packet of the enhancement layer stream filled to a constant number of bits NE that does not exceed a maximum number of bits NEMAX, subject to the last network packet of the enhancement layer stream being required to be filled to only as many bits as is necessary to include the last enhancement-layer media packet of the enhancement-layer media packets.