Patent ID: 8527649

Claim:
A method for communication, comprising: providing an item of media content comprising a compressed video stream, which comprises I-frames and P-frames, for streaming in a plurality of versions having different, respective bit rates; and streaming the media content from a server to a client by: transmitting a first version of the item over a network at a first bit rate from the server to the client via a server buffer associated with the server; monitoring a fill level of the server buffer by comparing the fill level to at least an upper margin and a lower margin while streaming the media content; and switching to transmitting a second version of the item at a second bit rate, different from the first bit rate, from the server to the client in response to a change in the fill level of the server buffer, wherein switching to transmitting the second version comprises switching to a lower bit rate when the fill level passes above the upper margin, and switching to the higher bit rate when the fill level passes below the lower margin, and an I-frame is encountered in the compressed video stream.