Patent ID: 7921150

Claim:
A method for viewing digital video assets using a distributed network having a plurality of interconnected nodes, comprising: receiving a request from a user on a first node of the distributed network to view a digital video asset stored on a second node of the distributed network; relaying the request from the first node of the distributed network to the second node of the distributed network; establishing a peer-to-peer link between the first node of the distributed network and the second node of the distributed network; creating a video stream in a standard video stream format from the requested digital video asset on the second node of the distributed network using a standard video stream server that has not been specially adapted for use in a distributed network; receiving the video stream using a stream relay client on the second node of the distributed network; converting the video stream on the stream relay client into a form that is compatible with the peer-to-peer link; sending the converted video stream from the second node of the distributed network to the first node of the distributed network over the peer-to-peer link; receiving the converted video stream using a stream relay server on the first node of the distributed network; converting the converted video stream on the stream relay server into a standard video stream form, forming a standard video stream; and viewing the standard video stream on the first node of the distributed network using a standard video stream client that has not been specially adapted for use in a distributed network.