Method and apparatus for a large scale distributed multimedia streaming system and its media content distribution
First Claim
1. A media content distribution system for distributed multimedia streaming comprising:
- a communications network;
a plurality of independent media stations communicating with the network, each having a media director and a second plurality of media engines, each media engine having means for storing media content, means for retrieving media content over the network and means for streaming media content over the network, the media director having means for directing retrieval over the network of media content by a selected media engine, means for tracking content stored on the media engines and means for redirecting a content request from a media console connected to the network to a selected one of the media engines storing content corresponding to the request for streaming;
at least one distribution center communicating over the network and having a media location registry communicating with the media director in each media station, the media location registry storing the location of all media content in the media stations, and means for downloading content to be presented.
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Abstract
A media content distribution system for distributed multimedia streaming communicates over a network and incorporates multiple independent media stations, each having a media director for control and a number of media engines for storage, retrieval and streaming of media content. A content request from a media console connected to the network is redirected by the media director to a selected one of the media engines storing content corresponding to the request for streaming. The system includes at least one distribution center providing media content downloading capability and a media location registry communicating with the media director in each media station. The media location registry stores the location of all media content in the media stations.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A media content distribution system for distributed multimedia streaming comprising:
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a communications network;
a plurality of independent media stations communicating with the network, each having a media director and a second plurality of media engines, each media engine having means for storing media content, means for retrieving media content over the network and means for streaming media content over the network, the media director having means for directing retrieval over the network of media content by a selected media engine, means for tracking content stored on the media engines and means for redirecting a content request from a media console connected to the network to a selected one of the media engines storing content corresponding to the request for streaming;
at least one distribution center communicating over the network and having a media location registry communicating with the media director in each media station, the media location registry storing the location of all media content in the media stations, and means for downloading content to be presented. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for distributed media streaming over a media content distribution system comprising the steps of:
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providing a communications network;
connecting a plurality of independent media stations to the network, each having a media director and a second plurality of media engines;
providing at least one distribution center communicating over the network and having a media location registry;
downloading content to be presented;
communicating from the media location registry to a media director in each media station the downloaded content to be distributed;
directing through media directors in the media stations independent retrieval over the network of downloaded content by at least one selected media engine;
storing the media content on the selected media engine;
tracking content stored on the media engines in the respective media director;
storing the location of all media content in the media stations in the media location registry;
redirecting a content request from a media console connected to a media station through the network to a selected one of the media engines storing content corresponding to the request for streaming;
streaming media content over the network from the selected media engine to the media console. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification