SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE BROADCAST DISSEMINATION OF TIME-ORDERED DATA
First Claim
1. A method for transmitting a stream of temporally ordered data in a manner which ensures a maximum wait period τ
- before utilization of the data can commence at a receiving site, comprising the steps of;
dividing the stream of data into a sequence of fragments;
dividing said sequence of fragments into multiple segments; and
repetitively transmitting each segment of fragments in a respective encoded substream of data such that the fragments in the kth segment from the beginning of the data stream are transmitted with a maximum repetition period p(k)=τ
(1+λ
)k, where 0≦
λ
≦
0.5.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A stream of time-ordered data, such as a movie, is divided into multiple fragments of equal length, which are repetitively transmitted at different respective repetition rates. The fragments are reordered for transmission so that those which occur near the beginning of the original data stream are transmitted more frequently than those which occur later in the data stream. When a user enters a request to utilize the data, the individual fragments are stored upon receipt at the user'"'"'s premises, and reassembled into a contiguous stream. The ordering of the fragments is such that the wait time required before utilization of the data can begin is limited to a predetermined maximum, and at least one copy of every fragment becomes available by the time it is needed.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method for transmitting a stream of temporally ordered data in a manner which ensures a maximum wait period τ
- before utilization of the data can commence at a receiving site, comprising the steps of;
dividing the stream of data into a sequence of fragments; dividing said sequence of fragments into multiple segments; and repetitively transmitting each segment of fragments in a respective encoded substream of data such that the fragments in the kth segment from the beginning of the data stream are transmitted with a maximum repetition period p(k)=τ
(1+λ
)k, where 0≦
λ
≦
0.5. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
- before utilization of the data can commence at a receiving site, comprising the steps of;
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20. In a media broadcast system in which a media presentation is divided into a sequence of fragments and the fragments are repetitively transmitted with different repetition periods, a method for playing back the presentation within a maximum period of time τ
- from any arbitrary point in time, comprising the steps of;
detecting an indication to begin playback of the presentation; loading an index of all fragments in the sequence; detecting each fragment that is received after said indication; checking said index upon detection of each received fragment to determine whether a copy of that fragment has been stored; storing the fragment if the index indicates that the fragment has not been previously stored, and setting the index to indicate that the fragment is being stored; and providing said stored fragments to a playback device in sequential order after the first fragment in the sequence has been received and stored.
- from any arbitrary point in time, comprising the steps of;
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21-49. -49. (canceled)
Specification