System for the management of multiple time-critical data streams
First Claim
1. A multimedia storage and presentation system for storing video clips, each clip comprising a plurality of segments, and for displaying said video clips in response to requests by viewers, said system comprising:
- a computer network;
a plurality of computers connected to said computer network, each computer having attached thereto at least one storage device, at least one viewing station, input means for allowing said viewers to request display of a specific video clip on said at least one viewing station and buffer means for temporarily storing segments of said specific video clip prior to display;
client means in each of the plurality of computers for retrieving one of the video clips from the local storage device coupled thereto and for sending a request for one of said video clips over the computer network to other of said plurality of computers;
server means in each of said plurality of computers responsive to said request for retrieving said video clip from a selected storage device coupled to said computer said server means having a predetermined maximum retrieval capacity;
means cooperating with said server means in one of said plurality of computers for monitoring said buffer means in said one of said plurality of computers coupled to said network to determine a number of video clip segments retrieved from said selected storage device; and
stored in said buffer means; and
means responsive to said number of video clip segments stored in said buffer means and to said maximum retrieval capacity for controlling said client means and said server means to refuse said viewer request to display said specific video clip when said maximum retrieval capacity would be exceeded or said number of said video clip segments stored in said buffer means exceeds a predetermined threshold, the controlling means comprising a configuration table for each of said plurality of computers coupled to said computer network, said configuration containing at least one entry comprising said predetermined maximum retrieval capacity.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A networked computer system for storing and presenting multimedia data distributes that data among multiple storage devices of the system. The system includes a plurality of computers, each of which supports at least one viewing station. Each viewing station has access to any file on any of the storage devices and can retrieve and display any file on demand. To provide an efficient system and, at the same time, reduce the probability that the viewing of multimedia data may be interrupted, the system allocates resources, prioritizes access to files, and buffers data prior to the data'"'"'s delivery to video adapters.
306 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A multimedia storage and presentation system for storing video clips, each clip comprising a plurality of segments, and for displaying said video clips in response to requests by viewers, said system comprising:
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a computer network; a plurality of computers connected to said computer network, each computer having attached thereto at least one storage device, at least one viewing station, input means for allowing said viewers to request display of a specific video clip on said at least one viewing station and buffer means for temporarily storing segments of said specific video clip prior to display; client means in each of the plurality of computers for retrieving one of the video clips from the local storage device coupled thereto and for sending a request for one of said video clips over the computer network to other of said plurality of computers; server means in each of said plurality of computers responsive to said request for retrieving said video clip from a selected storage device coupled to said computer said server means having a predetermined maximum retrieval capacity; means cooperating with said server means in one of said plurality of computers for monitoring said buffer means in said one of said plurality of computers coupled to said network to determine a number of video clip segments retrieved from said selected storage device; and
stored in said buffer means; andmeans responsive to said number of video clip segments stored in said buffer means and to said maximum retrieval capacity for controlling said client means and said server means to refuse said viewer request to display said specific video clip when said maximum retrieval capacity would be exceeded or said number of said video clip segments stored in said buffer means exceeds a predetermined threshold, the controlling means comprising a configuration table for each of said plurality of computers coupled to said computer network, said configuration containing at least one entry comprising said predetermined maximum retrieval capacity. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. In a multimedia storage and presentation system for storing video clips, each video clip comprising a plurality of segments, and for displaying said video clips in response to a request by viewers interacting with a computer system, the computer system including a network, a plurality of computers connected to said network, each computer having attached thereto at least one local storage device for storing some of said video clips for distribution thereto and to other of the computers connected to said network, at least one viewing station, input means for allowing said viewers to request display of a specific video clip on said at least one viewing station and buffer means for temporarily storing segments of the specific video clip prior to display, a method of accessing video clips comprising the steps of:
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A. In response to a viewer request for a specific video clip received by one of the computers coupled to the network, locating the specific video clip in the at least one local storage device attached to the computer; B. if the specific video clip is not found in the at least one local storage device attached to the one computer, locating another of the plurality of computers having attached thereto a selected storage device containing said video specific clip; C. temporarily allocating data transfer resources and retrieving the specific video clip from the selected storage device in said another of the plurality of computers coupled to the network over a path having a predetermined maximum retrieval capacity; D. monitoring the buffer means in the another of said plurality of computers coupled to the network to determine a number of video clip segments retrieved from the selected storage device and stored in the buffer means; and E. refusing the viewer request to display the specific video clip when the maximum retrieval capacity of the path would be exceeded during step C or the number of video clip segments stored in the buffer means exceeds a predetermined threshold. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A computer program product for use with a computer system for storing and displaying video clips in response to requests by viewers interacting with the computer system, each video clip comprising a plurality of segments, the computer system comprising a network, a plurality of computers connected to the network, each computer having attached thereto at least one local storage device for storing some of the video clips for distribution to the computer to which it is attached or to other computers connected to the network, at least one display station, input means for allowing viewers to request display of a specific video club on the viewing station, and buffer means for temporality storing segments of the specific video clip prior to display, the computer program product comprising:
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a computer useable medium having computer program code means embodied in the medium for accessing video clips, the computer program code means further comprising; A. program code means, responsive to a viewer request for a specific video clip, the request received by one of the computers coupled to the network, for locating the specific video clip in the at least one local storage device attached to the computer; B. program code means for locating another of the plurality of computers having attached thereto a selected storage device containing the specific video clip, if the specific video clip is not found in the local storage device attached to the computer receiving the user request; C. program code means for temporarily allocating data transfer resources and for retrieving the specific video clip from the selected storage device in another of the computers coupled to the network over a path having a predetermined maximum retrieval capacity; D. program code means for monitoring the buffer means in the other of the plurality of computers coupled to the network, to determine a number of video clip segments retrieved from the selected storage device and stored in the buffer means; and E. program code means for refusing the viewer request to display the specific video clip when the maximum retrieval capacity would be exceeded or the number of video clip segments stored in the buffer means exceeds a predetermined threshold. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification