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Media-on-demand communication system and method employing direct access storage device

  • US 5,721,815 A
  • Filed: 06/07/1995
  • Issued: 02/24/1998
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/07/1995
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A multimedia communication system including a communication channel and a local display, the system comprising:

  • a remote multimedia server, comprising;

    a mass storage library for storing a plurality of multimedia programs each segmented into source program segments, wherein each of the source program segments includes a unique segment address and is representative of a portion of one of the plurality of multimedia programs;

    organizing means for organizing the unique segment addresses of source program segments associated with the one of the plurality of multimedia programs to produce a custom ordered series of source program segments; and

    transmission means for transmitting the custom ordered series of source program segments arranged in packets to the communication channel; and

    a local media control system, comprising;

    a direct access storage device including at least one data storage disk;

    an input buffer, coupled to the direct access storage device, having a storage capacity sufficient to buffer the source program segments of each of the packets received from the communication channel; and

    controller means for coordinating writing of the source program segments received from the communication channel to the data storage disk, and for coordinating reading of the source program segments from the data storage disk as sequentially ordered local program segments;

    wherein the sequentially ordered local program segments read from the data storage disk are transmitted to the local display for sequential presentation thereon.

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