Distributed internet protocol-based real-time multimedia streaming architecture
First Claim
1. A distributed media delivery system for delivering media selections to a media client over a multicasting network, comprising:
- a plurality of media push engines accessible through said network, said push engines each having associated media storage unit for storing streaming data representing the media selections available for delivery;
said media storage units being configured to store said streaming data as a non-hierarchical set of substream components capable of being reconstituted into a reconstructed stream from fewer than all of said components, such that the higher the number of components used in reconstitution, the higher quality the reconstructed stream; and
an admission control system accessible through said network, said admission control system including a catalog for storing the identity of the media selections available for delivery by each of said media push engines,said admission control system being operative, in response to a request for a given media selection from a media client, to open a multicast group session among said media client and at least a portion of said media push engines having the given media selection available for delivery,whereby said media push engines participating in said multicast group session each supply to said network those substream components corresponding to the given media selection, for delivery to and reconstitution by said media client.
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Abstract
Multiple media push engines communicate with the multimedia client through a multi casting network that may incorporate multiple delivery paths. The streaming data representing media selections for delivery are distributed across multiple media push engines using a non-hierarchial coding technique in which the data are represented as a set of substream components, capable of being reconstituted from fewer than all of the components of the original data stream. The higher the number of components used in reconstitution, the higher the quality of service is provided by the reconstituted stream. Admission control to the group multicast session is administered in a distributed fashion, where an admission control unit opens the multicast stream, with all subsequent admission control decisions being made by the media push engines themselves. Substream component data are sent using Real-Time transport protocol while session management and the distributed admission control process are administered under the Real-Time Control Protocol.
251 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A distributed media delivery system for delivering media selections to a media client over a multicasting network, comprising:
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a plurality of media push engines accessible through said network, said push engines each having associated media storage unit for storing streaming data representing the media selections available for delivery; said media storage units being configured to store said streaming data as a non-hierarchical set of substream components capable of being reconstituted into a reconstructed stream from fewer than all of said components, such that the higher the number of components used in reconstitution, the higher quality the reconstructed stream; and an admission control system accessible through said network, said admission control system including a catalog for storing the identity of the media selections available for delivery by each of said media push engines, said admission control system being operative, in response to a request for a given media selection from a media client, to open a multicast group session among said media client and at least a portion of said media push engines having the given media selection available for delivery, whereby said media push engines participating in said multicast group session each supply to said network those substream components corresponding to the given media selection, for delivery to and reconstitution by said media client. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification