CPC H04L 65/70 (2022.05) [G06F 16/183 (2019.01); G06F 16/71 (2019.01); H04L 47/12 (2013.01); H04L 47/801 (2013.01); H04L 65/1069 (2013.01); H04L 65/1101 (2022.05); H04L 65/61 (2022.05); H04L 65/65 (2022.05); H04L 65/80 (2013.01); H04L 67/02 (2013.01); H04L 67/568 (2022.05); H04L 67/60 (2022.05); H04N 7/24 (2013.01); H04N 21/23439 (2013.01); H04N 21/2662 (2013.01); H04N 21/4331 (2013.01); H04N 21/84 (2013.01); H04N 21/8456 (2013.01)] | 25 Claims |
1. A system for adaptive-rate content streaming of digital content playable on one or more end user stations over the Internet, the system comprising:
at least one storage device storing digital content, the digital content encoded at a plurality of different bit rates creating a plurality of streams including a first bit rate stream, a second bit rate stream, and a third bit rate stream, wherein the first bit rate stream, the second bit rate stream, and the third bit rate stream each comprise a group of streamlets encoded at a respective one of the plurality of different bit rates, each group of streamlets comprising at least first and second streamlets, each of the streamlets corresponding to a portion of the digital content;
wherein at least one of the first bit rate stream, the second bit rate stream, and the third bit rate stream is encoded at a bit rate of no less than 600 kbps; and
wherein the first streamlet of each of the groups of streamlets has the same first duration and encodes the same first temporal portion of the digital content in each of the first bit rate stream, the second bit rate stream, and the third bit rate stream, and wherein the first streamlet of the first bit rate stream encodes the same first temporal portion of the digital content at a different bit rate than the first streamlet of the second bit rate stream and the first streamlet of the third bit rate stream.
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