REAL-TIME MULTICAST PEER-TO-PEER VIDEO STREAMING PLATFORM

摘要

A peer-to-peer platform makes use of a streaming agent running at each peer. The streaming agent causes a peer to receive chunks of content from different neighboring peers, store some of the chunks in a local cache, and distribute those cached chunks to neighboring peers. Delivering next generation broadcasts (e.g., as streams of live audio and digital media) of any size utilizing the Internet is achieved. Users can view a live or prerecorded stream of a broadcast through an integrated media player, or can replay a broadcast through an integrated, intelligent archiving service. Use of the platform reduces bandwidth demands on live streaming and archiving services to a level where it is sustainable within a profitable business model to offer the services for at most a negligible fee.