The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 24, 2012
Filed:
Jul. 28, 2008
Amol Shukla, Seattle, WA (US);
Aaron James Colwell, Seattle, WA (US);
Amol Shukla, Seattle, WA (US);
Aaron James Colwell, Seattle, WA (US);
RealNetworks, Inc., Seattle, WA (US);
Abstract
A layered media stream may be distributed via a managed server and a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. At least one base layer typically provides a lower-quality media stream, while one or more enhancement layers provide improvements to the media stream. A managed server may provide a base layer to clients. The managed server may also provide enhancement layers through the P2P network. The availability of the enhancement layers may provide clients with an incentive to participate in the P2P network. In some cases, when demand for the media stream is low, the managed server may provide all layers to clients in a traditional client-server network model. When demand for the media stream is high, the managed server may provide only the base layer, making enhancement layers available via the P2P network.