ABSTRACT

Inventors have dreamed up all manner of methods to stream content. One novel approach is based on a mesh of peer-to-peer connections. The idea centers on distributing the master stream from the source to only a few clients and not the entire population, as is normally the case. Each client (e.g., a PC viewing or listening station) functions as a normal client but in addition provides a ministream server that other clients may draw on. The ministream server may source two to six or more streams depending on the available link connection bandwidth. When deployed for home use over DSL or a cable modem, audio streaming bandwidths are low enough to allow the scheme to work well.