Alan D Peters

US Patent:

20020116518, Aug 22, 2002

Filed:

Jan 28, 2002

Appl. No.:

10/059879

Inventors:

Bradley Silen - Mill Valley CA, US
Timothy Smith - San Jose CA, US
Alan Peters - San Francisco CA, US

International Classification:

G06F015/16

US Classification:

709/231000, 709/234000

Abstract:

A streaming media presentation system is described. The system employs a fast method to detect a plurality of aspects about the operating environment, including bandwidth, and selects a media presentation optimized to afford the best user experience based on a plurality of streaming characteristics. The detection method is a staged method, which improves speed. In response to detected capabilities (e.g., bandwidth), the system selects an optimal stream with particular quality characteristics suited to the detected capabilities, including such features as frame rate, sharpness and frame size. The system is adaptable to existing systems that provide multiple versions of streaming presentations, whether currently automated or dependent upon user selection.