Systems and methods for distributing video on demand

Abstract

A method of receiving content includes joining an in-progress multicast stream to receive a first portion of a content. The method further includes sending a request to a peer for a catch-up portion of the content, the request including a deadline for delivery of the content, and receiving the catch-up portion of the content from the peer prior to the deadline.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by a processing system including a processor and comprising a peer device on a network, a request from a media processor for a chunk, the chunk including a portion of a content, the request including a deadline for delivery;   determining, by the processing system, if the chunk is available; and   responsive to determining that the chunk is available:
 determining, by the processing system, if there is sufficient upload bandwidth to deliver the chunk, based at least in part on a number of chunks currently being delivered and a total upload bandwidth available to the peer device; 
 determining, by the processing system, if there is sufficient time to deliver the chunk to meet the deadline; and 
 delivering, by the processing system, the chunk to the media processor when there is sufficient upload bandwidth to deliver the chunk and when there is sufficient time to deliver the chunk to meet the deadline. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the request comprises a broadcast query to a group of peers. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining if there is sufficient upload bandwidth further comprises comparing an upload bandwidth currently in use with an available upload bandwidth. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the available upload bandwidth is shared with a plurality of peer devices, so that the determining if there is sufficient upload bandwidth is based at least in part on network activity of the plurality of peer devices. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the chunk represents a portion of more than one video content. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the chunk represents a portion of an audio-video stream. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the chunk represents a discrete component of an audio-video stream. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the discrete component of the audio-video stream includes one of an audio component, a video component, a closed-captioning component, an alternate audio component, an alternate video component, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the request includes a globally unique identifier for identifying the chunk. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sufficient time is determined based on a size of the chunk, a transmission rate, and the deadline. 
     
     
         11 . A device comprising:
 a processing system including a processor and comprising a peer device on a network; and   a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations comprising:   receiving a request from a media processor for a chunk, the chunk including a portion of an audio-video stream, the request including a deadline for delivery;   determining if the chunk is available; and   responsive to determining that the chunk is available:
 determining if there is sufficient upload bandwidth to deliver the chunk, based at least in part on a number of chunks currently being delivered and a total upload bandwidth available to the peer device; 
 determining if there is sufficient time to deliver the chunk to meet the deadline; and 
 delivering, by the processing system, the chunk to the media processor when there is sufficient upload bandwidth to deliver the chunk and when there is sufficient time to deliver the chunk to meet the deadline. 
   
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the request comprises a broadcast query to a group of peers. 
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the determining if there is sufficient upload bandwidth further comprises comparing an upload bandwidth currently in use with an available upload bandwidth. 
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the request includes a globally unique identifier for identifying the chunk. 
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the chunk represents a discrete component of the audio-video stream including one of an audio component, a video component, a closed-captioning component, an alternate audio component, an alternate video component, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         16 . The device of  claim 11 , wherein the sufficient time is determined based on a size of the chunk, a transmission rate, and the deadline. 
     
     
         17 . A machine-readable storage medium, comprising exectutable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor and comprising a peer device on a network, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:
 receiving a request from a media processor for a chunk, the chunk including a portion of a content, the request including a deadline for delivery and a globally unique identifier for identifying the chunk;   determining if the chunk is available; and   responsive to determining that the chunk is available:
 determining if there is sufficient upload bandwidth to deliver the chunk, based at least in part on a number of chunks currently being delivered and a total upload bandwidth available to the peer device; 
 determining if there is sufficient time to deliver the chunk to meet the deadline; and 
 delivering the chunk to the media processor when there is sufficient upload bandwidth to deliver the chunk and when there is sufficient time to deliver the chunk to meet the deadline. 
   
     
     
         18 . The machine-readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the request comprises a broadcast query to a group of peers. 
     
     
         19 . The machine-readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the determining if there is sufficient upload bandwidth further comprises comparing an upload bandwidth currently in use with an available upload bandwidth. 
     
     
         20 . The machine-readable storage medium of  claim 17 , wherein the chunk represents a discrete component of an audio-video stream including one of an audio component, a video component, a closed-captioning component, an alternate audio component, an alternate video component, or any combination thereof.