Abstract: A method performed by a new joining peer device in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network comprises receiving a plurality of buffer maps, each of the received buffer maps associated with a respective other peer device in the P2P network. The method also includes discerning playback positions associated with the received buffer maps, generating a starting offset for the new joining peer using one or more of the discerned playback positions. Requests for portions of a media stream are scheduled in accordance with the starting offset, and the scheduler will build a buffer map from this offset and begin to request the media buffer.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for scheduling data requests for streaming media data in a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) network. A method is provided to increase a peer's contribution to the whole P2P network by partitioning the data chunks to request into several regions according to their relative time urgency, and data requests are scheduled in an effort to maintain availability of data in each region to a corresponding predefined target amount.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for scheduling data requests for streaming media data in a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) network. A method is provided to increase a peer's contribution to the whole P2P network by partitioning the data chunks to request into several regions according to their relative time urgency, and data requests are scheduled in an effort to maintain availability of data in each region to a corresponding predefined target amount.

Abstract: A method performed by a new joining peer device in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network comprises receiving a plurality of buffer maps, each of the received buffer maps associated with a respective other peer device in the P2P network. The method also includes discerning playback positions associated with the received buffer maps, generating a starting offset for the new joining peer using one or more of the discerned playback positions. Requests for portions of a media stream are scheduled in accordance with the starting offset, and the scheduler will build a buffer map from this offset and begin to request the media buffer.

Abstract: There are various methods to stream media data, particularly video data, through a network for playing on a client workstation, for example, WMV™, Real™ Video, and so on. If multiple formats are involved, it is difficult to store the media data, and streaming the stored data whenever required. Further, existing devices are not able to record digital AV content from IP network, DVB, or AV encoder. The current invention provides a method of storing media data delivered to a client, for example via the internet. The media data can be encoded more than one format. The format of the media data is first identified when the media data is received by the client, and then analyzed to extract unit attributes from the media data. The unit attributes are stored in a media attribute file. The media data is then stored to a media storage file according to the sequence of the media data sent to the client. The media data stored by the methods of this invention can then be played by a player software.