Abstract: A method of streaming data, comprising: receiving an input stream of data, at a transmitter; dividing the input stream into a plurality of blocks, at least one of which blocks is incomplete; generating a plurality of first packets based on at least one block of data; generating at least one second packet from at least one as yet incomplete block of data; said block comprising recently received data; transmitting said at least one first packet and at least one second packet to a receiver that can reconstruct said stream from said first packets and said second packets, said transmitting utilizing a differential protocol by which different parts of the data are transmitted at different rates, so that a receiver can join the transmission at any time and start receiving the data at a minimum delay; and generating at least one third packet from said at least one incomplete block; said at least one third packet being based at least in part on data received subsequent to data forming the basis for the at least one se

Abstract: A method of encoding and transmitting data over a communication medium, comprising, providing a file; dividing said file into a plurality of buckets; segmenting each bucket into a et of blocks; selecting a subset of blocks from a bucket; generating a packet by combining said selected blocks, such that an individual block cannot be reconstructed from a single packet; repeating said selecting and said generating for a plurality of buckets and a plurality of packets; generating at last one cross-bucket packet by combining blocks from different buckets and transmitting said generated packets and said generated cross-packets, said packets and said cross-packets being marked as such.