Abstract: Systems and methods for combining streaming media content items for streaming to a client computer across a network are described. In one aspect, a server computer receives a request from a client computer for one or more content items. Responsive to receiving the request, the server computer identifies a data structure that refers to the one or more further content items. The server computer modifies the data structure to reference the requested content items. The server computer provides the content items referenced by the modified data structure to the requesting client computer for streaming media content to a user.

Abstract: A cache server includes a media serving engine that is capable of distributing media content. A cache engine is coupled to the media serving engine and capable of caching media content. A set of cache policies is accessible by the cache engine to define the operation of the cache engine. The cache server can be configured to operate as either a cache server or an origin server. The cache server also includes a data communication interface coupled to the cache engine and the media serving engine to allow the cache engine to receive media content across a network and to allow the media serving engine to distribute media content across the network. The cache policies include policies for distributing media content from the media server, policies for handling cache misses, and policies for prefetching media content.

Abstract: Dynamic streaming media management is described. In one aspect, media content is managed by accessing the first playlist that has a non-canonical format. Multiple translators are provided to translate playlists from multiple different native data formats to a canonical data format. One of the translators is invoked to translate the first playlist into the canonical data format. This forms a second playlist that is based on the canonical data format.

Abstract: Systems and methods for combining streaming media content items for streaming to a client computer across a network are described. In one aspect, a playlist is maintained on a server computer. The playlist includes at least one reference to a streaming media content item and at least one placeholder. A request for a requested streaming media content item is received at the server computer from a client computer over a network. The server computer modifies the playlist to create a modified playlist by replacing at least one placeholder with a reference to a streaming media content item. This is accomplished such that the modified playlist includes at least one reference to the requested streaming media content item and at least one reference to at least one further streaming media content item. The streaming media content items referenced by the modified playlist are provided to the client computer over the network.

Abstract: A first computer process serves remote procedure calls received from an instruction set that executes within a second computer process, and the second computer process executes concurrently and independently of the first computer process. The remote procedure calls are served by the first computer process which: receives a request for a data file from the instruction set where the request is according to a data file retrieval protocol; determines that the request for the data file specifies a function which is defined within the first computer process where the function includes computer instructions that perform a task which is unrelated to both generation and retrieval of any data file specified in the request; and executes the function to execute the computer instructions in response to receipt of the request.

Abstract: Client computer(s) retrieve and display synchronized annotated multimedia streams from servers dispersed over a diverse computer network which includes local area networks (LANs) and/or wide area networks (WANs) such as the internet. Multimedia streams provided to the client computer(s) can include a compressed video stream for display in a video window and an accompanying compressed audio stream. Annotations, i.e., displayable events, include textual/graphical data in the form of HTML pages with Java applets to be displayed in one or more event windows. The video/audio and annotation streams are produced and then stored in stream server(s). Annotation streams include annotation frames which provide either pointer(s) to the event(s) of interest or include displayable data embedded within the annotation stream. Accordingly, each annotation frame includes either an event locator or an event data.