A METHOD AND AN APPARATUS FOR DATA STREAMING

摘要

A server 1 for a video on demand (VOD) or similar streaming application comprises a streaming unit 3 which is an FPGA (field programmable gate array), programmable logic device (PLD) or similar which performs the common repetitive streaming functions. This is coupled to a control unit 6 which comprises a general purpose CPU which handles more varied but less frequent tasks. The video or other payload is stored in a memory 7, which is probably flash memory or similar. Upon receiving video data the control unit segments it and identifies intra-frames (I-frames). It then stores the segments in memory along with pointers to the next segment as well as pointers to the I frames (See Fig. 5). Upon playback the streaming unit reads out a segment of video data along with the pointers. It then uses different pointers to access a new segment depending upon whether it is normal playback, fast forward or rewind mode.