METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPLEMENTING SEAMLESS PLAYBACK OF CONTINUOUS VIDEO FEEDS

摘要

A method and system for storing a continuous feed of video is provided. According to one aspect of the invention, the continuous feed is encoded in a digital video format to produce a digital data stream. A series of content files is created by repeatedly performing the steps of (1) storing the digital data stream in a current file, and (2) establishing a new file as the current file when the current file satisfies a predetermined condition. If the series of content files contains more than a predetermined amount of the continuous feed, the oldest content file in the series of content files is deleted. Tag information that indicates information about frames contained in the digital data stream is generated. The tag information includes timestamps that indicate timing of frames relative to a beginning of the digital data stream. An initial time value that indicates an absolute time that corresponds to the beginning of the digital data stream. When a request from a client for playback beginning at a specified absolute time is received, the initial time value is subtracted from the specified absolute time to determine a relative time. The tag information is used to identify a location in the digital data stream that corresponds to the relative time. The digital data stream is then transmitted to the client beginning at the location in the digital data stream that corresponds to the relative time. <IMAGE>