METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR READING DATA FOR A NUMBER OF USERS

摘要

A system, such as for example, a video server in a multimedia system, delivers data to a number of users, each of which may have a variable consumption rate. The system reads data blocks from the storage medium in successive sweeps and places the data in user buffers. The system in accordance with the invention reads, for a given user, one block of data from the storage medium no more than every other sweep, so that the duration of a sweep is shorter. Thus, whether a user needs data is checked more frequently and fewer data need be stored in the buffer of the user. As a result, the size of the buffer may be smaller.