System for transmitting stream data from server to client based on buffer and transmission capacities and delay time of the client

A system including a server for transmitting stream data over a network, and a terminal for playing back the stream data while receiving the stream data from said server,

• wherein said terminal comprises:
• target value determination means for determining a target value of stream data to be stored in a buffer of said terminal in relation to a buffer capacity of said terminal and a transmission capacity of the network;
• delay time determination means for arbitrarily determining, in a range not exceeding a value obtained by dividing the buffer capacity by the transmission capacity, a delay time from when said terminal writes head data of the stream data to the buffer to when said terminal reads the data to start playback;
• and
• notifying means for notifying the server of the target value determined by said target value determination means and the delay time determined by said delay time determination means;
• and
• wherein said server comprises control means for controlling a transmission speed based on the notified target value and the delay time when transmitting the stream data to said terminal over the network.

A terminal working with a server for transmitting stream data over a network, and playing back the stream data while receiving the stream data from said server,

• wherein said server comprises control means for controlling a transmission speed based on a target value and a delay time when transmitting the stream data to said terminal over the network;
• and
• wherein said terminal comprises:
• target value determination means for determining the target value of the stream data to be stored in a buffer of said terminal in relation to a buffer capacity of said terminal and a transmission capacity of the network;
• delay time determination means for arbitrarily determining, in a range not exceeding a value obtained by dividing the buffer capacity by the transmission capacity, the delay time from when said terminal writes head data of the stream data to the buffer to when said terminal reads the data to start playback;
• and
• notifying means for notifying said server of the target value determined by said target value determination means and the delay time determined by said delay time determination means.

A server for transmitting stream data over a network, and working together with a terminal for playing back the stream data while receiving the stream data from said server,

• wherein said terminal comprises:
• target value determination means for determining a target value of the stream data to be stored in a buffer of said terminal in relation to a buffer capacity of said terminal and a transmission capacity of the network;
• delay time determination means for arbitrarily determining, in a range not exceeding a value obtained by dividing the buffer capacity by the transmission capacity, a delay time from when said terminal writes head data of the stream data to the buffer to when said terminal reads the data to start playback;
• and
• notifying means for notifying said server of the target value determined by said target value determination means and the delay time determined by said delay time determination means;
• wherein said server comprises control means for controlling a transmission speed based on the notified target value and the delay time when said server transmits the stream data to said terminal over the network;
• and
• wherein said control means controls the transmission speed so that the amount of the stream data stored in the buffer of said terminal changes in the vicinity of the target value without exceeding the target value.

A computer-readable recording medium storing a program describing a streaming method in which a server transmits stream data to a terminal through a network, and the terminal plays back the stream data while receiving the stream data from the server,

• wherein, in the terminal, said method comprises:
• determining a target value of the stream data to be stored in a buffer of the terminal in relation to a buffer capacity of the terminal and a transmission capacity of the network;
• arbitrarily determining, in a range not exceeding a value obtained by dividing the buffer capacity by the transmission capacity, a delay time from when the terminal writes head data of the stream data to the buffer to when the terminal reads the data to start playback;
• notifying the server of the determined target value and the determined delay time;
• and
• wherein, in the server, said method comprises controlling a transmission speed based on the notified target value and the notified delay time when the server transmits the stream data to the terminal over the network.

A computer-readable recording medium on which a program is recorded, said program describing a streaming method in which a server transmits stream data to a terminal through a network and the terminal plays back the stream data while receiving the stream data from the server,

• wherein said program causes the terminal to perform an operation of:
• determining a target value of the stream data to be stored in a buffer of the terminal in relation to a buffer capacity of the terminal and a transmission capacity of the network;
• arbitrarily determining, in a range not exceeding a value obtained by dividing the buffer capacity by the transmission capacity, a delay time from when the terminal writes head data of the stream data to the buffer to when the terminal reads the data to start playback;
• and
• notifying the server of the determined target value and the determined delay time;
• and
• wherein said program causes the server to perform an operation of controlling a transmission speed based on the notified target value and the notified delay time when the server transmits the stream data to the terminal over the network.