Video download mechanism for transferring large data

A computer system for transferring and accessing large content elements, the system comprising:

• a processor and memory configured to execute software instructions;
• a content conversion component configured to convert a large content element into a video file format for streaming to clients, wherein the large content element is not video content but is nevertheless mapped to one or more frames of video for transmission between a content server and a content client to leverage content infrastructure optimized for streaming video;
• a content transfer component configured to transfer one or more converted video files from a content publisher to the content server;
• an index content component configured to build a client-side index that describes the large content element to which received content parts belong;
• a select content part component configured to receive a selection of a particular content part within the large content element;
• a frame mapping component configured to map the selected content part to a corresponding video frame within the converted large content element;
• a frame request component configured to send requests from the client for individual content parts in the form of video frames from the content server;
• a content extraction component configured to interpret the format of a video frame received by the frame request component and separate a data portion from the frame;
• and
• a content display component configured to display received media content using client hardware.

A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions for controlling a computer system to publish a large content element formatted as video data, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause a processor to perform actions comprising:

• receiving at a content publisher reference to the large content element, wherein the large content element is not video content but is nevertheless mapped to one or more frames of video for transmission between the content server and a content client to leverage content infrastructure optimized for streaming video;
• receiving at the content publisher an indication of a layout of the large content element, including sub-elements of the large content element;
• converting at the content publisher each sub-element into a video format supported by a content server;
• creating at the content publisher a manifest describing the received large content element and the indicated layout;
• and
• transferring at the content publisher the converted sub-elements of the large content element as video files to the content server for responding to content client requests.