System and method to support different ingest and delivery schemes for a content delivery network

A method comprising:

• receiving source media content;
• and
• processing the source media content to produce streaming media data, the streaming media data comprising a first plurality of alternative content fragments, a second plurality of alternative content fragments, and a single media description file comprising metadata describing both the first plurality of alternative content fragments and the second plurality of alternative content fragments, wherein the first plurality of alternative content fragments and the second plurality of alternative content fragments carry alternative versions of the same media content,
• wherein the first plurality of alternative content fragments comprise a series of leading content fragments having a fixed time duration followed by a trailing content fragment having a variable time duration,
• wherein each content fragment in the first plurality of alternative content fragments corresponds to one or more alternative content fragments in the second plurality of alternative content fragments, and
• wherein the first plurality of alternative content fragments and the second plurality of alternative content fragments carry the same media content at different bit rates.

A server system comprising:

• an input port;
• and
• a processor configured to:
• receive a streaming media data from an input port, the streaming media data comprising a first plurality of alternative content fragments, a second plurality of alternative content fragments, and a single media description file, wherein the single media description file comprises metadata describing both the first plurality of alternative content fragments and the second plurality of alternative content fragments, and wherein the first plurality of alternative content fragments and the second plurality of alternative content fragments carry alternative versions of the same media content;
• process the streaming media data to produce streaming media content of a particular configuration;
• and
• transmit the streaming media content to a media client,
• wherein the first plurality of alternative content fragments comprise a series of leading content fragments having a fixed time duration followed by a trailing content fragment having a variable time duration,
• wherein each content fragment in the first plurality of alternative content fragments corresponds to one or more alternative content fragments in the second plurality of alternative content fragments, and
• wherein the first plurality of alternative content fragments and the second plurality of alternative content fragments carry the same media content at different bit rates.

An apparatus comprising:

• an input port;
• and
• a processor configured to:
• receive a streaming media data from an input port, the streaming media data comprising a first plurality of alternative content fragments, a second plurality of alternative content fragments, and a single media description file, wherein the single media description file comprises metadata describing both the first plurality of alternative content fragments and the second plurality of alternative content fragments, wherein the first plurality of alternative content fragments and the second plurality of alternative content fragments carry alternative versions of the same media content,
• wherein the first plurality of alternative content fragments comprise a series of leading content fragments having a fixed time duration followed by a trailing content fragment having a variable time duration,
• wherein each content fragment in the first plurality of alternative content fragments corresponds to one or more alternative content fragments in the second plurality of alternative content fragments, and
• wherein the first plurality of alternative content fragments and the second plurality of alternative content fragments carry the same media content at different bit rates.