Apparatus, system, and method for multi-bitrate content streaming

A method for streaming from a set of one or more servers videos for playback on a content player on an end user station, the method comprising:

• streaming from the set of servers a selected one of the videos for playback on the content player, wherein a storage device stores a plurality of different copies of the same selected video each encoded at a different bit rate and each divided into a plurality of streamlets that collectively store data to playback the entire video but that individually store data to playback only a portion that starts at a unique time index and whose duration is less than the entire playback duration of the selected video, wherein the time indexes of the streamlets are the same for the different copies such that the streamlets with the same time indexes from the different copies independently yield the same portions of the selected video, and wherein each of the streamlets of each of the pluralities is a separate content file that is independently playable by the end user stations, and wherein said streaming comprises:
• receiving, for a set of one or more initial and sequential ones of the time indexes, at least one streamlet request over a network connection from a requesting one of the end user stations to retrieve the separate content files storing the portions of the single video starting at the set of time indexes from one of the different copies;
• retrieving from the storage device the requested content files with the set of time indexes from the one copy;
• sending the retrieved content files from the one copy to the requesting one of the end user stations over the network connection;
• receiving, for each subsequent time index, at least one streamlet request over the network connection from the requesting one of the end user stations to retrieve the separate content tiles storing the portion of the single video starting at that time index from one of the different copies currently selected, wherein the requesting one of the end user stations selects the currently selected one of the different copies dependent upon successive determinations to shift the playback quality to a higher or lower quality one of the different copies, wherein the shifts in playback quality occur at the time indexes;
• retrieving from the storage device the requested content files with the time index from the currently selected one of the different copies;
• and
• sending the retrieved content files from the currently selected one of the different copies to the requesting one of the end user stations over the network connection.

A method executable by a content player on an end user device to obtain a stream of a selected video program for playback by the content player, the method comprising:

• requesting the stream of the selected video program via a network connection to a video server, wherein the video server accesses a plurality of different copies of the same selected video each encoded at a different bit rate and each divided into a plurality of segments that collectively store data to playback the entire video but that individually store data to playback only a portion that starts at a unique time index and whose duration is less than the entire playback duration of the selected video, wherein the time indexes of the segments are the same for the different copies such that the segments with the same time indexes from the different copies independently yield the same portions of the selected video, and wherein each of the segments of each of the pluralities is a separate content file that is independently playable by the end user device, wherein the requesting comprises the content player placing, for a set of sequential ones of the time indexes, segment requests over the network connection to the video server to thereby retrieve the separate segments from at least one of the different copies storing the portions of the single video according to the set of time indexes;
• receiving the separate segments from the video server at the content player via the network connection;
• and
• adapting subsequent segment requests placed by the content player to the video server based upon successive determinations by the content player to shift the playback quality to a higher or lower quality one of the different copies of the same selected video, wherein the shifts in playback quality occur at the time indexes.