Byte Stream Server for Near-Term Video Delivery

The patent extracts the video buffering function from RAM memory to disk storage. Instead of keeping all video frames in memory, the system writes video frames to disk files as they are captured, and only buffers minimal data in RAM. This extraction allows immediate access to recent video frames without requiring large amounts of memory, resolving the contradiction between fast access and memory consumption.

The system performs preliminary action by pre-writing video frames to disk storage as they are captured, rather than waiting to buffer them in memory. The video frames are immediately flushed to disk files with sequential writing, ensuring that recent video data is already available on disk when needed for playback, eliminating the need for large RAM buffers.

The patent transitions from a single-dimension circular buffer in memory to a multi-dimensional disk-based storage system. Instead of being constrained by RAM size for a single buffer, the system uses disk space which is vastly larger, allowing concurrent buffering of multiple video streams. Each stream gets its own file on disk, enabling hundreds or thousands of simultaneous streams without being limited by memory capacity.

The system segments the video buffering approach by creating separate file-based buffers for each video stream on disk, rather than sharing a limited memory buffer. Each camera feed is written to its own file container with its own index file, allowing independent management and retrieval of each stream's data, thus supporting a large number of concurrent streams.