METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPLEMENTING SEAMLESS PLAYBACK OF CONTINUOUS MEDIA FEEDS

A method and system for storing a continuous feed of video is provided. According to one aspect of the invention, the continuous feed is encoded in a digital video format to produce a digital data stream. A series of content files is created by repeatedly performing the steps of (1) storing the digital data stream in a current file, and (2) establishing a new file as the current file when the current file satisfies a predetermined condition. If the series of content files satisfy a particular deletion criteria, then a particular content file that satisfies a particular deletion criteria is deleted. A determination is made as to whether any reader is currently playing information from the particular content file. If it is determined that a reader is playing information from the particular content file then the step of deleting the particular content file is delayed. In certain aspects, tag information that indicates information about frames contained in the digital data stream is generated. The tag information includes timestamps that indicate timing of frames relative to a beginning of the digital data stream. An initial time value that indicates an absolute time that corresponds to the beginning of the digital data stream. When a request from a client for playback beginning at a specified absolute time is received, the initial time value is subtracted from the specified absolute time to determine a relative time. The tag information is used to identify a location in the digital data stream that corresponds to the relative time. The digital data stream is then transmitted to the client beginning at the location in the digital data stream that corresponds to the relative time.