US 7,111,115 · Granted 2006-09-19

How Avid's Data Distribution Patent Powers Professional Video Editing

Imagine a video editor working on a Hollywood film — the video file is so massive it doesn't fit on one hard drive. Avid's patent splits the file into chunks, spreads copies randomly across multiple storage units, and always sends requests to whichever drive has the shortest wait line. The result: super smooth playback with zero stuttering, even when dozens of editors are pulling footage simultaneously.

Curated and verified by the IsItPatented Editorial team

The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a system where data segments are randomly distributed across multiple storage units with at least one redundant copy on a different unit, and where incoming data requests are routed to whichever storage unit has the shortest queue of pending requests. What's protected here is the specific combination of random segment placement, redundant copies, and intelligent load balancing — not just the idea of spreading data, but the particular mechanics of how it's distributed and how requests are prioritized.

Why it matters

In professional video production, real-time playback of high-resolution footage across networked systems is non-negotiable. This patent solves a critical bottleneck: without smart load balancing, one overloaded drive can stall an entire editing suite. By spreading segments randomly and routing requests to the least busy drive, Avid locked down a reliable method for handling the kinds of massive, simultaneous data demands that Hollywood workflows require, making their editing systems competitive with custom-built solutions.

Real-world use

When a film editor on one workstation plays back a 4K timeline while another editor exports a scene and a third imports new footage, all three operations are silently being routed to different storage drives to prevent any one from getting swamped.

Original USPTO abstract

Multiple applications request data from multiple storage units over a computer network. The data is divided into segments and each segment is distributed randomly on one of several storage units, independent of the storage units on which other segments of the media data are stored. At least one additional copy of each segment also is distributed randomly over the storage units, such that each segment is stored on at least two storage units. This random distribution of multiple copies of segments of data improves both scalability and reliability. When an application requests a selected segment of data, the request is processed by the storage unit with the shortest queue of requests. Random fluctuations in the load applied by multiple applications on multiple storage units are balanced nearly equally over all of the storage units. This combination of techniques results in a system which can transfer multiple, independent high-bandwidth streams of data in a scalable manner in both directions between multiple applications and multiple storage units.

Patent details

Publication number: US 7,111,115
Filing date: 2004-07-01
Grant date: 2006-09-19
Assignee: Avid Technology, Inc.
Inventor(s): PETERS ERIC C., RABINOWITZ STANLEY, JACOBS HERBERT R.
CPC class: H04L67/1097

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