| We propose a new Video on Demand strategy that is based on combining two popular approaches, viz., broadcasting and patching. The goal is maximize the use of broadcasting to effectively share network bandwidth, while patching is used to make up for the apparent lack of dependence between the precise timing of user requests. Our strategy matches the performance of a similar strategy reported in the literature recently. Unlike its counterpart, our strategy possesses the property of asynchronicity, which is very crucial in realizing the feasibility of its implementation. We show that our strategy render itself naturally to meeting the rather difficult requirements of VCR-like functions (pause, rewind, forward etc.). We also identify the significance of an important threshold parameter in satisfying requests at peak loads by accordingly compromising on latency. Therefore, while both strategies are similar in terms of performance our strategy is more suitable for implementation and provides better functionality. |
