A content distribution network with client side multicasting properties
that operates with a reduced bandwidth is provided. The requested
content, such as multimedia content, is provided in a format suitable for
transmission over existing unicast communication links and is then
changed to a multicast format for local distribution. This allows an
application provider to transmit a single unicast stream of content to a
client-side media server in a local area network (LAN) and then
distribute it to multiple interested users within the LAN using a
multicasting transmission format. This significantly reduces bandwidth
requirements by providing a single unicast transmission to a LAN rather
than supply each user within the LAN with a dedicated content stream.