Method and system for efficient and dynamically adaptable digitally-encoded-information distribution

1. A distributed content-distribution system comprising:

one or more system servers that each stores content-object instances; and

one or more kiosk-like content servers in retail locations that each

stores content-object instances,

requests content objects from one or more of the system servers,

connects to a consumer-electronics devices on behalf of a user,

determines the type of the connected consumer-electronics device,

receives, from users, requests for download of content objects to the users' consumer-electronics device, and

responds to each request for download of a content object to a user's consumer-electronics device by one of:

requesting a content-object instance compatible with the user's request and compatible with the user's consumer-electronics device from a system server, retrieving, from a data-storage component within, or from a data-storage facility associated with, the kiosk-like content server, a content-object instance compatible with the user's request and compatible with the user's consumer-electronics device and downloading the retrieved content-object instance to the user's consumer-electronics device, and

retrieving a content-object instance from the data-storage component or the data-storage facility and transcoding the retrieved content-object instance to generate a content-object instance compatible with the user's request and compatible with the user's consumer-electronics device;

wherein the system servers include one or more back-end servers;

wherein the system servers, the kiosk-like content servers, and the consumer-electronics devices are hierarchically organized, with the consumer-electronics devices at a lowest level, with the one or more kiosk-like content servers at a next-to-lowest level in the hierarchy, and the one or more backend servers at a highest level in the hierarchy;

wherein each request for a content object is received from a user by the one or more kiosk-like content server at the next-to-lowest level; and

wherein, when a kiosk-like content server, in response to a received request for a content object, requests the content object from a system server, the request for the content object forwarded upward through the hierarchically organized system servers.

2. The distributed content-distribution system of claim 1

wherein the system servers include the one or more back-end servers at the highest level and one or more intermediate servers at each of one or more intermediate levels below the highest level comprising one or more back-end servers and above the next to-lowest level comprising one or more kiosk-like content servers; and

wherein a request for a content object received by a kiosk-like content server may be forwarded through one or more intermediate servers at one or more intermediate levels to a back end server at the highest level.

3. The distributed content-distribution system of claim 2 wherein each server selected from among the one or more kiosk-like content server, intermediate server, and back- end server, upon receiving a content object:

determines, from stored data, whether or not to transcode the received content object;

determines, from stored data, whether or not to locally store the received content object; and

determines, from stored data, whether or not to forward the received content object to a lower-level server or consumer electronics device.

4. The distributed content-distribution system of claim 3

wherein, when the sever determines to transcode the received content object, the server determines to which type or types of content-object instances to transcode the received content object and, for each content-object instance produced by transcoding the received content object, the server determines whether to locally store the content-object instance and whether or not to forward the content-object instance to a lower-level server of consumerelectronics device.

5. The distributed content-distribution system of claim 2 wherein each server selected from among the one or more kiosk-like content server, intermediate server, and back- end server, upon receiving a request for a content object from a lower-level requestor:

determines whether a locally stored content-object instance satisfies the request for the content object, and, when the locally stored content-object instance satisfies the request for the content object, retrieves the locally stored content-object instance and returns the retrieved content-object instance to the lower-level requestor;

when no locally stored content-object instance satisfies the request for the content object, determines whether a locally stored content-object instance can be transcoded locally to a content-object instance that satisfies the request for the content object, and, when a the locally stored content-object instance can be transcoded locally to a content-object instance that satisfies the request for the content object, retrieves the locally stored content-object instance, transcodes the retrieved content-object instance to the content-object instance that satisfies the request, returns content-object instance that satisfies the request to the lower level requestor as well as optionally locally storing the content-object instance that satisfies the request; and

when no locally stored content-object instance satisfies the request for the content object and when no locally stored content-object instance can be transcoded locally to a content-object instance that satisfies the request for the content object, requests the content object from a higher-level server.

6. The distributed content-distribution system of claim 2 wherein each server selected from among the one or more kiosk-like content server, intermediate server, and back-end server, periodically evaluates locally stored content-object instances for deletion.

7. The distributed content-distribution system of claim 2 wherein, by continuously determining whether or not to locally transcode store content-object instances, whether or not to locally store content-object instances, and whether or not to delete locally stored content object instances, the kiosk-like content servers, intermediate servers, and back-end servers that together compose the distributed content-distribution system optimally or near-optimally deliver content-object instances to requesting users' consumer-electronics device.

8. The distributed content-distribution system of claim 1 wherein a kiosk-like content server determines the type and, when possible, the configuration, capacity, and compatibilities with digital encodings, of a connected consumer-electronics device from one or more of: data supplied by a communications interface to the consumer-electronics device; data obtained by querying the consumer-electronics device using a communications protocol recognized by the consumer-electronics device; data obtained by accessing the consumer-electronics device using a communications protocol recognized by the consumer-electronics device, an operating-system or control rogram interface provided by the consumer-electronics device, including accessing content object instances stored within the consumer electronics device; and data supplied by user.

9. The distributed content-distribution system of claim 8 wherein the kiosk-like content server independently determines the type of a connected consumer-electronics device from first data and verifies the type determination from second, different data.