This invention is directed to a hybrid asynchronous, distributed audiovideo group conferencing system.The invention eliminates the need to choose between the convenience of asynchronous messaging (such as email) and the interactive capabilities of full bandwidth conferences by providing sound and video in a recorded storage and retrieval system, indexed to facilitate examination and comprehension by distributed group members.Melding the beneficial attributes of asynchronous conferencing systems and full-channel audiovideo communication provides advantages greater than either set alone.

As a greater number of people begin to access the Internet through high speed connections, the content offered is expanding. One method of broadcasting video and audio streams over the Internet is Multicasting. However, as use of multitask protocols and acknowledgement signals for each packet sent increases, so does congestion over the internet. Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a system and method of congestion control for multicast transmissions that is implemented entirely at the source of the transmission without any modifications to the receivers or routers.