in the following description , for the purposes of explanation , numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention . it will be apparent , however , to one skilled in the art that the invention may be practiced without some of these specific details . in other instances , well - known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the underlying principles of the invention . elements of the present invention may be included within a client - server based system 100 such as that illustrated in fig1 . according to the embodiment depicted in fig1 one or more servers 110 , 150 communicate to one or more clients 130 - 133 , 135 . the clients 130 - 133 , 135 may transmit and receive data from the servers 110 , 150 over a variety of communication media including ( but not limited to ) a local area network 140 and / or a larger network 125 ( e . g ., the internet ). alternative communication channels such as wireless communication via satellite broadcast ( not shown ) and cellular are also contemplated within the scope of the present invention . the servers 110 , 150 may include one or more databases for storing digital audio and / or video data . the databases may also store specific client data ( e . g ., information on how frequently a particular client logs in to server 110 and that client &# 39 ; s preferences ) and / or more general data . the database in one embodiment runs an instance of a relational database management system ( rdbms ), such as microsoft ™ sql - server , oracle ™ or the like . a client may interact with and receive feedback from servers 110 , 150 using various different communication devices and / or protocols . in one embodiment , the client logs in to servers 110 , 150 via client software . the client software may include a java - enabled browser application such as netscape navigator ™ or microsoft internet explorer ,™ and may communicate to servers 110 , 150 via the hypertext transfer protocol ( hereinafter “ http ”). in other embodiments included within the scope of the invention , clients may communicate with servers 110 , 150 via cellular phones and pagers ( e . g ., in which the necessary software is embedded in a microchip ), handheld computing devices , and / or touch - tone telephones . in addition , the present invention may be used with any device connectable to the internet in a direct or wireless connection . having briefly described an exemplary network architecture which employs various elements of the present system and method , a computer system 200 representing exemplary clients 130 - 133 , 135 and / or servers 110 , 150 in which elements of the system and method may be implemented will now be described with reference to fig2 . one embodiment of a computer system 200 comprises a system bus 220 for communicating information , and a processor 210 coupled to bus 220 for processing information . computer system 200 further comprises a random access memory ( ram ) or other dynamic storage device 225 ( referred to herein as main memory ), coupled to bus 220 for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor 210 . main memory 225 also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions by processor 210 . computer system 200 also may include a read only memory ( rom ) and / or other static storage device 226 coupled to bus 220 for storing static information and instructions used by processor 210 . a data storage device 227 such as a magnetic disk or optical disc and its corresponding drive may also be coupled to computer system 200 for storing information and instructions . computer system 200 can also be coupled to a second i / o bus 250 via and i / o interface 230 . a plurality of i / o devices may be coupled to i / o bus 250 , including a display device 243 , an input device ( e . g ., an alphanumeric input device 242 and / or a cursor control device 241 ). the communication device 240 may comprise a modem , a network interface card , or other well known interface device , such as those used for coupling to ethernet , token ring , or other types of networks . in any event , in this manner , the computer system 200 may be coupled to a number of servers via a conventional network infrastructure , such as a company &# 39 ; s local area network 140 and / or the larger network 125 , for example . embodiments of a system and method for intelligent bit rate and buffer selection in one embodiment , the owner / operator of the internet server 150 is a customer of the owner / operator of the audio / video distribution servers 110 , and client 135 is an end user ( e . g ., a user dialing out to the internet or connecting to the internet via a broadband connection such as digital subscriber line ). in this embodiment , the owner of the internet server 150 may contract with the owner of the audio / video distribution servers 110 to provide audio and / or video functionality for the internet server &# 39 ; s 150 &# 39 ; s internet site . for example , server 150 may represent an e - commerce customer such as ticket master ™ online or the gap ™ online and the multimedia content used by these customers may be provided by the audio / video distribution servers 110 . with the foregoing business relationship in mind , fig3 illustrates client 135 communicating over network 125 to audio / video distribution servers 110 and server 150 . in one embodiment of the system and method , client 135 initially makes a web page request 310 from server 150 ( e . g ., by clicking on a link to that web page ) and , in response , server 150 transmits the requested web page 320 to client 135 . the web page request 310 may contain more information than a simple web page address . for example , if client 135 has previously visited server 150 , then cookie data identifying client 135 may also be transmitted to server 150 . server 150 may then transmit a web page 320 to client 135 which contains information uniquely tailored to client 135 &# 39 ; s preferences . for example , server 150 may be a ticket master server from which client 135 has purchased numerous tickets to alternative rock concerts . as such , the web page 320 transmitted to client 135 may contain specific information relating to upcoming alternative rock concerts , shows , or featured artists . audio / video objects 350 may be embedded in web page 320 which direct audio and / or video associated with the web page 320 ( or components thereof ) to be downloaded from the audio / video distribution servers 110 when the web page 320 is downloaded to the client 135 ( or shortly thereafter ). in addition , in one embodiment , the audio / video objects 350 may include audio / video streaming , decoding and playback technology ( e . g ., a java audio playback applet ). this is illustrated in fig3 as an audio / video request 340 from client 135 to the audio / video distribution servers 110 , and subsequent audio / video content 330 distribution ( with or without playback technology ). although illustrated as two separate servers 110 , 150 , it should be noted that the audio content 330 and the web page 320 may be transmitted from the same server while still complying with the underlying principles of the invention . as illustrated in greater detail in fig4 one embodiment of playback technology includes a java applet which is comprised of an audio / video player module 410 , a streamer module 411 , a codec module 412 and the underlying audio / video content 420 . it should be noted , however , that a java applet is not required for complying with the underlying principles of the invention . the codec module 412 in one embodiment uses an advanced pulse code modulation (“ adpcm ”) codec for compressing / decompressing audio / video content . accordingly , when audio / video content is to be delivered to a particular end - user , the codec is transmitted along with the content . in one embodiment , the player 410 is transmitted to client 135 in a first network transaction . secondly , the codec 412 and streamer 411 are transmitted to the client 135 . finally , the content 420 is streamed to the client 135 for decompression by codec 412 . in another embodiment , the player 410 , codec 412 and streamer 411 are concurrently transmitted to the client followed by the content 420 . in this embodiment , because the player 410 and related modules 411 - 412 are written in java , these programs are architecture - neutral . accordingly , they can be executed on any system which includes a java virtual machine ( virtually all web browser - equipped machines do ). in contrast , browser plug - ins used in prior audio and video streaming systems are platform - dependent ( e . g ., a plug - in developed for internet explorer will not necessarily run on netscape navigator and a plug - in developed for a macintosh ™ computer will not run on a pc ). in addition , because java was designed to create compact programs , the java applet 330 may be quite small . in one embodiment , the java applet 330 is slightly more than 4 k - bytes in size , making it ideal for streaming applications where a short transmission time is necessary . one embodiment of the player module 410 , streamer module 411 , and / or codec module 412 is described in the co - pending u . s . patent applications entitled “ a system and method for streaming data in java ,” ser . no . 09 / 388 , 634 ; and “ a system and method for providing audio / video content delivery over a network ,” ser . no . 09 / 377 , 883 which are assigned to the assignee of the present application and which are incorporated herein by reference . regardless of the particular type of audio / video streaming technology employed , one embodiment of the invention identifies an appropriate bitrate and / or buffer size to be used for transmitting multimedia content to the client 135 . more specifically , in one embodiment , before multimedia content is delivered to a client 135 , the system illustrated in fig5 executes the method set forth in fig6 ( in whole or in part ) to select an appropriate bitrate and buffer size . initially , at 612 ( fig6 ), if the client &# 39 ; s web browser cache is enabled it is disabled to ensure accurate bitrate calculations ( i . e ., if test data is read from the cache rather than from the server 110 , the effective bitrate will be artificially high ). at 614 one of the audio / video distribution servers 110 begins transmitting a compressed test file 510 to the client 135 . in one embodiment , the test file 510 is derived from an audio ( or multimedia file ) of the same type and format as the one which will typically be streamed on the system . alternatively , or in addition , the file may be compressed with the maximum level of compression possible ( e . g ., using g - zip or other compression application ) to ensure accurate throughput calculations . in addition to being highly compressed , in one embodiment the test file is extremely small ( i . e ., relative to files used in current bitrate test systems ). for example , the test file may be just large enough to provide accurate test results . in one specific embodiment , the test file is approximately 6 kbytes in size but the specific size of the test file is not relevant to the underlying principles of the invention . as the download process is initiated , a test module 520 executed on the client 135 begins timing the download ( alternatively , or in addition , a timing module executed on the audio / video distribution servers 110 may time the download ). in one embodiment , a threshold timer value is programmed in the system . the threshold timer value approximates the time it would take to provide the test file 510 to the client 135 at the next - to - lowest bitrate provided by the audio / video distribution servers 110 . in other words , once this timer value is reached , the only “ appropriate ” bitrate is the lowest bitrate available . for example , if it takes about 2 seconds to download a 6 k file at say 24 kbps ( the next - to - lowest bitrate in this example ), once 2 seconds is reached , a time - out occurs . in other words , the lowest bitrate ( e . g ., 16 kbps ) codec would need to be selected at this point , so there &# 39 ; s no reason to prolong the test . if the first timer threshold is reached , in order to ensure that the low bitrate approximation was not merely the result of a temporary network glitch ( e . g ., a temporary period of network transmission delay ) one embodiment of the system resets the timer and reattempts the test file 510 download at 618 ( fig6 ). the retry feature may be particularly important in an embodiment which uses a relatively small test file 510 as described above . the same timer threshold value may be used on the second download attempt or , alternatively , a different ( longer or shorter ) timer threshold value may be used , depending on the embodiment . regardless of the duration of the second threshold timer value , if it is reached ( determined at 622 ), in one embodiment , the lowest bitrate is selected for communication with the client 135 ( at 620 ). in one embodiment , the system retransmits the test file 510 an additional number of times after the second threshold timer value is reached . if the test file 510 is successfully downloaded , at 624 the test module 520 ( or other module executed on the audio / video distribution servers 110 ) calculates the effective bitrate based on the download time . for example , if a 6 kbyte file is used and takes 1 second to download , the effective calculated bitrate is ( 6 kbytes * 8 bits / byte )/ 1 sec = 48 kbits / sec . in one embodiment , the audio / video distribution server 110 uses the calculated bitrate to select an audio and / or video file of a particular quality . in one embodiment , audio / video files may be encoded at a variety of different quality levels , e . g ., 16 kbits / sec , 24 kbits / sec , 32 kbits / sec , 40 kbits / sec , 64 kbits / sec , 128 kbits / sec . . . etc . accordingly , in the foregoing example , the audio / video distribution servers 110 would select 40 kbits / sec as the appropriate bitrate ( i . e ., because it is the closest bitrate which is lower than the calculated bitrate of 48 kbits / sec ). in one embodiment the selection of a bitrate is performed by a query to a lookup table having each of the predefined bitrates stored therein . in addition to calculating an appropriate bitrate between the audio / video distribution servers 110 and the client 135 , one embodiment of the system and method also calculates an appropriate buffer size at the client 135 for receiving an audio / video stream . more specifically , in one embodiment , the client &# 39 ; s decompression performance is evaluated and used to determine buffer size . decompression performance may be based on the hardware and software configured in the client 135 ( e . g ., the client &# 39 ; s cpu speed , the client &# 39 ; s browser software including the java virtual machine , . . . etc .). accordingly , at 626 a decompression test is initiated on an encoded test file ( which may or may not be the same as the test file 510 transmitted during bitrate calculations ). in one embodiment , the decompression evaluation is timed in the same manner as the bitrate evaluation . accordingly , if the decompression process takes longer than some predetermined threshold value , determined at 628 , then at 630 the decompression timer is reset and the decompression test is attempted again . if the second attempt also runs longer than the second threshold timer value ( which may or may not be the same as the first timer value ), determined at 636 , the largest buffer size available is selected at the client 135 ( at 632 ) ( i . e ., to compensate for the slow decoding ). however , it should be noted that a retry on the decompression test is not required for complying with the underlying principles of the invention . if the decompression process terminates before the threshold timer value is reached , at 634 the buffer size is calculated based on the speed of the decompression process . generally speaking , the slower the client &# 39 ; s decompression performance , the larger the calculated buffer size . moreover , the previously - evaluated bitrate may also be factored into the buffer calculations . for example , if the communication channel between the client 135 and the audio / video distribution servers 110 can support a relatively high bitrate ( e . g ., via a dsl connection ) and the client decompression performance is relatively slow ( e . g ., because of a slow cpu ) then a relatively large buffer will need to be selected so that an overflow condition does not result ( i . e ., so that the buffer does not fill up due to the slow decompression process ). similarly , if the channel between the client 135 and the audio / video decompression servers 110 supports a relatively low bitrate ( e . g ., a 36 . 6 kbit / sec modem connection ) and the client &# 39 ; s 135 &# 39 ; s decompression performance is relatively fast , then a small buffer ( or no buffer at all ) may be selected . in one particular embodiment , a default buffer size is configured within the system ( e . g ., 5 seconds ) and is adjusted up or down depending on the bitrate and buffer analysis described above . at 636 , after the bitrate and buffer size have been determined , the underlying audio / video content is provided to the client 135 ( e . g ., via an audio / video stream or other content delivery mechanism ). elements of the present invention may also be provided as a computer program product which may include a machine - readable medium having stored thereon instructions which may be used to program a computer ( or other electronic device ) to perform a process . the machine - readable medium may include , but is not limited to , floppy diskettes , optical disks , cd - roms , and magneto - optical disks , roms , rams , eproms , eeproms , magnet or optical cards , propagation media or other type of media / machine - readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions . for example , the present invention may be downloaded as a computer program product , wherein the program may be transferred from a remote computer ( e . g ., a server ) to a requesting computer ( e . g ., a client ) by way of data signals embodied in a carrier wave or other propagation medium via a communication link ( e . g ., a modem or network connection ). throughout the foregoing description , for the purposes of explanation , numerous specific details were set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention . it will be apparent , however , to one skilled in the art that the invention may be practiced without some of these specific details . for example , although some of the embodiments described above focus on an implementation using java applets executed at a client 135 , the system and method for intelligent bitrate and buffer selection may be employed on virtually any system in which one node communicates to another node over a network ( e . g ., a server to a client over the internet ). accordingly , the scope and spirit of the invention should be judged in terms of the claims which follow .