DISTRIBUTED FRAGMENT TIMESTAMP SYNCHRONIZATION

摘要

A fault tolerant video streaming distribution service utilizes multiple distribution servers to receive and process a video stream simultaneously. Each distribution server performs a mapping of each encoded timestamp associated with a transport stream having time discontinuities to a continuous time sequence. The distribution servers coordinate the timestamp mapping through a distributed leader election protocol that elects a leader to coordinate the timestamp mapping in an environment where failures are anticipated and the number of distribution servers dynamically changes without notice.

主权项

1. A computer-implemented method, the method comprising:
receiving concurrently at each distribution server in a distribution service, a first video stream, the first video stream including a plurality of packets, each packet having at least one frame, each packet associated with a timestamp, at least one timestamp having a discontinuous value, the first video stream formatted in accordance with a first transport protocol; converting, in real time, at each distribution server, the first video stream into a second video stream, the second video stream formatted in accordance with a second transport protocol, the second transport protocol using a continuous time sequence, the continuous time sequence having a plurality of timestamps representing a continuous presentation order used by each distribution server; collaborating with the distribution servers to elect a leader from the distribution servers to coordinate synchronization of timestamps associated with the frames in the first video stream into the continuous time sequence; and determining, at the leader, a current timestamp mapping from proposals received from non-leader distribution servers, the current timestamp mapping associating a timestamp associated with a select one of the frames in the first video stream into a timestamp associated with the continuous time sequence.