Real-time media content synchronization and transmission in packet network apparatus and method

摘要

A system for transmitting and synchronizing real-time multimedia content includes a multimedia server (62) for generating a multimedia packet (64) having multimedia audio/visual information therein in a play sequence, and for transmitting the multimedia packet; a packet-based communication network (66) connected to the multimedia server (62) for receiving the multimedia packets therefrom; the network having multiple routers (68, 70) therein to route the multimedia packets to plural destinations; means for inserting total delay information (TDI) into the multimedia packets, wherein the TDI includes total end-to-end delay (TED) and cumulative network delay (CND); and plural multimedia receivers (80, 82, 84) for receiving the multimedia packets having TDI therein, wherein each multimedia receiver (80, 82, 84) includes a buffer for storing received multimedia packets, a sequencing means for retrieving stored multimedia packets from the buffer and sequencing the multimedia packets in the play sequence, and a playing mechanism for playing the retrieved, sequenced multimedia packets at time TED after the multimedia packet has been transmitted by the multimedia server (62). A method of transmitting and synchronizing real-time multimedia content includes loading multimedia audio/visual into plural multimedia packets (64); inserting total delay information (TDI) into at least one of the multimedia packets (64), wherein TDI includes total end-to-end delay (TED) and cumulative network delay (CND); transmitting the multimedia packets to plural multimedia receivers (80, 82, 84) over a packet-based network (66) in a play sequence; buffering the multimedia packets in each multimedia receiver (80, 82, 84); recalling the multimedia packets in play sequence; and playing the multimedia packets (64) at each receiver (80, 82, 84) at time TED.