Synchronisation of decoder connected to asynchronous transmission network audio-video services - controlling flow of data from coder to decoder w.r.t. relative capacities and occupation levels of respective buffers

摘要

The decoder (2) is connected to an asynchronous transmission network (R) operating in Asynchronous Transfer Mode. The data is transmitted in packets formed from a data cell between a coder (1) and a decoder (2). This data is transferred through the coder via a buffer (110) and into the decoder via another flow control buffer (210). Data concerning the state of the coder's buffer is transmitted to the decoder. The decoder checks the state of the flow control buffer. Data flow to the decoder is controlled by determining the relationship between the states of the two buffers w.r.t. a formula: Eb (coder) + Eb (decoder) = C, where C is a constant such as the combined capacity of the two buffers, each having the same storage capacity. ADVANTAGE - Equally applicable to synchronous as well as asynchronous networks irrespective of whether output is fixed or variable.