Method of synchronizing the playback of a digital audio broadcast using an audio waveform sample
First Claim
1. A method of synchronizing the playback of a digital audio broadcast on a plurality of network output devices by inserting an audio waveform sample in an audio stream of the digital audio broadcast, comprising:
- outputting first and second unique signals as part of an audio signal which has unique identifying characteristics and is regularly occurring, so that the time between the first and second unique signals must be significantly greater than a latency between sending and receiving devices;
outputting an audio waveform sample;
outputting an audio stream; and
coordinating play of audio by setting the play point of the audio stream according to the audio waveform sample assuring the simultaneous output of the audio signal from multiple devices, the digital audio broadcast from multiple receiving devices not presenting to a listener any audible delay or echo effect.
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Abstract
A method is provided for synchronizing the playback of a digital audio broadcast on a plurality of network output devices by inserting an audio waveform sample in an audio stream of the digital audio broadcast. The method includes the steps of outputting a first unique signal as part of an audio signal which has unique identifying characteristics and is regularly occurring, outputting a second unique signal so that the time between the first and second unique signals must be significantly greater than the latency between sending and receiving devices, and coordinating play of audio by an audio waveform sample assuring the simultaneous output of the audio signal from multiple devices. An algorithm in hardware, software, or a combination of the two identifies the audio waveform sample in the audio stream. The digital audio broadcast from multiple receivers does not present to a listener any audible delay or echo effect.
179 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A method of synchronizing the playback of a digital audio broadcast on a plurality of network output devices by inserting an audio waveform sample in an audio stream of the digital audio broadcast, comprising:
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outputting first and second unique signals as part of an audio signal which has unique identifying characteristics and is regularly occurring, so that the time between the first and second unique signals must be significantly greater than a latency between sending and receiving devices;
outputting an audio waveform sample;
outputting an audio stream; and
coordinating play of audio by setting the play point of the audio stream according to the audio waveform sample assuring the simultaneous output of the audio signal from multiple devices, the digital audio broadcast from multiple receiving devices not presenting to a listener any audible delay or echo effect. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system for synchronizing audio playback of multiple receiving devices, comprising:
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a transmitting device; and
two or more receiving devices, wherein the receiving devices are synchronized through at least two of the group consisting of an audio waveform sample, communication latency, and processing latency. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A system for synchronizing the audio playback of two or more receiving devices, comprising:
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means for transmitting consecutive unique signals in an audio stream; and
means for receiving the consecutive unique signals in the audio stream, the time the means for receiving the unique signal takes to act upon the unique signal being determined by a communications latency between the transmitting means and the receiving means and a processing latency determined by internal processing by the receiving means. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. An audio waveform sample used in a method of synchronizing the playback of a digital audio broadcast by an output device, comprising:
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a content portion to be played with a section of an audio stream identified to play at a specific time coordinate;
a time to be played portion; and
a latency time value for the device relative to the source device portion, wherein the output device would output the content as an audio output synchronized with the time to be played minus or plus the latency time.
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Specification