Detecting clock drift in networked devices through monitoring client buffer fullness
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method comprising:
- receiving streaming content from a host device;
maintaining data from the streaming content in a client device buffer;
monitoring a buffer fullness level that reflects a level of data in the buffer; and
based on the monitoring, determining if there is clock drift between a host clock and a client clock.
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Abstract
A digital media system uses client buffer fullness reports to detect clock drift between a clock on a host/source device that delivers streaming media content and a clock on a client playback device that receives the streaming media content. The system provides a reduction in playback interruptions during playback of streaming media content and a greater potential that “live” content encoded by a host/source device can actually be experienced as “live” content through playback on a client device.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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receiving streaming content from a host device;
maintaining data from the streaming content in a client device buffer;
monitoring a buffer fullness level that reflects a level of data in the buffer; and
based on the monitoring, determining if there is clock drift between a host clock and a client clock. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A processor-readable medium comprising processor-executable instructions configured for:
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transmitting streaming content from a host device to a client device;
monitoring a buffer fullness level of a data buffer on the client device over a measured time interval; and
based on the monitoring, determining if clock drift is present between a host clock on the host device and a client clock on the client device. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A system comprising:
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a client device configured for receiving media content from a host device and for playing back the media content;
a buffer monitor on the client device configured for monitoring a client buffer and generating buffer fullness reports indicating amounts of data in the client buffer; and
a clock drift detection and recovery module configured to determine from the buffer fullness reports if clock drift is present between a host clock and a client clock. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification