Process and device for synchronizing presentation of audio and/or video frames

• US 7,280,156 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2003
• Issued: 10/09/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stmicroelectronics France (STMicroelectronics NV)
• Original Assignee: STMicroelectronics SA (STMicroelectronics NV)
• Inventors: Roelens, Frederic
• Primary Examiner(s): Hsia; Sherrie
• Application Number:
  US10/741,424
• Publication Number:
  US 20050021811A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,390 Days
• Field of Search: 348/500, 348/512, 348/515, 375/240.28, 375/354, 370/350, 370/503
• US Class Current: 348/512
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43072 of multiple content streams on the same device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4341 Demultiplexing of audio and video streams

Abstract

A method and device are provided for synchronizing the presentation of audio frames and/or of video frames comprises the detection of presentation time stamps in a stream of frames. The presentation instant indicated by a time stamp is compared with a time delivered by a local reference clock. Depending on a variance and on an average of values of deviation between presentation instants and corresponding times indicated by the clock, the clock can be initialized according to the presentation instant indicated by a time stamp or the presentation of the frames can be adjusted.

Claims

1. A method for synchronizing the presentation of video frames and/or audio frames generated by processing a data stream comprising time stamps indicating instants of presentation of the frames, the method comprising the steps of:

calculating a current value of deviation between the presentation instant indicated by a time stamp undergoing processing and a time indicated by a local reference clock during the processing of the time stamp;

storing the current value of deviation in a register following values of deviation corresponding to previously processed time stamps;

calculating a variance of an ordered set of deviation values stored in the register coming after a reference deviation value, the set of deviation values comprising at least the current value of deviation, and comparing the variance with a predetermined variance threshold;

if the variance is greater than the variance threshold, selecting the current value of deviation as new value of reference deviation; and

if the variance is less than the variance threshold, calculating an average of the deviation values of the set of deviation values and comparing the average with a determined average threshold, and

if the absolute value of the average is greater than the average threshold, initializing the local reference clock to an instantaneous value corresponding to the presentation instant indicated by the time stamp undergoing processing and the current value of deviation is selected as new value of reference deviation, or

if the absolute value of the average is less than the average threshold, adjusting the presentation of the frames in such a way as to reduce the deviation between the presentation instant indicated by the time stamp undergoing processing and the time indicated by the local reference clock during the processing of the time stamp.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment of the presentation of the frames comprises:

when the average of the deviation values of the set of deviation values is negative, skipping at least one frame.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment of the presentation of the frames comprises:

when the average of the deviations of the set of deviations is positive, introducing a timeout into the presentation of the frames.

4. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the current value of deviation is stored in the register only if the value of deviation is non-zero, and

the deviation value previously stored in the register is selected if the deviation value is zero.

5. The method according to claim 1,

wherein, when a new value of reference deviation is selected, all the deviation values contained in the register are erased, and

the set of deviation values taken into account for the variance calculation and for the average calculation corresponds to all the deviation values stored in the register at the moment of the calculation.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, after the storing in the register of the current value of deviation, the processing of the time stamp is interrupted if the register contains a number of values of deviation less than a determined number.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, in response to a command of presentation start and before the start of the processing of the time stamps, initializing the local reference clock to an instantaneous value corresponding to the presentation instant indicated by the first time stamp to be processed.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising commencing from the receipt of the command of presentation start a recording in a buffer memory of the frames received.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data stream is read from a mass recording digital medium.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data stream is received in real time from a real-time broadcasting source.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the tick rate of the local reference clock is synchronized with time references contained in the data stream received.

12. A method for synchronizing presentation of video frames and presentation of audio frames for a presentation in parallel of the video frames and the audio frames, the method comprising the steps of:

synchronizing the presentation of the video frames according to the process according to claim 1;

parallel therewith, synchronizing the presentation of the audio frames according to the process according to claim 1; and

mutually synchronizing a local reference clock associated with the presentation of the video frames and a local reference clock associated with the presentation of the audio frames by locking a first of these local reference clocks to the other of these local reference clocks.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the locking is obtained by on each occasion initializing the first local reference clock to the instantaneous value of the other local reference clock.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the local reference clock is initialized to the instantaneous value of the other local reference clock only if the times indicated by each of the two respective local reference clocks exhibit, at a given instant, a deviation less than a determined threshold.

15. A device for synchronizing the presentation of video frames and/or of audio frames generated by processing a data stream comprising time stamps indicating instants of presentation of the frames, the device comprising:

means for calculating a current value of deviation between the presentation instant indicated by a time stamp undergoing processing and a time indicated by a local reference clock during the processing of the time stamp;

means for storing the current value of deviation in a register following values of deviation corresponding to previously processed time stamps;

means for calculating a variance of an ordered set of deviation values stored in the register coming after a reference deviation value, the set of deviation values comprising at least the current value of deviation;

means for comparing the variance with a determined variance threshold;

means for selecting the current value of deviation as new value of reference deviation if the variance is greater than the variance threshold;

means for calculating an average of the deviation values of the set of deviation values if the variance is less than the variance threshold;

means for comparing the average with a determined average threshold;

means for initializing the local reference clock to an instantaneous value corresponding to the presentation instant indicated by the time stamp undergoing processing and for selecting the current value of deviation as new value of reference deviation, if the absolute value of the average is greater than the average threshold; and

means for adjusting the presentation of the frames in such a way as to reduce the deviation between the presentation instant indicated by the time stamp undergoing processing and the time indicated by the local reference clock during the processing of the time stamp, if the absolute value of the average is less than the average threshold.

16. A video driver circuit comprising the device according to claim 15.

17. A decoder box comprising a video driver circuit according to claim 16.

18. A machine-readable medium encoded with a program for synchronizing the presentation of video frames and/or audio frames generated by processing a data stream comprising time stamps indicating instants of presentation of the frames, said program containing instructions for performing the steps of:

calculating a current value of deviation between the presentation instant indicated by a time stamp undergoing processing and a time indicated by a local reference clock during the processing of the time stamp;

storing the current value of deviation in a register following values of deviation corresponding to previously processed time stamps;

calculating a variance of an ordered set of deviation values stored in the register coming after a reference deviation value, the set of deviation values comprising at least the current value of deviation, and comparing the variance with a predetermined variance threshold;

if the variance is greater than the variance threshold, selecting the current value of deviation as new value of reference deviation; and

if the variance is less than the variance threshold, calculating an average of the deviation values of the set of deviation values and comparing the average with a determined average threshold, and

if the absolute value of the average is greater than the average threshold, initializing the local reference clock to an instantaneous value corresponding to the presentation instant indicated by the time stamp undergoing processing and the current value of deviation is selected as new value of reference deviation, or

if the absolute value of the average is less than the average threshold, adjusting the presentation of the frames in such a way as to reduce the deviation between the presentation instant indicated by the time stamp undergoing processing and the time indicated by the local reference clock during the processing of the time stamp.

19. The machine-readable medium according to claim 18, wherein the adjustment of the presentation of the frames comprises:

when the average of the deviation values of the set of deviation values is negative, skipping at least one frame.

20. The machine-readable medium according to claim 18, wherein the adjustment of the presentation of the frames comprises:

when the average of the deviations of the set of deviations is positive, introducing a timeout into the presentation of the frames.