Audio-Referenced Video Synchronization for Multi-Content Playback

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for synchronously reproducing multiple content items with video and audio data often result in displacement issues due to high processing loads, making it difficult to maintain synchronization, especially in musical applications where precise timing is crucial.

Innovation Solution

A method that detects discrepancies between audio and video reproduction positions and corrects the video position based on the audio signal's position when the discrepancy exceeds a threshold, prioritizing audio signal reproduction to minimize disruption and reduce processing load.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If synchronization processing is executed frequently based on video data, then synchronization precision between video and audio is improved, but processing load increases and content reproduction cannot be resumed immediately

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesynchronization precisionVSAvoidreproduction resumption speed

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent inverts the conventional synchronization approach by using audio data as the reference instead of video data. Audio data has smaller data quantity and lower compression ratio, enabling frequent processing without excessive computational load. The system detects synchronization status by comparing audio reproduction position with video reproduction position, and corrects video timing based on audio timing, thereby achieving both high synchronization precision and fast resumption speed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the mechanically intensive video-based synchronization system with an audio-based detection and correction system. Instead of processing large volumes of video data to determine synchronization points, the system uses audio reproduction position detection combined with threshold-based discrepancy comparison, significantly reducing computational requirements while maintaining synchronization accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Manufacturing precision

If synchronization processing is executed frequently based on video data, then synchronization precision is improved, but device load increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesynchronization precisionVSAvoidprocessing load

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent inverts the conventional synchronization approach by using audio data as the reference instead of video data. Audio data has smaller data quantity and lower compression ratio, enabling frequent processing without excessive computational load. The system detects synchronization status by comparing audio reproduction position with video reproduction position, and corrects video timing based on audio timing, thereby achieving both high synchronization precision and fast resumption speed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the mechanically intensive video-based synchronization system with an audio-based detection and correction system. Instead of processing large volumes of video data to determine synchronization points, the system uses audio reproduction position detection combined with threshold-based discrepancy comparison, significantly reducing computational requirements while maintaining synchronization accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Manufacturing precision

If video-based synchronization is used, then video-audio synchronization is achieved, but synchronism between multiple audio signals is lost

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevideo-audio synchronizationVSAvoidaudio signal synchronism

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent inverts the conventional synchronization approach by using audio data as the reference instead of video data. Audio data has smaller data quantity and lower compression ratio, enabling frequent processing without excessive computational load. The system detects synchronization status by comparing audio reproduction position with video reproduction position, and corrects video timing based on audio timing, thereby achieving both high synchronization precision and fast resumption speed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent makes the audio reproduction position the universal reference for synchronizing both video and multiple audio signals. By detecting the audio reproduction position and using it as the basis for correcting video timing, the system ensures that all audio signals remain synchronized with each other while also maintaining proper video-audio synchronization, thus serving multiple synchronization functions through a single audio-based mechanism.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS10541003B2Performance content synchronization based on audio

Publication Date: 2020.01.21 YAMAHA CORP

AI summary

A content reproduction screen displays a plurality of content items. A video reproduction processing section reproduces substantially simultaneously videos of a plurality of content items on a screen. An audio reproduction processing section reproduces substantially simultaneously audio signals of a plurality of content items. During reproduction of a plurality of content items, a comparison is made between a current reproduction position of the audio signal in an audio reproduction processing section and a current reproduction position of each video in the video reproduction processing section, and, if a discrepancy between the compared current reproduction positions is equal to or greater than a threshold value, the current reproduction position of the video is corrected on the basis of the current reproduction position of the audio signal. In this way, the current reproduction position of each video is synchronized with the reproduction position of the audio signal.