Web Browser Media Synchronization via Audio Buffering and Container Timestamps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current media playback technologies on web browsers face synchronization issues between video and audio when decoded using different decoders, particularly when video is decoded on a container basis and audio is decoded using a JavaScript decoder, leading to delayed audio playback.
Innovation Solution
A media playback apparatus and method that includes a receiving unit for media data, a data separator to separate video and audio, a container unit to package video frames with a unit number, and an audio synchronizer to output audio in synchronization with the restored video based on time information, ensuring synchronized playback even when different decoders are used.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If video is decoded on a container basis and audio is decoded using different decoders, then format flexibility is improved, but synchronization between video and audio deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a synchronization manager as an intermediary component that coordinates between the video decoder and audio decoder. This manager receives decoding status information from both decoders and adjusts their operation to maintain synchronization, allowing different decoder types to work together effectively while preserving format flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the synchronization manager continuously monitors the decoding progress of both video and audio streams. Based on this feedback, it dynamically adjusts decoding parameters and timing to maintain synchronization, enabling reliable coordinated playback even when using different decoder implementations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a JavaScript decoder is used to decode audio, then codec format support is improved, but playback timing deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The synchronization manager performs preliminary actions by pre-calculating and pre-positioning audio data in buffer memory based on expected playback timing. This allows the JavaScript decoder to process audio formats flexibly while the system proactively prepares timing adjustments to prevent playback delays.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts audio playback timing based on the actual decoding speed of the JavaScript decoder. The synchronization manager modifies buffer sizes, playback rates, and timing parameters in real-time to compensate for variations in decoding performance, maintaining synchronized playback despite the overhead of JavaScript-based decoding.
Data Source
AI summary
A media playback apparatus and a method for synchronously reproducing video and audio on a web browser are provided. In the media playback apparatus, audio is buffered to be outputted at a time point at which video is outputted, thereby synchronizing the outputs of video and audio. The media playback apparatus may output the video in synchronization with the audio even when video and audio are decoded by different decoders. Therefore, it is possible to implement a decoder separately from a decoder embedded in a web browser in a non-plug-in environment, thereby reducing the dependency on the codec format of the media.