Master-Slave Terminal Synchronization for Consistent Playback Timing

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for synchronously operating shared contents among multiple terminals over a network fail to ensure consistent timing, leading to unsatisfactory playback experiences in scenarios like multimedia sharing and remote conferencing.

Innovation Solution

A method where one terminal acts as a master to send synchronization instructions to other terminals, enabling them to perform operations, such as playback, in synchronization, by buffering and forwarding multimedia data, thus eliminating the need for dedicated servers and reducing system complexity.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If each terminal connects to a content server via network to acquire contents, then content sharing is achieved, but synchronous operation timing cannot be strictly consistent

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontent sharing capabilityVSAvoidsynchronization timing accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The master terminal sends a synchronization instruction to all terminals before the actual operation. This preliminary action allows all terminals to prepare and align their timing, ensuring that operations are executed simultaneously across all devices, thus resolving the timing inconsistency problem while maintaining content sharing capability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If a master terminal sends synchronization instructions to slave terminals, then synchronous operation is achieved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesynchronous operation reliabilityVSAvoidsynchronization system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system divides terminals into a master terminal and slave terminals, with the master terminal responsible for sending synchronization instructions and slave terminals responsible for receiving and executing them. This segmentation clarifies roles and responsibilities, making the synchronization mechanism more manageable and less complex while ensuring reliable synchronous operation

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Measurement precision

If dedicated servers are used for content synchronization, then synchronization accuracy is improved, but system cost increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesynchronization accuracyVSAvoidsystem infrastructure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

One of the existing terminals is selected as the master terminal to send synchronization instructions to other slave terminals. This self-service approach eliminates the need for dedicated synchronization servers, reducing system infrastructure complexity and cost while maintaining synchronization accuracy through the master terminal's coordination

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentEP3515083B1Method and apparatus for performing synchronization operation on contents
Publication Date: 2023.06.07 BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO LTD
  • EP3515083B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3515083B1 patent drawingFigure 3
  • EP3515083B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5

AI summary

A method and a device for synchronously performing an operation on contents. The method comprises: sending a synchronization instruction to one or more terminals, the synchronization instruction being used for instructing the one or more terminals to synchronously perform an operation on contents to be operated in synchronization. According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, respective terminals that have received the synchronization instruction, such as mobile terminals, are enabled to synchronously perform an operation on the contents to be operated in synchronization, which effectively achieves consistency of synchronization time.