Virtual Line-In Playback Bridging for Cross-System Audio Synchrony
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Different media playback systems often lack interoperability, as they implement similar features in different ways, preventing them from forming playback groups together.
Innovation Solution
A virtual line-in interface is used to enable interoperability between media playback systems by adapting to the timing and control domains of a third-party system, allowing devices to form synchrony groups and maintain native domain signaling concurrently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If different media playback systems implement their own proprietary timing and control domains, then each system can optimize its own performance and features, but interoperability between systems is lost and devices cannot form playback groups together
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a virtual line-in interface as an intermediary layer between the third-party media playback system and the native media playback system. This virtual interface adapts timing and control signals from the third-party system's domain into the native system's domain, enabling interoperability without requiring direct compatibility between the two proprietary systems. The virtual line-in acts as a mediator that translates control commands and timing information, allowing devices from different manufacturers to form synchrony groups while maintaining their respective optimization.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a virtual line-in interface is implemented to enable interoperability, then devices from different manufacturers can form synchrony groups, but the system must adapt to multiple timing and control domains increasing complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the interoperability function into a separate virtual line-in interface component, distinct from the native playback system's core timing and control domains. This segmentation allows the native system to maintain its optimized domain while the virtual interface handles the adaptation to third-party domains. By separating the adaptation logic into a dedicated virtual interface, the complexity is isolated and managed independently, rather than being integrated throughout the entire system.
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual line-in interface serves as an intermediary that manages the complexity of multi-domain adaptation. It receives timing and control signals from the third-party system, translates them into the native system's domain, and enables synchrony group formation without requiring the native system to directly handle multiple proprietary domains. This intermediary approach contains and manages the adaptation complexity in a single layer.
3Reliability
If proprietary timing and control implementations are used in different media playback systems, then each system can be optimized for its specific features, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring compatibility between systems increases
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual line-in interface acts as an intermediary that simplifies compatibility detection. Instead of requiring direct compatibility checking between two proprietary systems, the virtual interface provides a standardized adaptation layer that automatically handles timing and control signal translation. This intermediary approach masks the underlying proprietary differences, making compatibility detection simpler as the virtual interface handles the adaptation transparently.
Data Source
AI summary
Example systems and techniques disclosed herein facilitate interoperability between different media playback systems referred to herein as a virtual line-in (VLI) media playback system and a native playback system. When a VLI session is created by a VLI sender, a first native playback device can join a VLI group as a VLI receiver. As a VLI receiver, the first native playback device receives audio content and playback commands from the VLI sender to facilitate synchronous playback with other VLI receivers. At the same time, this native playback device can concurrently operate as a native domain group coordinator of a native domain synchrony group. As the native domain group coordinator, the native playback device translates VLI domain audio, control, and timing signals into the native domain and distributes such signals to native domain group members. In this way, the native domain group members can synchronize their playback with the VLI group.