Wireless Streaming Timing Synchronization for Sink Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for streaming content to multiple sink devices lack the means for supporting synchronized presentation with a high degree of accuracy, leading to delays and echoes.
Innovation Solution
A source device identifies and communicates timing information to sink devices to determine a composite timing delay, which accounts for transmission and interface delays, allowing sink devices to adjust their timing and present content in a synchronized manner.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional streaming methods are used to transmit content to multiple sink devices, then the system complexity remains low, but the timing synchronization precision deteriorates leading to delays and echoes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the timing delay into multiple components: transmission delay (one-way latency) and processing delay (internal device processing). By separately measuring and compensating for each component, the system achieves high timing synchronization precision without requiring complete system redesign.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces timing measurement frames as an intermediary mechanism to facilitate precise timing synchronization. These special frames carry timing information that enables both devices to measure transmission delay and exchange timing data, resolving the synchronization problem while maintaining manageable system complexity.
2Reliability
If timing synchronization procedures are implemented between source and sink devices, then content presentation synchronization improves, but the transmission time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs timing measurements and delay calculations in advance before actual content streaming begins. The devices exchange timing measurement frames, measure one-way latency, and calculate processing delays beforehand, so that when content is streamed, synchronization is already established, minimizing additional time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
Each device independently measures its own processing delay by comparing timestamps of received and transmitted frames. This self-measurement approach eliminates the need for complex centralized timing control, reducing overall system time overhead while ensuring reliable synchronization.
3Measurement precision
If composite timing delay measurement is performed including transmission and processing delays, then timing accuracy improves, but the measurement procedure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the composite timing delay measurement into distinct phases: transmission delay measurement using timing measurement frames, and processing delay measurement using timestamp comparisons. Each phase focuses on a specific delay component, making the overall complex measurement manageable through systematic breakdown.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where devices exchange timing information and use it to adjust their synchronization. The sink device sends acknowledgment frames with timestamp information back to the source device, enabling the source to calculate processing delay and compensate for it in future transmissions, improving accuracy without proportionally increasing complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, apparatuses, and devices are described for synchronizing timing of wireless streaming transmissions to multiple sink devices. A source device may identify timing information associated with a common timing source, e.g., a media timing source at Multimedia layer or a Wi-Fi timing source, and send the timing information to the sink devices. The sink devices may receive the timing information and determine a composite timing delay, e.g., a wireless transmission link delay, an internal interface link delay, or combinations thereof. The source device may stream the content to the sink devices which may use a locally adjusted timing signal to synchronize the presentation of the content.