Systems, methods and computer-readable media for configuring receiver latency
The present disclosure is related to transmitting and receiving media channels, such as audio and video channels. These channels may be transmitted as packets from one or more transmitting devices to one or more receiving devices for playout. Certain embodiments of the present disclosure include systems, methods, and computer-readable media for determining latency of a data network for synchronized playout of received signals. Additionally, certain embodiments of the present disclosure include a systems, methods, and computer-readable media for synchronizing playout among devices connected to a data network.
1. A receiving device for synchronizing rendering of a media channel among a group of receiving devices, the receiving device comprising:
a receiver for receiving a signal from a transmitting device via a media channel, wherein the signal includes a timestamp;
a processor; and
a memory configured to cause the processor to perform steps comprising:
determining a transmission latency from the transmitting device to the receiving device based on the timestamp;
obtaining a latency of the transmitting device, wherein the latency of the transmitting device corresponds to an amount of time between when media data is sampled and when the media data receives a timestamp;
determining a minimum end-to-end latency based on the latency of the transmitting device, the transmission latency, and a latency of the receiving device, wherein the latency of the receiving device corresponds to an amount of time between when media data is written to a receiver buffer and when the media data is rendered;
determining a maximum end-to-end latency based on the latency of the transmitting device, the latency of the receiving device, and a receiver buffer capacity;
transmitting a multicast message to other receiving devices in the group, wherein the multicast message includes the minimum end-to-end latency;
setting a current latency value of the receiving device to the greater of the minimum end-to-end latency of the receiving device or a minimum end-to-end latency of another receiving device in the group; and
rendering the media channel at the receiving device according to the current latency value, such that the rendering of the media channel by the receiving device is synchronized with the rendering of the media channel by other receiving devices in the group.
2. The receiving device of claim 1 wherein the media channel is an audio channel.
3. The receiving device of claim 1 wherein the media channel is a video channel.
4. The receiving device of claim 1 wherein the media channel transmits compressed audio.
5. The receiving device of claim 1 wherein the multicast message further comprises a group identification number, the maximum end-to-end latency, and the current latency.
6. The receiving device of claim 1 wherein the memory is further configured to cause the processor to update the current latency value if another receiving device in the group transmits a multicast message indicating that the other receiving device has a minimum end-to-end latency greater than the current latency value.
7. The receiving device of claim 1 wherein the memory is further configured to cause the processor to determine a latency offset for the receiving device based on the latency of the transmitting device, the latency of the receiving device, and the current latency value, and setting a buffer position in the receiving device based on the latency offset.