A Temporal Reference Framework for Multimedia Synchronization

The synchronization problem for audio/visual reproduction has consumed engineers since the advent of recorded audio and images and the first multimedia productions. As computers have evolved to support programmed reproduction of multimedia information, the complexity but not the character or interest have changed. In the digital domain, synchronization problems exist due to data distribution and communications, random events caused by human-computer interaction, and general computer and communications performance limitations. This rich research domain has led to numerous approaches to the modeling and execution of multimedia synchronization scenarios. Unfortunately, these approaches are difficult to compare and evaluate due to their varied theoretical bases and modeling techniques. In this paper we develop a uniform, theoretical foundation for discussing multimedia synchronization and temporal specification. We propose a temporal reference framework and use it to compare existing temporal specification schemes and their relationships to multimedia synchronization. The ensuing comparison of existing specification and synchronization techniques demonstrates the utility of the framework. In Proc. 1st Intl. Workshop on Multimedia Synchronization, Tysons Corner, May 1995. A longer version appears in the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications (Special Issue: Synchronization Issues in Multimedia Communication), January 1996. This work is supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. IRI-9211165. Work performed while visiting from the Grupo de Tratamiento de Imágenes, E.T.S. Ingenieros Telecomunicación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. Dr. Pérez-Luque’s current address is the Laboratorio de Comunicación Multimedia, Facultad de Ciencias de la Información, Universidad de Navarra, 31080 Pamplona, Spain, [email protected].