Patent ID: 8345740
Filing Date: 2013-01-01
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. A method for distributing an ordered set of frames each with encoded data from a transmitter to a receiver, wherein the ordered set comprises at least an independent frame and a dependent frame, the dependent frame requiring the independent frame for decoding the data encoded in the dependent frame, the method comprising: buffering frames of the ordered set of frames that include at least the independent frame or the dependent frame in a buffer at the transmitter before transmittal, wherein the buffer includes a send buffer and a wait buffer; transmitting frames from the send buffer at the transmitter to the receiver; reordering the transmitting of the frames from the send buffer at the transmitter (i) such that the dependent frame is sent after the independent frame and (ii) in response to an acknowledgement that a sent frame is completely received by the receiver, wherein responsive to the acknowledgement that the sent frame is completely received by the receiver, a frame held in the wait buffer is removed and inserted into the send buffer, further wherein the reordering the transmitting (a) reduces a risk that a frame is received by the receiver that cannot be decoded due to a missing frame upon which the decoding depends by sending the dependent frame after the independent frame in response to the acknowledgement that the independent frame has been completely received by the receiver, (b) prevents spending bandwidth of a transmission medium on transmitting a frame that cannot be decoded for a situation in which the independent frame has not been completely received by the receiver prior to transmitting the frame that that cannot be decoded as a result of the independent frame not being completely received by the receiver, further so that the bandwidth of the transmission medium is not used for transmitting the frame that cannot be decoded due to a missing frame upon which the decoding depends, and (c) automatically adapts an amount of transmitted frames to an available transmission capacity of the transmission medium, the available transmission capacity being subject to reduced available bandwidth circumstances; receiving, at the receiver, at least some of the frames transmitted; and reordering and presenting the received frames at an output of the receiver such that the received frames are presented at the output in the order of the ordered set.