Patent ID: 8028097

Claim:
An apparatus for synchronizing video and audio streams being communicated over a power line communications (PLC) network, comprising: a first streaming media device configured for connecting to a power line for the receipt of operating power; a power line communications circuit, within said first streaming media device, configured for communicating data over said power line operating as a PLC network, between said first streaming media device and at least a second streaming media device coupled to said power line; wherein a periodic beacon signal is sent by said power line communications circuit to establish bus access timing for the devices on the PLC network whose video and audio streams are to be synchronized; wherein said periodic beacon signal divides the power line channel into beacon cycles divided into multiple periods comprising a contention-free period and a non-contention-free period; wherein streaming media devices communicate isochronous data within time slots of the contention-free period, and asynchronous data within time slots of the non-contention-free period, within said beacon cycles; and means for isochronously communicating a reference clock, containing a multi-byte clock value, within a reserved time slot of said contention-free period from said first streaming media device over said PLC network to additional streaming media devices for maintaining synchronization of device output; wherein said reference clock is available to the additional streaming media devices without a buffer delay; said synchronization is maintained in response to adjusting a system clock in response to said reference clock, which controls timing of device output, within each of said additional streaming media devices to match the reference clock sent from said first streaming media device.