Patent ID: 8494049

Claim:
A method comprising: an encoder at a source sending compressed video data including a reference frame message to create a long term reference frame from a recent frame indicated in the reference frame message, the recent frame being encoded and included in the compressed video data, the sending being to a plurality of decoders at one or more destination points, wherein the same compressed video data is sent to the plurality of decoders; and receiving feedback from the plurality of decoders indicative of whether or not the decoders successfully received the reference frame message and have access to the indicated recent frame, in the case that the received feedback is such that at least one of the decoders did not successfully receive the reference frame message or does not have the indicated recent frame, repeating sending a reference frame message to create the long term reference frame from an indicated recent frame to the plurality of decoders, and receiving feedback until the encoder has received feedback from each of the plurality of decoders indicating successful receipt of the reference frame message and indicating having access to the recent frame indicated in the reference frame message, such that once the encoder has an indication of successful receipt and access at all decoders, the encoder, upon receiving feedback of an error from at least one of the decoders, is operable to use the long term reference frame as a reference frame for temporal predictive encoding of video, thereby enabling the encoder to avoid using an independently coded frame upon receiving feedback of an error.