Patent ID: 8675728

Claim:
A transmitting apparatus comprising: one or more processors operable to: encode image data to generate encoded data; add an encoding-time buffer period to the encoded data as encoding header information, the encoding-time buffer period being a minimum buffer period to prevent synchronous reproduction, in which the encoded data is decoded and reproduced in synchronization with a timestamp added to the encoded data, from failing due to a delay caused by the encoding of the image data; add a transmission-time buffer period to the encoded data as transmission header information different from the encoding header information, the transmission-time buffer period being a minimum buffer period to prevent the synchronous reproduction from failing due to a delay caused by the encoding of the image data and transmission of the encoded data; collect network status information, the network status information being status information regarding communication via the network, the network status information comprising at least a transmission rate, a network jitter, a packet loss rate, and a transmission delay; calculate a network-responsive buffer period using the network status information, the network-responsive buffer period being a buffer period to prevent the synchronous reproduction from failing due to a delay caused by the transmission of the encoded data; select a greater one of the encoding-time buffer period and the network-responsive buffer period; calculate the transmission-time buffer period using one of the network-responsive buffer period and the encoding-time buffer period; and transmit, via a network to another apparatus that performs the synchronous reproduction, the encoded data in which the encoding header information including the encoding-time buffer period and the transmission header information including the transmission-time buffer period have been added.