Patent ID: 7388887

Claim:
A computing system in a network system that includes a multimedia source and a multimedia sink, the multimedia source transmitting a stream of multimedia packets to the multimedia sink over a plurality of heterogeneous networks, the heterogeneous networks including at least one constant delay network, at least one variable delay network that includes a common time reference, and a plurality of variable delay networks that do not themselves provide for a common reckoning of time references, the computing system comprising one or more computer-readable storage media having computer-executable instructions for implementing a method of performing constant delay communication of the stream of multimedia packets from the multimedia source over the heterogeneous networks to the multimedia sink, wherein the method comprises: in a plurality of heterogeneous networks where delay between the plurality of heterogeneous networks is variable, at a first variable delay network that does not itself provide for a common time reckoning, the first variable delay network establishing a first specific common time reckoning for the first variable delay network, the first variable delay network being communicatively linked to a constant delay network; in the plurality of heterogeneous networks, at a second variable delay network that does not itself provide for a common time reckoning, the second variable delay network establishing a second specific common time reckoning for the second variable delay network, the second variable delay network being communicatively linked to at least the first variable delay network, the second specific common time reckoning being different than the first specific common time reckoning; in the plurality of heterogeneous networks, the first variable delay network emulating the first variable delay network using the first specific common time reckoning present in the first variable delay network, such that the plurality of heterogeneous networks as a whole emulate a constant delay network; in the plurality of heterogeneous networks, the second variable delay network emulating the second variable delay network using the second specific common time reckoning present in the second variable delay network, such that the plurality of heterogeneous networks as a whole emulates a constant delay network; and transmitting a multimedia packet over the emulated constant delay network in the plurality of heterogeneous networks including at least the constant delay network, the first variable delay network and the second variable delay network.