Patent ID: 8578428

Claim:
An in-flight video system, comprising: a first receiving module positioned on an aircraft, the first receiving module configured for: receiving signals for a video program delivered utilizing a ground-based cellular network, processing the signals received by the first receiving module and providing a first video stream; a second receiving module positioned on the aircraft, the second receiving module operates independently with respect to the first receiving module, the second receiving module configured for: receiving signals for the same video program delivered utilizing the ground-based cellular network, processing the signals received by the second receiving module and providing a second video stream; a synchronization module communicatively connected with the first receiving module and the second receiving module, the synchronization module configured for: determining a latency difference between the first video stream and the second video stream, and synchronizing the first video stream and the second video stream based on the identified latency difference; a data processing module communicatively connected with the synchronization module, the data processing module configured for: identifying damaged or missing frames in the first video stream and the second video stream, and providing a merged video stream for distribution to an end device onboard the aircraft, the merged video stream including frames from the first video stream and the second video stream; and a buffer configured for buffering the merged video stream, wherein the buffer has a specific data storage size configured for delaying the distribution of the merged video stream for a specific time duration, wherein the data storage size and the time duration of the delay are determined based on a location of the aircraft with respect to the ground-based cellular network.