Patent ID: 7313313

Claim:
In a computing system that has access to streamed multimedia data, the streamed multimedia data including at least two media streams having corresponding data packets, and wherein at least some of the data packets include original timestamps that corresponds with an intended playback synchronization of the multimedia data, a method for synchronizing the playback of the at least two media streams commencing at a starting point that is seeked for within the multimedia data, the method comprising: an act of seeking to a desired starting point within the streamed multimedia data, the desired starting point corresponding with a desired playback portion of the multimedia data; an act of identifying a total number of media streams that are included within the desired playback portion of the multimedia data; an act of reading ahead a maximum number of data packets in each of the total number of media streams from the desired starting point; an act of identifying a smallest original timestamp of a data packet within the maximum number of data packets, the smallest original timestamp comprising a normalizing presentation timestamp that corresponds with a presentation starting point for commencing the playback of the desired playback portion of the multimedia data; an act of assigning a presentation timestamp to each one of the maximum number of data packets that has an original timestamp by subtracting the normalizing presentation timestamp from the original timestamp of each data packet; and an act of transmitting the maximum number of data packets to at least one rendering device for enabling the total number of media streams to be played back according to presentation timestamp on the at least one rendering device with the intended playback synchronization of the multimedia data.