Method and apparatus for scheduling and mixing media in a multi-media environment
US5608651A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 31, 1995 |
| Grant date | Mar 4, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 31, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L65/80
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A real-time media driver for scheduling and mixing media in a multimedia environment. Implemented to operate in conjunction with a non-real-time operating system, the real-time media driver comprises a wave driver which controls a predominant percentage of the operations of the media hardware device and a mini-device driver which is software provided by the vendor of the media hardware device to support functions unique to the particular media hardware device. Furthermore, the real-time media driver comprises a media scheduler which (i) synchronizes multiple media streams prior to being input into a mixing/splitting device of the media scheduler; (ii) allows reconfiguration of attributes of media streams without loss of content prior to and after operations by the mixing/splitting device; and (iii) appropriately mixes media to produce multi-channel media according to a certain "prioritized sharing" policies.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.