Redundant media packet streams

Abstract

This invention concerns the transmitting and receiving of digital media packets, such as audio and video channels and lighting instructions. In particular, the invention concerns the transmitting and receiving of redundant media packet streams. Samples are extracted from a first and second media packet stream. The extracted samples are written to a buffer based on the output time of each sample. Extracted samples having the same output in time are written to the same location in the buffer. Both media packet streams are simply processed all the way to the bugger without any particular knowledge that one of the packet streams is actually redundant. This simplifies the management of the redundant packet streams, such as eliminating the need for a 'fail-over' switch and the concept of an 'active stream', the location is the storage space allocated to store one sample. The extracted sample written to the location may be written over another extracted sample from a different packet stream previously written to the location. These extracted samples written to the same location may be identical.