Packet communication terminal having synchronized audio and cursor data

Abstract

The present invention relates a communication terminal for the synchronization of audio and visual information within a communication system. Audio communication between the parties to a video conference is achieved by digitizing the speech and transmitting the same over a packet based data network. Each party to the conference can draw the attention of the other party to an object on the screen using a pointer controlled by, say, a mouse or ball. The co-ordinates of each parties' pointer are incorporated, via a multiplexer, into the data packets containing the digitized speech and transmitted to the other party's terminal thereby ensuring the synchronization the pointer information with the digitized speech.