Synchronizing processing between streams

A transitory or non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising a computer program, the computer program comprising instructions for causing a processor system to facilitate a client device to synchronize streaming and processing a second stream to streaming and processing a first stream, wherein the first stream and the second stream are part of a group of streams, wherein the streams of the group are associated with a common content timeline, by:

• buffering a second stream in a data storage;
• receiving a request for streaming a content part of the second stream to a client device, the request being indicative of a selected time point on a common content timeline from which point onwards the second stream is to be processed;
• after receiving the request indicative of the selected time point, transcoding the content part of the second stream to obtain a transcoded second stream, wherein the transcoding is configured to create a random access point in the transcoded second stream from which point onwards the client device is able to decode the transcoded second stream, wherein the random access point is nearer in time to the selected time point than any random access point of the second stream;
• streaming the transcoded second stream to the client device;
• and
• streaming the second stream to the client device.

A network element configured to facilitate a client device to synchronize streaming and processing a second stream to streaming and processing a first stream, wherein the first stream and the second stream are part of a group of streams, wherein the streams of the group are associated with a common content timeline, and wherein the network element comprises:

• a data storage configured to buffer the second stream;
• a network interface configured to receive a request for streaming a content part of the second stream to the client device, the request being indicative of a selected time point on the common content timeline from which point onwards the second stream is to be processed;
• a processor configured to, after the receiving of the request indicative of the selected time point, transcode the content part of the second stream to obtain a transcoded second stream, and to create a random access point in the transcoded second stream from which point onwards the client device is able to decode the transcoded second stream, wherein the random access point is nearer in time to the selected time point than any random access point of the second stream;
• wherein the network interface is further configured to stream the transcoded second stream to the client device and to stream the second stream to the client device.

A client device configured for streaming and processing a selected stream of a group of streams, wherein the streams of the group are associated with a common content timeline, and wherein the client device comprises:

• a network interface to a network for receiving said selected stream;
• and
• a processor configured to:
• determine, when processing a first stream of the group of streams, a selected time point on the common content timeline from which point onwards a second stream of the group of streams is to be processed;
• indicate the selected time point via the network interface to a network element which is buffering the second stream to cause the network element to transcode a content part of the second stream to obtain a transcoded second stream having a random access point at or within a neighborhood of the selected time point, wherein the random access point is nearer in time to the selected time point than any random access point of the second stream;
• upon receiving the transcoded second stream, start processing the transcoded second stream at the random access point in the transcoded second stream;
• and
• switch processing from the transcoded second stream to the second stream at a subsequent random access point in the second stream.