Methods and systems for packagers used in media streaming

A packager device comprising:

• a primary packager;
• at least one secondary packager, each of the primary packager and the at least one secondary packager configured to process packets for streaming,
• wherein each of the primary packager and the at least one secondary packager includes a listener, a sequence provider, and a segmentor which is switchable between an on state and an off state by a controller that is separate from and in communication with the packagers, and
• wherein each of the primary packager and the at least one secondary packager is configured to push segments, a sequence list, and metadata to the controller;
• and
• the controller comprising a manifest generator that is located outside and remote from the primary packager and the at least one secondary packager, the controller configured to:
• receive segments, a sequence list, and metadata based on processed packets from the primary packager or the at least one secondary packager;
• generate, via the manifest generator, a manifest based on the segments, the sequence list, and the metadata received from the active packager;
• and
• responsive to determining that the packet listener of the primary packager and the respective packet listener of the backup packager are not in synchronization, use the manifest generator of the controller to compare respective program transport stream (PTS) timestamps of a last available segment and a newly pushed segment, and insert a period to a newly pushed segment when there is a gap between the respective PTS timestamps.

A method for streaming, the method comprising:

• configuring, by a controller that is separate from and in communication with packagers, a packager from the packagers as active with a packet listener, a sequence list generator, and a segment generator enabled;
• receiving, from an active packager at the controller, a push message with a sequence list, segments, and associated metadata based on packets received by the packager as active;
• generating, by a manifest generator at the controller, a manifest based on the sequence list, the segments, and the associated metadata, wherein the manifest generator is located outside and remote from the packagers;
• sending, by the controller, the manifest and the segments;
• and
• configuring, by the controller, another packager from the packagers as standby with each packet listener and each sequence list generator enabled and with each segment generator disabled;
• and
• responsive to determining that the respective packet listener of the active packager and the respective packet listener of the another packager are not in synchronization:
• using the manifest generator at the controller to compare respective program transport stream (PTS) timestamps of a last available segment and a newly pushed segment;
• and
• starting, by the manifest generator, a period at the newly pushed segment when a gap is determined between the last available segment and the newly pushed segment.