Mixed-Mode Synchronous Playback
AssigneeSonos, Inc.
InventorsHrishikesh Gossain, Cheng Lu, Zhaoyun Huang, Jeffrey Peters
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Abstract
Disclosed herein are playback devices, groups of playback devices, and methods of operating playback devices and groupings thereof to cause the playback devices in a mixed-mode configuration to play audio content in synchrony with each other. Some embodiments described herein are embodied in tangible, non-transitory computer readable media having program instructions stored therein, where the program instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause playback devices to perform the functions described herein, including causing playback devices in a mixed-mode configuration to play audio content in synchrony with each other.
Claims20
A first playback device comprising:
- one or more processors;
- and
- tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media comprising program instructions executable by the one or more processors such that the first playback device is configured to:
- while operating as a group coordinator for a playback group comprising a first set of one or more group members and a second set of one or more group members, generate a stream of packets comprising audio content and playback timing for the playback group, wherein the playback timing for the playback group is based on (i) transmission times of wireless-access-point-traversing messages exchanged between the first playback device and each group member in the first set of one or more group members and (ii) transmission times of non-wireless-access-point-traversing messages exchanged between the first playback device and each group member in the second set of one or more group members;
- for the first set of one or more group members in the playback group, transmit the stream of packets via a wireless access point according to a first network addressing scheme compatible with a wireless network;
- and
- for the second set of one or more group members in the playback group, transmit the stream of packets according to a second wireless network addressing scheme compatible with the wireless network.
Tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media comprising program instructions executable by one or more processors such that a first playback device is configured to perform functions comprising:
- while operating as a group coordinator for a playback group comprising a first set of one or more group members and a second set of one or more group members, generating a stream of packets comprising audio content and playback timing for the playback group, wherein the playback timing for the playback group is based on (i) transmission times of wireless-access-point-traversing messages exchanged between the first playback device and each group member in the first set of one or more group members and (ii) transmission times of non-wireless-access-point-traversing messages exchanged between the first playback device and each group member in the second set of one or more group members;
- for the first set of one or more group members in the playback group, transmitting the stream of packets via a wireless access point according to a first network addressing scheme compatible with a wireless network;
- and
- for the second set of one or more group members in the playback group, transmitting the stream of packets according to a second wireless network addressing scheme compatible with the wireless network.
A method performed by a first playback device, comprising:
- while operating as a group coordinator for a playback group comprising a first set of one or more group members and a second set of one or more group members, generating a stream of packets comprising audio content and playback timing for the playback group, wherein the playback timing for the playback group is based on (i) transmission times of wireless-access-point-traversing messages exchanged between the first playback device and each group member in the first set of one or more group members and (ii) transmission times of non-wireless-access-point-traversing messages exchanged between the first playback device and each group member in the second set of one or more group members;
- for the first set of one or more group members in the playback group, transmitting the stream of packets via a wireless access point according to a first network addressing scheme compatible with a wireless network;
- and
- for the second set of one or more group members in the playback group, transmitting the stream of packets according to a second wireless network addressing scheme compatible with the wireless network.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.