Method and apparatus for multiple media digital communication system

An apparatus for communicating with a remote processing machine over a packet switched network, said apparatus comprising:

• at least one processor;
• and
• at least one connection routine running on said at least one processor, said at least one connection routine being operative to negotiate with said remote processing machine a selection of at least one media type from a plurality of media types including audio, video and data, and to configure, according to said selection, at least one media routine running on said at least one processor to process media data packets received from and to be transmitted to said remote processing machine over said packet switched network via one or more packet switched communication channels, said one or more communication channels providing indeterminate system delays and bandwidth limitations that give rise to indeterminate packet loss;
• wherein a number of media types that said apparatus is capable of processing and a number of media types that said remote processing machine selects may be the same or different, and wherein the apparatus sends a first message to the remote processing machine indicating an available set of media types and the remote processing machine sends back an indication of the selection in a second message sent in response to the first message.

An apparatus for communicating with a remote processing machine over a packet switched network, said apparatus comprising:

• at least one processor;
• and
• at least one connection routine running on said at least one processor, said at least one connection routine being operative to negotiate with said remote processing machine a selection of at least one media type from a plurality of media types including audio, video and data, and to configure, according to said selection, at least one media routine running on said at least one processor to process media data packets received from and to be transmitted to said remote processing machine over said packet switched network via one or more packet switched communication channels, said one or more communication channels providing indeterminate system delays and bandwidth limitations that give rise to indeterminate packet loss;
• wherein said selection is of only audio, and said negotiation comprises sending a first message and receiving a response message, said negotiation involving a message format that supports the description and selection of the audio, video and data media types.

A method of transmitting data packets from a first processing machine to one or more of a plurality of remote processing machines in data communication therewith, comprising:

• providing at least one source of media data;
• processing said media data to produce a plurality of data packets, each of said packets having a plurality of data fields associated therewith, at least one of said data fields comprising at least one destination address associated with a respective one of said plurality of remote processing machines;
• and
• transmitting each of said plurality of packets to at least one of said plurality of remote processing machines over switched packet network via one or more packet switched communication channels, said one or more communication channels providing indeterminate system delays and bandwidth limitations that give rise to indeterminate packet loss;
• wherein a first number of said plurality of packets may be transmitted for delivery to a first subset of said plurality of remote processing machines while a second number of said plurality of packets may be transmitted for delivery to a second subset of said plurality of remote processing machines, said first and second subsets not being identical.

A method of controlling the transmission of media data packets across a switched packet network from a first processing machine to a remote processing machine, said method comprising:

• generating a first plurality of media data packets based on media data received from a media data source;
• transmitting said first plurality of packets from said first processing machine to said remote processing machine over said network via one or more packet switched communication channels, said one or more communication channels providing indeterminate system delays and bandwidth limitations that give rise to indeterminate packet loss;
• for at least one of said first plurality of media data packets, determining a delay from transmission of said packet from the first processing machine to receipt of said packet by the remote processing machine;
• and
• adjusting the sampling rate of said media data packets at said remote processing machine based on said delay.

A method of controlling the transmission of media data packets across a digital data network from a first processing machine to a remote processing machine, comprising:

• generating a first plurality of media data packets based on media data received from a media data source;
• transmitting said first plurality of packets from said first processing machine to said remote processing machine;
• determining a parameter associated with transmission quality associated with at least one of said first plurality of packets;
• and
• adjusting a playback rate of said media data packets at said remote processing machine based on said parameter.

A method for communicating over a packet switched network, said method comprising:

• invoking a connection routine at a first caller to cause control messages to be sent to respective second and third callers to enable a media type selection for each of said second and third callers, and in response to said selections, receiving from said second and third callers media type selection control messages used to negotiate respective sets of media type selections, at least one of said sets of media type selections including at least a selection of two different media types;
• generating at said first caller digital media packets corresponding to each of said at least two different media types;
• and
• transmitting from said first caller said digital media packets for delivery to and processing by said second and third callers in accordance with said media type selections,
• wherein said media packets are transmitted over said network via one or more packet switched communication channels, said one or more communication channels providing indeterminate system delays and bandwidth limitations that give rise to indeterminate packet loss.