Playback Synchronization Techniques for Networked Home Appliances

This paper addresses the problem of device synchronization, particularly as it manifests on wireless home networks. Basic clock synchronization can be achieved between two independent devices over a packet network using the network time protocol (NTP). However, as the D/A stages of the two devices may introduce additional clock skew more sophisticated approaches are required to achieve the necessary level of device synchronization for high quality playback of audio data. Practical applications in the fields of VOIP telephony and audiophile quality speaker synchronization are discussed.