Sequencing with the Timing Object

We have just published a paper on sequencing in Web multimedia. Sequencing is about activation and deactivation of media items at the correct time during media playback. The paper highlights the importance of decoupling sequencing logic from data formats, timing/control and UI in Web-based multimedia.

• Data-independent sequencing implies broad utility as well as simple integration of different data types and delivery methods in multimedia applications.
• UI-independent sequencing simplifies integration of new data types into visual and interactive components.
• Integration with the Timing Object ensures that sequencing tasks may trivially be synchronized and remote controlled, both in single-page media presentations as well as global, multi-device media experiences (e.g. through Shared Motion).

In short, we see precise, distributed sequencing as a fundamental building block in multi-device timed multimedia.

The Sequencer is presented as a generic programming tool for timed Web-based multimedia, implemented in JavaScript and based on setTimeout. Though timing errors within a couple of milliseconds is often acceptable in Web applications, this also indicates that future improvements to setTimeout would be beneficial.

The paper will be presented at the ACM MMSys’16, Special section for Media Synchronization, Klagenfurt, Austria, May 10-13.

The paper is available in the ACM library here or from Norut here.