Robust delay estimator for playout buffering in Internet audio applications

In this paper, we propose a robust delay estimation scheme for Internet multimedia applications. The proposed scheme adopts an autoregressive (AR) model for the delay process. The adopted AR model is a natural generalization of the Jacobson's algorithm in TCP retransmission timeout (RTO) estimation. However, unlike fixed parameter values in the Jacobson's algorithm, the parameters of the proposed scheme adapt themselves to the estimation error via a robust identification algorithm. This robust identification algorithm usually leads to better performance when the noise is correlated and/or non-stationary, and it is also more robust to modeling uncertainties. As an application of the proposed algorithm, we consider the problem of delay prediction for audio playout buffering. We rigorously formulate the proposed scheme in the realm of multimedia audio mechanisms and give simulation result which shows its effectiveness.