Structuring Internet media streams with cueing protocols

Abstract

We propose a new, media-independent protocol for including program timing, structure, and identity information in Internet media streams. The protocol uses signaling messages called cues to indicate events whose timing is significant to receivers, such as the start or stop time of a media program. We describe the implementation and operation of a prototype Internet radio station which transmits program cues in audio broadcasts using the Real-Time Transport Protocol (RTP). A collection of simple yet powerful stream processing applications we implemented demonstrate how application creation is greatly eased when media streams are enriched with program cues.