Buffer size reduction through buffer sharing for streaming applications

Many multimedia streaming applications have to buffer a number of different source streams for playback of a single multimedia composition. Multiple buffers (one for each stream) have to be deployed at the decoder to make continuous, almost real-time, playback of the multimedia content possible. We propose a novel implementation of two buffers in one array that efficiently reduces the overall memory dedicated to buffering by allowing for a common space where data for both buffers can be stored. An algorithm for finding optimal parameters of the shared buffer and calculating the reduction in the buffer size by buffer sharing is proposed. This involves finding level sets of solutions to some well studied 2D partial differential equations of mathematical physics with simple boundary conditions.