Connected: An Internet Encyclopedia
7.3 RTCP Processing in Mixers

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7.3 RTCP Processing in Mixers

7.3 RTCP Processing in Mixers

Since a mixer generates a new data stream of its own, it does not pass through SR or RR packets at all and instead generates new information for both sides.

SR sender information
A mixer does not pass through sender information from the sources it mixes because the characteristics of the source streams are lost in the mix. As a synchronization source, the mixer generates its own SR packets with sender information about the mixed data stream and sends them in the same direction as the mixed stream.

SR/RR reception report blocks
A mixer generates its own reception reports for sources in each cloud and sends them out only to the same cloud. It does not send these reception reports to the other clouds and does not forward reception reports from one cloud to the others because the sources would not be SSRCs there (only CSRCs).

SDES
Mixers typically forward without change the SDES information they receive from one cloud to the others, but may, for example, decide to filter non-CNAME SDES information if bandwidth is limited. The CNAMEs must be forwarded to allow SSRC identifier collision detection to work. (An identifier in a CSRC list generated by a mixer might collide with an SSRC identifier generated by an end system.) A mixer must send SDES CNAME information about itself to the same clouds that it sends SR or RR packets.

Since mixers do not forward SR or RR packets, they will typically be extracting SDES packets from a compound RTCP packet. To minimize overhead, chunks from the SDES packets may be aggregated into a single SDES packet which is then stacked on an SR or RR packet originating from the mixer. The RTCP packet rate may be different on each side of the mixer.

A mixer that does not insert CSRC identifiers may also refrain from forwarding SDES CNAMEs. In this case, the SSRC identifier spaces in the two clouds are independent. As mentioned earlier, this mode of operation creates a danger that loops can't be detected.

BYE
Mixers need to forward BYE packets. They should generate BYE packets with their own SSRC identifiers if they are about to cease forwarding packets.

APP
The treatment of APP packets by mixers is application-specific.


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Connected: An Internet Encyclopedia
7.3 RTCP Processing in Mixers