The term "jitter buffer" refers to a software module or network component used in real-time communication—particularly in Voice over IP (VoIP) or video streaming. It compensates for variations in packet arrival times (jitter) that occur when audio or video data is transmitted over IP networks. The jitter buffer temporarily stores incoming data packets and delivers them at regular intervals to stabilize the playback and avoid disruptions such as stuttering, dropouts, or distortions.
Dynamic Buffer Adjustment: Automatic adaptation of buffer size based on network conditions to balance latency and stability.
Statistical Jitter Analysis: Recording and analyzing jitter values to diagnose and optimize network performance.
Packet Reordering: Sorting of IP packets that arrive out of order.
Packet Loss Compensation: Methods to bridge lost packets, such as interpolation or silence insertion.
Adaptive Delay Control: Managing input and output delay depending on the current state of the network.
Real-Time Transmission Monitoring: Live monitoring of packet streams to ensure consistent media quality.
A VoIP telephony system uses an adaptive jitter buffer to maintain intelligible speech despite an unstable internet connection.
A video conferencing solution uses a jitter buffer to compensate for latency differences among participants from various regions.
A call center system utilizes jitter buffer analytics to identify network issues and improve call quality.
A softphone client allows manual jitter buffer adjustment to optimize voice quality under poor connection conditions.