Progressively generating an output stream with realtime properties from a representation of the output stream which is not monotonic with regard to time

摘要

A technique for reducing delay in generating an output stream with real-time characteristics from a serially-received representation of the output stream that is not monotonic with regard to time. One application of the technique is generating a MIDI stream from a multi-track MIDI file. The MIDI stream is generated from the first track while the remainder of the MIDI file is being received. As a point in each further track to be received is reached that corresponds to the point in the first track at which the MIDI stream is currently being generated, the MIDI stream is generated from that track as well. The listener thus at first hears only the first track to be received; as the others come in, he hears them as well. To ensure that the synthesizer which is responding to the output stream for the most recent track to be added does so correctly, the technique outputs control event messages but not note on and note off event messages from the part of the most recent track which precedes the point in the most recent track that corresponds to the point reached in the first track.