Low-latency multimedia using dual wireless adapters

Abstract

A computing device for low-latency multimedia using dual wireless adapters, comprising a first wireless adapter connected to a Wi-Fi access point; a second wireless adapter connected directly to a plurality of wireless devices; and an operating system comprising programming instructions stored in the memory and operating on the processor and configured to: receive streaming multimedia via a wireless network from a media source, using the first wireless network adapter; and send at least a subset of the streaming multimedia at least one of the plurality of wireless devices using the second wireless network adapter.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computing device for low-latency multimedia using dual wireless adapters, comprising:
 a processor;   a memory;   a network interface controller;   a first wireless network adapter connected to the network interface controller and to a Wi-Fi access point;   a second wireless network adapter connected to the network interface controller and directly via Wi-Fi to a plurality of wireless devices; and   a plurality of programming instructions stored in the memory and operable on the processor, wherein the plurality of programming instructions, when operating on the processor, cause the processor to:   establish, using the network interface controller, a streaming multimedia session;   receive streaming multimedia from the Wi-Fi access point, using the first wireless network adapter;   play at least a first portion of the received streaming multimedia locally on the computing device; and   send, using the network interface controller, a second portion of the streaming multimedia to at least one of the plurality of wireless devices using the second wireless network adapter.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , further comprising a media management subsystem configured to identify a subset of streaming media that is to be delivered wirelessly to latency-sensitive devices. 
     
     
         3 . A computing device for low-latency multimedia using dual wireless adapters, comprising:
 a processor;   a memory;   a network interface controller;   a wireless network interface circuit comprising a radio; and   a plurality of programming instructions stored in the memory and operable on the processor, wherein the plurality of programming instructions, when operating on the processor, cause the processor to:   establish a first virtual wireless network adapter by which the wireless network interface connects to a Wi-Fi access point via a first Wi-Fi network;   establish a second virtual wireless network adapter by which the wireless network interface connects to a plurality of mobile devices via a second Wi-Fi network;   receive streaming multimedia from the Wi-Fi access point, using the first virtual wireless network adapter;   play at least a first portion of the streaming multimedia locally on the computing device; and   send, using the second virtual wireless network adapter, a second portion of the streaming multimedia to at least one of the plurality of mobile devices.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 3 , further comprising a media management subsystem configured to identify a subset of streaming media that is to be delivered wirelessly to latency-sensitive devices. 
     
     
         5 . A method for low-latency multimedia using dual wireless adapters, comprising the steps of:
 receiving from a Wi-Fi access point via a first Wi-Fi network, using a first virtual wireless network adapter of a computing device comprising a processor, a memory, a network interface, and a wireless network interface circuit, streaming multimedia;   playing at least a first portion of the streaming multimedia locally on the computing device; and   sending, using a second virtual wireless network adapter and via a second Wi-Fi network, a second portion of the streaming multimedia to a plurality of mobile devices.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising the step of identifying, using a media management subsystem stored in the memory and operating on the processor of the computing device, a subset of the received streaming media content that is to be delivered wirelessly to latency-sensitive devices.