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TEMPO: Timing Extension for Media Playout Orchestration over MoQ rev 00 lands on the IETF Datatracker

This document defines TEMPO (Timing Extension for Media Playout Orchestration), a synchronized playout mechanism for media tracks delivered over the Media over QUIC Transport (MoQT) protocol. The Original Publisher stamps each object with when it should be played out and when it was sent. Relays replace the send-time stamp with their own clock as they forward, giving each subscriber a fresh timing reference from its nearest relay. Subscribers use these timestamps to decide when to render each object, and report their sync state directly to a coordination server (PlaySyncServer) that can tell the media publisher to adjust timing when subscribers fall behind.

Source: IETF DatatrackerView source →

Draft Snapshot

  • Draft: draft-nandakumar-moq-tempo
  • Revision: 00
  • Last updated: 2026-07-06
  • Source: IETF Datatracker

Summary

This document defines TEMPO (Timing Extension for Media Playout Orchestration), a synchronized playout mechanism for media tracks delivered over the Media over QUIC Transport (MoQT) protocol. The Original Publisher stamps each object with when it should be played out and when it was sent. Relays replace the send-time stamp with their own clock as they forward, giving each subscriber a fresh timing reference from its nearest relay. Subscribers use these timestamps to decide when to render each object, and report their sync state directly to a coordination server (PlaySyncServer) that can tell the media publisher to adjust timing when subscribers fall behind.

Analysis

This draft is directly relevant to the MOQ ecosystem and worth tracking because it reflects current protocol work or adjacent implementation guidance from the IETF process.

Abstract

This document defines TEMPO (Timing Extension for Media Playout Orchestration), a synchronized playout mechanism for media tracks delivered over the Media over QUIC Transport (MoQT) protocol. The Original Publisher stamps each object with when it should be played out and when it was sent. Relays replace the send-time stamp with their own clock as they forward, giving each subscriber a fresh timing reference from its nearest relay. Subscribers use these timestamps to decide when to render each object, and report their sync state directly to a coordination server (PlaySyncServer) that can tell the media publisher to adjust timing when subscribers fall behind.

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