Also called a
jitter filter, a
hardware device or
software process that eliminates
jitter caused by transmission delays in an
Internet telephony (VoIP) network. As the jitter buffer receives voice
packets, it adds small amounts of delay to the packets so that all of the packets appear to have been received without delays. Voice signals are sequential by nature (i.e., they must be played back in the order in which they were sent) and the jitter buffer ensures that the received packets are in the correct order. Without a jitter buffer to smooth the transmission, data can be lost, resulting in choppy audio signals.
There are two types of jitter buffers - dynamic and static. A static jitter buffer is hardware-based and configured by the manufacturer. A software-based jitter buffer is called a dynamic jitter buffer and can be configured by the system or network administrator.
