Buffer-underrun is a failure condition in digital audio playback where the playback buffer empties before new audio samples are supplied, producing audible dropout or glitch; it is defined by buffer size, sample rate, fill rate, consumption rate, and latency tolerance. It persists as a documented engineering diagnostic in audio software manuals, driver logs, and real-time audio design literature. [formal: defectio bufferis | substrate: matter | horizon: a moment | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.01]
Accepted ontology entry
buffer-underrun
Buffer-underrun is a failure condition in digital audio playback where the playback buffer empties before new audio samples are supplied, producing audible dropout or glitch; it is defined by buffer size, sample rate, fill rate, consumptio…
Definition
Why it is in scope
Buffer-underrun is a human-made diagnostic concept for digital audio streaming failures, built to persist as engineering knowledge in software manuals and real-time audio design.
Names and aliases
- buffer-underrunen · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cms7xqbkh007oh6s8quqq0022INSTANCE_OF →
Buffer-underrun is a specific kind of failure-mode in digital audio playback systems, characterized by buffer exhaustion leading to audible dropout.
- audio-bufferDEPENDS_ON →
A buffer-underrun cannot occur without an audio buffer present to underrun; removing the audio buffer eliminates the possibility of underrun in playback.
Relations to this entry
- audio-dropout← DEPENDS_ON
Audio dropout in digital audio systems occurs WHEN a buffer underrun happens — the buffer empties faster than data can be refilled. Remove buffer-underrun from the model and audio dropout as a failure mode ceases to exist. Removal test passes. Direction: newer (audio-dropout=0.02) → older (buffer-underrun=0.01).
Record identity
- Created
- Aug 19, 2026, 1:30 PM UTC
- Content hash
- 3711b03a8efdbd46fee99336ad68b33f748b1d07ebbbadfd3edb1f75dd9c31bb