Presenting multimedia content from multiple sources at a same time

• US 10,136,182 B2
• Filed: 05/16/2014
• Issued: 11/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.), Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cellco Partnership, Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.), Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Charania, Rahim A., Beaver, Bradley D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Alata, Yassin
• Application Number:
  US14/279,809
• Publication Number:
  US 20150334442A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,649 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4263 involving specific tuning arrangements, e.g. two tuners
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4341 Demultiplexing of audio and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/439 Processing of audio elementary streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4821 using a grid, e.g. sorted out by channel and broadcast time
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4852 for modifying audio parameters, e.g. switching between mono and stereo

Abstract

A device is configured to tune multiple tuners to multiple television channels. The device may receive image data and audio data for the television channels from the tuners. The device may provide the image data from the tuners for display on a display device and for display at a same time. The device may assign the audio data from a group of the tuners to respective audio channels. The device may provide the audio data from the group of tuners for output at the same time via the respective audio channels.

Claims

1. A device, comprising:

one or more processors to;

tune a plurality of tuners to a plurality of television channels;

receive image data and audio data for the plurality of television channels from the plurality of tuners;

provide the image data from the plurality of tuners for display on a display device and for display at a first same time;

assign the audio data from a group of the plurality of tuners to respective audio channels of a same stereo sound system or a same surround sound system,

the group of the plurality of tuners including more than one of the plurality of tuners; and

provide the audio data from the group of the plurality of tuners, and for at least two of the plurality of television channels, for output at the first same time via the respective audio channels of the same stereo sound system or the same surround sound system,

the same stereo sound system or the same surround sound system being capable of providing different audio channel data from a same tuner, and for a same television channel, to each of the respective audio channels at a second same time.

2. The device of claim 1, where the one or more processors are further to:

receive a request from a user to tune at least one of the plurality of tuners to a particular television channel,

the particular television channel being included in the at least two of the plurality of television channels, and

where the one or more processors, when tuning the plurality of tuners, are to tune the at least one of the plurality of tuners based on the request from the user.

3. The device of claim 1, where the one or more processors are further to:

receive a request from a client device to tune at least one of the plurality of tuners to a particular television channel,

the particular television channel being included in the at least two of the plurality of television channels;

where the one or more processors, when tuning the plurality of tuners, are to;

tune the at least one of the plurality of tuners based on the request from the client device; and

provide a network stream of the image data and the audio data for the particular television channel to the client device for presentation.

4. The device of claim 1, where the one or more processors are further to:

scale the image data from the plurality of tuners to be displayed on the display device.

5. The device of claim 1, where the one or more processors, when assigning the audio data from the group of the plurality of tuners, are to:

assign the audio data from each of the plurality of tuners to the respective audio channels.

6. The device of claim 1, where the one or more processors, when assigning the audio data from the group of the plurality of tuners, are to:

assign the audio data from fewer than all of the plurality of tuners to the respective audio channels.

7. The device of claim 1, where the one or more processors are further to:

provide an electronic program guide to the display device,

the electronic program guide including an option for multiple television channel viewing;

receive a selection of the multiple television channel viewing option from a user; and

where the one or more processors, when providing the image data and providing the audio data, are to;

provide the image data from the plurality of tuners and the audio data from the group of the plurality of tuners based on the selection of the multiple television channel viewing option.

8. A computer-readable medium storing instructions, the instructions comprising:

one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to;

receive multimedia content from a plurality of sources,

the multimedia content from each of the sources including image data and audio data;

provide the image data from the plurality of sources for display at a first same time;

assign the audio data from a group of the plurality of sources to respective audio channels of a same stereo sound system or a same surround sound system,

the group of the plurality of sources including more than one of the plurality of sources; and

provide the audio data from the group of the plurality of sources for output at the first same time via the respective audio channels of the same stereo sound system or the same surround sound system,

the same stereo sound system or the same surround sound system being capable of providing different audio channel data from a same source to each of the respective audio channels at a second same time.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the one or more instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to:

determine a layout that the image data from the plurality of sources is to be displayed; and

where the one or more instructions, that cause the one or more processors to assign the audio data from the group of the plurality of sources, cause the one or more processors to;

assign the audio data from the group of the plurality of sources to the respective audio channels based on the layout.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the one or more instructions, that cause the one or more processors to provide the image data from the plurality of sources for display at the first same time, cause the one or more processors to:

provide the image data in a grid layout for display.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the one or more instructions, that cause the one or more processors to assign the audio data from the group of the plurality of sources, cause the one or more processors to:

assign first mono audio data from a first source to a left audio channel of the same stereo sound system; and

assign second mono audio data from a second source to a right audio channel of the same stereo sound system,

the plurality of sources including the first source and the second source, and

the respective audio channels including the left audio channel and the right audio channel.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the one or more instructions, that cause the one or more processors to assign the audio data from the group of the plurality of sources, cause the one or more processors to:

assign first stereo audio data from a first source to a first audio channel and a second audio channel of the same surround sound system; and

assign second stereo audio data from a second source to a third audio channel and a fourth audio channel of the same surround sound system,

the plurality of sources including the first source and the second source, and

the respective audio channels including the first, second, third, and fourth audio channels.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the one or more instructions, that cause the one or more processors to assign the audio data from the group of the plurality of sources, cause the one or more processors to:

assign the audio data from the group of the plurality of sources to a same audio channel.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, where the one or more instructions, that cause the one or more processors to assign the audio data from the group of the plurality of sources, cause the one or more processors to:

assign the audio data from the group of the plurality of sources to the respective audio channels based on an input from a user.

15. A method, comprising:

causing, by a device, a plurality of tuners to be tuned to a plurality of television channels;

receiving, by the device, image data and audio data for the plurality of television channels from the plurality of tuners;

providing, by the device, the image data from the plurality of tuners for display on a same display device at a first same time;

selecting, by the device, audio channels, of a same stereo sound system or a same surround sound system, for the audio data from a group of the plurality of tuners,

the group of the plurality of tuners including more than one of the plurality of tuners; and

providing, by the device, the audio data from the group of the plurality of tuners, and for at least two of the plurality of television channels, for output at the first same time by speakers and via the audio channels of the same stereo sound system or the same surround sound system,

the same stereo sound system or the same surround sound system being capable of providing different audio channel data from a same tuner, and for a same television channel, to each of the respective audio channels at a second same time.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving a request from a client device to tune at least one of the plurality of tuners to a particular television channel,

the particular television channel being included in the at least two of the plurality of television channels;

where causing the plurality of tuners to be tuned includes causing the plurality of tuners to be tuned based on the request from the client device;

providing a network stream of the image data and the audio data for the particular television channel to the client device for presentation; and

providing the image data from the plurality of tuners includes providing the image data for the particular television channel for display on the same display device.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

locking the at least one of the plurality of tuners tuned to the particular television channel based on the request from the client device to prevent a user of the device from tuning the at least one of the plurality of tuners to another television channel.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

stopping the network stream from being provided to the client device based on an input by a user of the device.

19. The method of claim 15, where the audio data from each of the group of the plurality of tuners includes different kinds of audio data associated with packet identifiers, the method further comprising:

selecting a packet identifier from among the packet identifiers; and

where providing the audio data from the group of the plurality of tuners includes providing a kind of audio data, of the different kinds of audio data, associated with the packet identifier.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving a first selection, from a user, of the plurality of television channels,

receiving a second selection, from the user, of the at least two of the plurality of television channels to be output to the speakers,

where causing the plurality of tuners to be tuned is based on the first selection, and

where selecting the audio channels is based on the second selection.