Content reproduction method and apparatus

• US 10,199,073 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2015
• Issued: 02/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Young-sun, Kwahk, Ji-young
• Primary Examiner(s): Fan, Shiow-Jy
• Application Number:
  US14/946,172
• Publication Number:
  US 20160078902A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,174 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2457 with adaptation to user needs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/4393 Multimedia presentations, e.g. slide shows, multimedia albums
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/48 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/3027 used signal is digitally coded
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/84 using optical recording H04N5/80, H04N5/89, H04N5/91 take precedence

Abstract

The content reproduction method includes receiving a select signal for selecting one or more pieces of content; and reproducing the selected pieces of content and one or more pieces of content which were generated or reproduced together with the selected pieces of content in a temporal space within a range.

Claims

1. A content providing method comprising:

storing, in a storage unit, a plurality of contents together with spatio-temporal information in correspondence to respective contents of the plurality of contents; and

performing via a processor following operations;

receiving a selection signal selecting a first content, among the plurality of contents, to be reproduced;

searching the plurality of contents stored on the storage unit for a second content having the spatio-temporal information related to the spatio-temporal information of the first content; and

providing the first content and the second content found during the searching, to be reproduced together on a user device,

wherein the spatio-temporal information is information about a time and a location at which each of the respective contents was generated or reproduced, and

wherein a first content category of the first content is different from a second content category of the second content, with respect to content reproducing methods, among a plurality of content reproducing methods, that were used to generate or reproduce the first content and the second content, respectively.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the searching comprises determining a reproduction compatibility between the first content category and the second content category, the reproduction compatibility indicating a degree of a combination possibility between the first content category and the second content category when the first content and the second content are to be reproduced together, and

the providing comprises:

providing the first content and the second content to be reproduced together, in response to the determining a higher degree of the reproduction compatibility between the first content category and the second content category, and

providing only the first content to be reproduced, in response to the determining a lower degree of the reproduction compatibility between the first content category and the second content category.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first content comprises music content, and

the second content comprises a plurality of picture contents.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the searching comprises determining a match of the spatio-temporal information of more than one picture contents, among the plurality of picture contents, with the spatio-temporal information of the music content, based on a criterion, and

the providing comprises providing the matched picture contents to be reproduced together with the music content, so that the music content is controlled to be played while the matched picture contents are controlled to be sequentially reproduced.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first content comprises music content, and

the second content comprises a plurality of text contents.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the searching comprises determining a match of the spatio-temporal information of more than one text contents, among the plurality of text contents, with the spatio-temporal information of the music content, based on a criterion, and

the providing comprises providing the matched text contents to be reproduced together with the music content, so that the music content is controlled to be played while the matched text contents are controlled to be sequentially reproduced.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the selection signal is configured to select a plurality of first content pieces included into the first content, the plurality of first content pieces indicating the first content category, and

the providing comprises providing the plurality of first content pieces to be reproduced together with the second content, so that the plurality of first content pieces are controlled to be sequentially reproduced.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the searching comprises determining a match of the spatio-temporal information of a plurality of second content pieces included into the second content with the spatio-temporal information of the first content, based on a criterion, the plurality of second content pieces indicating the second content category, and

the providing comprises providing the plurality of second content pieces, which have been matched, to be reproduced together with the first content, so that the matched plurality of second content pieces are controlled to be sequentially reproduced.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the location is recorded into the spatio-temporal information using a global positioning system (GPS) when each of the respective contents was generated or reproduced.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the searching the plurality of contents comprises:

matching a first time, at which the first content was generated or reproduced, with a second time, at which the second content was generated or reproduced, the first time being within a predetermined time period from the second time.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the searching the plurality of contents comprises:

matching a first location, at which the first content was generated or reproduced, with a second location, at which the second content was generated or reproduced, the first location being within a predetermined distance from the second location.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the content reproducing methods used to generate or reproduce the first content and the second content, respectively, are different from each other and includes one among a music recording, a still image reproducing, a moving image reproducing, and a text reproducing.

13. An apparatus comprising:

a storage unit which stores a plurality of contents together with spatio-temporal information in correspondence to respective contents of the plurality of contents;

a processor configured to receive a selection signal selecting a first content, among the plurality of contents, to be reproduced, search the plurality of contents for a second content having the spatio-temporal information related to the spatio-temporal information of the first content, and provide the first content and the second content found during a search to be reproduced together on a user device,

wherein the spatio-temporal information is information about a time and a location at which each of the respective contents was generated or reproduced, and

wherein a first content category of the first content is different from a second content category of the second content, with respect to content reproducing methods, among a plurality of content reproducing methods, that were used to generate or reproduce the first content and the second content, respectively.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a reproduction compatibility between the first content category and the second content category, the reproduction compatibility indicating a degree of a combination possibility between the first content category and the second content category when the first content and the second content are to be reproduced together, and

wherein the processor is further configured to provide the first content and the second content to be reproduced together in response to the determining a higher degree of the reproduction compatibility between the first content category and the second content category, and provide only the first content to be reproduced in response to the determining a lower degree of the reproduction compatibility between the first content category and the second content category.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first content comprises music content, and

the second content comprises a plurality of picture contents.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to search the storage unit to determine a match of the spatio-temporal information of more than one picture contents among the plurality of picture contents with the spatio-temporal information of the music content, based on a criterion, and provide the matched picture contents to be reproduced together with the music content, so that the music content is controlled to be played while the matched picture contents are controlled to be sequentially reproduced.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the first content comprises music content, and

the second content comprises a plurality of text contents.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a match of the spatio-temporal information of more than one text contents among the plurality of text contents with the spatio-temporal information of the music content, based on a criterion, and provide the matched text contents to be reproduced together with the music content, so that the music content is controlled to be played while the matched text contents are controlled to be sequentially reproduced.

19. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the selection signal is further configured to select a plurality of first content pieces included into the first content, the plurality of first content pieces indicating the first content category, and

the processor is further configured to provide the plurality of first content pieces to be reproduced together with the second content, so that the plurality of first content pieces are controlled to be sequentially reproduced.

20. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a match of the spatio-temporal information of a plurality of second content pieces included into the second content, with the spatio-temporal information of the first content, based on a criterion, the plurality of second content pieces indicating the second content category, and provide the plurality of second content pieces, which have been matched, to be reproduced together with the first content, so that the matched plurality of second content pieces are controlled to be sequentially reproduced.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to execute a content reproduction method comprising:

storing a plurality of contents together with spatio-temporal information in correspondence to respective contents of the plurality of contents;

receiving a selection signal selecting a first content, among the plurality of contents, to be reproduced;

searching the plurality of contents for a second content having the spatio-temporal information related to the spatio-temporal information of the first content; and

providing the first content and the second content found during the searching, to be reproduced together on a user device,

wherein the spatio-temporal information is information about a time and a location at which each of the respective contents was generated or reproduced, and

wherein a first content category of the first content is different from a second content category of the second content, with respect to content reproducing methods, among a plurality of content reproducing methods, that were used to generate or reproduce the first content and the second content, respectively.