Facilitating streaming media access via a media-item database

• US 10,331,736 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2014
• Issued: 06/25/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Inventors: Beckhardt, Steven, Ramsperger, Gregory Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): Mahmoudi, Tony
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le, Michael
• Application Number:
  US14/222,234
• Publication Number:
  US 20150269200A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,922 Days
• Field of Search: 707792
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/632 Query formulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/639 using playlists
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/68 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/683 using metadata automatically derived from the content
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/61 for supporting one-way streaming services, e.g. Internet radio

Abstract

Embodiments are described herein that include a method involving a computing system receiving a first message from a first playback device and a second message from a second playback device. The first message and the second message including first metadata and second metadata, respectively. The computing system determines that the first media item and the second media item are the same based on the received first metadata and the received second metadata, and in response, stores association data. The computing system receives an identification of one or more streaming services accessible by the third playback device which includes the first streaming service, and a media-item request including the second service media-item identifier used by the second streaming service. In response to receiving the media-item request, facilitating media streaming access to the first media item by the third playback device using the first streaming service.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a media playback system comprising a control device and a playback device connected via a local area network, the playback device comprising a hardware processor and a network interface, the playback device configured to;

receive, via the network interface of the playback device from the control device, an instruction to queue a first uniform resource identifier (URI) of a particular audio track in a queue on the playback device for playback via one or more speakers of the playback device, the first URI representing a first source of the particular audio track at a server of a first streaming audio service;

determine that the media playback system does not have at least one registered account with the first streaming audio service, wherein a registered account with the first streaming audio service permits the playback device to stream the particular audio track from the server of the first streaming audio service;

in response to determining that the media playback system does not have at least one registered account with the first streaming audio service, sending, via the network interface to a cloud computing system, a request for one or more respective second sources of the particular audio track at one or more second streaming audio services, wherein the media playback system has respective registered accounts with the one or more second streaming audio services, the request indicating the first URI of the particular audio track;

one or more servers of the cloud computing system, the one or more servers of the cloud computing system connected to the playback device via a wide area network and configured to;

receive, via a network interface of the one or more servers of the cloud computing system from the playback device, the request for one or more respective second sources of the particular audio track at the one or more second streaming audios services;

in response to receiving the request for one or more respective second sources of the particular audio track at the one or more second streaming audio services, querying a media-item database for second URIs corresponding to the first URI, the second URIs representing respective second sources of the particular audio track at respective servers of the one or more second streaming audio services; and

causing the playback device to play back the particular audio track from a particular second source of the particular audio track at one or more servers of a given second streaming audio service by transmitting, via the network interface of the one or more servers of the cloud computing system to the playback device, a given second URI representing the particular second source of the particular audio track at the one or more servers of the given second streaming audio service.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein querying the media-item database for second URIs corresponding to the first URI comprises:

querying the media-item database for a particular global identifier corresponding to the first URI, the particular global identifier unique to the particular audio track within the media-item database; and

retrieving, from the query, second URIs corresponding to the particular global identifier.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein querying the media-item database for second URIs corresponding to the first URI comprises:

receiving, via the network interface of the one or more servers of the cloud computing system, metadata of the particular audio track;

querying the media-item database for audio tracks having metadata that matches the metadata of the particular audio track; and

retrieving, from the query, the second URIs corresponding to the first URI.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein querying the media-item database for audio tracks having metadata that matches metadata of the particular audio track comprises determining that the audio tracks having metadata that matches metadata of the particular audio track have metadata matching at least an artist name and a track title of the particular audio track.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein causing the playback device to play back the particular audio track from the particular second source of the particular audio track at one or more servers of a given second streaming audio service comprises causing the playback device to play back the particular audio track by playing back an Internet radio station based on the particular audio track.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein causing the playback device to play back the particular audio track from the particular second source of the particular audio track at one or more servers of the given second streaming audio service comprises transmitting, via the network interface of the one or more servers of the cloud computing system to the playback device, multiple second URIs representing the respective second sources of the particular audio track at respective servers of the one or more second streaming audio services, and wherein the control device is configured to:

display, within a controller interface of the media playback system, a list of the second sources of the particular audio track;

receive, via the controller interface of the media playback system, input data indicating a selection of the particular second source of the particular audio track at the one or more servers of the given second streaming audio service; and

transmit, via a network interface to the playback device, an instruction that causes the playback device to queue the given second URI for playback.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein each source represented by a URI is a respective network location at which a respective audio track is hosted.

8. A method to be performed by a system comprising (i) a media playback system comprising a control device and a playback device connected via a local area network and (ii) one or more servers of a cloud computing system, the one or more servers connected to the playback device via a wide area network, the method comprising:

receiving, via a network interface of the playback device from the control device, an instruction to queue a first uniform resource identifier (URI) of a particular audio track in a queue on the playback device for playback via one or more speakers of the playback device, the first URI representing a first source of the particular audio track at a server of a first streaming audio service;

determining, via one or more processors of the playback device, that the media playback system does not have at least one registered account with the first streaming audio service, wherein a registered account with the first streaming audio service permits the playback device to stream the particular audio track from the server of the first streaming audio service;

in response to determining that the media playback system does not have at least one registered account with the first streaming audio service, sending, via the network interface of the playback device to a cloud computing system, a request for one or more respective second sources of the particular audio track at one or more second streaming audio services, wherein the media playback system has respective registered accounts with the one or more second streaming audio services, the request indicating the first URI of the particular audio track;

receiving, via a network interface of the one or more servers of the cloud computing system from the playback device, the request for one or more respective second sources of the particular audio track at the one or more second streaming audio services;

in response to receiving the request for one or more respective second sources of the particular audio track at the one or more second streaming audio services, querying, via the one or more servers of the cloud computing system, a media-item database for second URIs corresponding to the first URI, the second URIs representing respective second sources of the particular audio track at respective servers of the one or more second streaming audio services; and

causing, via the one or more servers of the cloud computing system, the playback device to play back the particular audio track from a particular second source of the particular audio track at one or more servers of a given second streaming audio service by transmitting, via the network interface of the one or more servers of the cloud computing system to the playback device, a given second URI representing the particular second source of the particular audio track at the one or more servers of the given second streaming audio service.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein querying the media-item database for second URIs corresponding to the first URI comprises:

querying the media-item database for a particular global identifier corresponding to the first URI, the particular global identifier unique to the particular audio track within the media-item database; and

retrieving, from the query, second URIs corresponding to the particular global identifier.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein querying the media-item database for second URIs corresponding to the first URI comprises:

receiving, via the network interface of the one or more servers of the cloud computing system, metadata of the particular audio track;

querying the media-item database for audio tracks having metadata that matches the metadata of the particular audio track; and

retrieving, from the query, the second URIs corresponding to the first URI.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein querying the media-item database for audio tracks having metadata that matches metadata of the particular audio track comprises determining that the audio tracks having metadata that matches metadata of the particular audio track have metadata matching at least an artist name and a track title of the particular audio track.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein causing the playback device to play back the particular audio track from the particular second source of the particular audio track at one or more servers of a given second streaming audio service comprises causing the playback device to play back the particular audio track by playing back an Internet radio station based on the particular audio track.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein causing the playback device to play back the particular audio track from the particular second source of the particular audio track at one or more servers of the given second streaming audio service comprises transmitting, via the network interface of the one or more servers of the cloud computing system to the playback device, multiple second URIs representing the respective second sources of the particular audio track at respective servers of the one or more second streaming audio services, and wherein the control device is configured to:

display, within a controller interface of the media playback system, a list of the second sources of the particular audio track;

receive, via the controller interface of the media playback system, input data indicating a selection of the particular second source of the particular audio track at the one or more servers of the given second streaming audio service; and

transmit, via a network interface to the playback device, an instruction that causes the playback device to queue the given second URI for playback.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein each source represented by a URI is a respective network location at which a respective audio track is hosted.

15. A tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media having stored therein instructions executable by one or more processors to cause a system to perform operations, the system comprising (i) a media playback system comprising a control device and a playback device connected via a local area network and (ii) one or more servers of a cloud computing system, the one or more servers of the cloud computing system connected to the playback device via a wide area network, the operations comprising:

receiving, via a network interface of the playback device from the control device, an instruction to queue a first uniform resource identifier (URI) of a particular audio track in a queue on the playback device for playback via one or more speakers of the playback device, the first URI representing a first source of the particular audio track at a server of a first streaming audio service;

determining, via one or more processors of the playback device, that the media playback system does not have at least one registered account with the first streaming audio service, wherein a registered account with the first streaming audio service permits the playback device to stream the particular audio track from the server of the first streaming audio service;

in response to determining that the media playback system does not have at least one registered account with the first streaming audio service, sending, via the network interface of the playback device to a cloud computing system, a request for one or more respective second sources of the particular audio track at one or more second streaming audio services, wherein the media playback system has respective registered accounts with the one or more second streaming audio services, the request indicating the first URI of the particular audio track;

receiving, via a network interface of the one or more servers of the cloud computing system from the playback device, the request for one or more respective second sources of the particular audio track at the one or more second streaming audio services;

in response to receiving the request for one or more respective second sources of the particular audio track at the one or more second streaming audio services, querying, via the one or more servers of the cloud computing system, a media-item database for second URIs corresponding to the first URI, the second URIs representing respective second sources of the particular audio track at respective servers of the one or more second streaming audio services; and

causing, via the one or more servers of the cloud computing system, the playback device to play back the particular audio track from a particular second source of the particular audio track at one or more servers of a given second streaming audio service by transmitting, via the network interface of the one or more servers of the cloud computing system to the playback device, a given second URI representing the particular second source of the particular audio track at the one or more servers of the given second streaming audio service.

16. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein querying the media-item database for second URIs corresponding to the first URI comprises:

querying the media-item database for a particular global identifier corresponding to the first URI, the particular global identifier unique to the particular audio track within the media-item database; and

retrieving, from the query, second URIs corresponding to the particular global identifier.

17. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein querying the media-item database for second URIs corresponding to the first URI comprises:

receiving, via the network interface of the one or more servers of the cloud computing system, metadata of the particular audio track;

querying the media-item database for audio tracks having metadata that matches the metadata of the particular audio track; and

retrieving, from the query, the second URIs corresponding to the first URI.

18. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 17, wherein querying the media-item database for audio tracks having metadata that matches metadata of the particular audio track comprises determining that the audio tracks having metadata that matches metadata of the particular audio track have metadata matching at least an artist name and a track title of the particular audio track.

19. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein causing the playback device to play back the particular audio track from the particular second source of the particular audio track at one or more servers of a given second streaming audio service comprises causing the playback device to play back the particular audio track by playing back an Internet radio station based on the particular audio track.

20. The tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 15, wherein causing the playback device to play back the particular audio track from the particular second source of the particular audio track at one or more servers of the given second streaming audio service comprises transmitting, via the network interface of the one or more servers of the cloud computing system to the playback device, multiple second URIs representing the respective second sources of the particular audio track at respective servers of the one or more second streaming audio services, and wherein the control device is configured to:

display, within a controller interface of the media playback system, a list of the second sources of the particular audio track;

receive, via the controller interface of the media playback system, input data indicating a selection of the particular second source of the particular audio track at the one or more servers of the given second streaming audio service; and

transmit, via a network interface to the playback device, an instruction that causes the playback device to queue the given second URI for playback.