Method and system for presenting media content

• US 10,367,880 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2014
• Issued: 07/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Meuninck, Troy C., Hill, N. Peter, Kashapov, Oleg
• Primary Examiner(s): Hossain, Farzana
• Application Number:
  US14/492,231
• Publication Number:
  US 20150012824A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,772 Days
• Field of Search: 725 40, 725 41, 725105, 725109, 725112
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1016 IP multimedia subsystem [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/103 in the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/611 for multicast or broadcast systems for broadcast or conference H04L12/18; arrangements for broadcast or distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/00; arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time H04H60/00; selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS], H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2221 being a cable television head-end CATV in broadcast systems H04H20/78
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2665 Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6408 Unicasting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17354 in an intermediate station common to a plurality of user terminals

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a system having a controller to detect a selection of media content from a media content source, detect that the selected media content comprises a plurality of media content types, present a plurality of media content type options, each option corresponding to one of the plurality of media content types or combinations thereof, detect a selection from the plurality of media content type options, submit a request to a targeted communication device to accept or decline the selected media content according to the selected media content type option, retrieve one or more metadata pointers from the media content source for retrieving the selected media content responsive to receiving an acceptance from the targeted communication device, and store the one or more metadata pointers and the selected media content type option. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A media portal device, comprising:

a processing system including a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, comprising;

receiving a selection of media content from a first communication device, the selection of media content identifying selected media content;

receiving a selection of a media content type from the first communication device, the selection of the media content type identifying a selected media content type option from a plurality of available media content type options for the selected media content, each media content type option corresponding to a different one of a plurality of media content types;

submitting a first request to a second communication device, to accept or decline the selected media content according to the selected media content type option, wherein reception of the first request causes the second communication device to pause a program being presented at the second communication device;

responsive to an acceptance of the first request submitted to the second communication device, storing a metadata pointer associated with the selected media content for use by the second communication device, wherein the acceptance of the first request causes the second communication device to store a notation in a media library of the second communication device, and wherein the notation includes a name associated with the selected media content as defined at the second communication device; and

responsive to receiving a second request from the second communication device for the selected media content;

retrieving the selected media content from a media content source according to the metadata pointer,

processing the selected media content according to the selected media content type option by removing a portion of the selected media content that corresponds to a second media content type option of the plurality of available media content type options to produce processed media for presentation to the second communication device, and

providing the processed media to the second communication device,

wherein the receiving of the second request is responsive to a selection of the name from the media library at the second communication device.

2. The media portal device of claim 1, wherein the metadata pointer is retrievable by the processor from the media content source, and

wherein the metadata pointer indicates a location of the selected media content in the media content source for subsequent retrieval.

3. The media portal device of claim 2, wherein the metadata pointer comprises a uniform resource locator or a uniform resource identifier.

4. The media portal device of claim 1, wherein the metadata pointer is configured for enabling locating a video portion from among images of the media content.

5. The media portal device of claim 1, wherein the storing further comprises storing an identifier of the second communication device.

6. The media portal device of claim 1, wherein the first request comprises a prompt for an acceptance of the selected media content or a declining of the selected media content, and wherein submission of the first request causes the prompt and a video portion to be superimposed on a media program presented on the second communication device.

7. The media portal device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise receiving a third request from the first communication device to transfer the selected media content to the second communication device, wherein the third request includes an identifier of the second communication device and a media content type option.

8. The media portal device of claim 7, wherein the media content, the media content type option, and the identifier of the second communication device comprise user selections performed using the first communication device.

9. The media portal device of claim 7, wherein the second communication device comprises a selection from a plurality of communication devices retrieved from a user profile of the first communication device.

10. The media portal device of claim 7, wherein the media content type option comprises a selection from a plurality of media content types of the selected media content presented at the first communication device.

11. A non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:

receiving a selection of media content from a first communication device, the selection of media content identifying selected media content;

receiving a selection of a media content type from the first communication device, the selection of the media content type identifying a selected media content type option from a plurality of available media content type options for the selected media content, the selection of media content type resulting in at least one unselected media content type option from the plurality of available media content type options for the selected media content;

submitting a first request, by the first communication device, to a second communication device, wherein the first request is to transfer the selected media content to the second communication device from the first communication device, wherein reception of the first request causes the second communication device to pause a program being presented at the second communication device;

responsive to receiving an acceptance of the first request, storing a metadata pointer associated with the selected media content, wherein the acceptance of the first request causes the second communication device to store a notation in a media library of the second communication device, and wherein the notation includes a name associated with the selected media content as defined at the second communication device; and

responsive to receiving a second request from the second communication device for the selected media content;

retrieving the selected media content from a media content source according to the metadata pointer, and

processing the selected media content for presentation to the second communication device, including removing an unselected media content type from the selected media content in accordance with the at least one unselected media content type option,

wherein the receiving of the second request is responsive to a selection of the name from the media library at the second communication device.

12. The non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein metadata pointer is retrievable from the media content source, and wherein the metadata pointer indicates a location of the selected media content in the media content source for subsequent retrieval.

13. The non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the metadata pointer is configured for enabling locating the selected media content type of the selected media content.

14. The non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise receiving a third request from the first communication device to transfer the selected media content to the second communication device, wherein the third request includes an identifier of the second communication device and a media content type option.

15. The non-transitory, machine-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the media content, the media content type option and the identifier of the second communication device comprise user selections performed using the first communication device.

16. A communication device, comprising:

a processing system including a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, comprising;

detecting a selection of media content from a media content source as selected media content;

detecting that the selected media content comprises a plurality of media content types, the plurality of media content types comprising a video portion and an audio portion;

presenting a plurality of media content type options, each option of the plurality of media content type options corresponding to a different media content type option of the plurality of media content types;

detecting a selection from the plurality of media content type options of the selected media content as a selected media content type option, wherein the selection corresponds to the audio portion;

presenting a plurality of identifiers of communication devices from a user profile;

detecting a selection of a target communication device from the plurality of identifiers of communication devices;

transmitting a request to a media portal to submit to the target communication device the audio portion of the selected media content and a prompt to accept or decline a transfer of the selected media content, wherein reception of the prompt causes the target communication device to pause a program being presented at the target communication device; and

responsive to receiving an acceptance from the target communication device, retrieving a metadata pointer from the media content source, wherein the metadata pointer is configured for retrieving only the audio portion of the selected media content, wherein the acceptance causes the target communication device to store a notation in a media library of the target communication device, wherein the notation includes a name associated with the selected media content as defined at the target communication device, and wherein the retrieving of the metadata pointer from the media content source is further responsive to a selection of the name from the media library at the target communication device.

17. The communication device of claim 16, wherein the media portal, responsive to receiving the acceptance from the target communication device, stores the metadata pointer and the selected media content type option.

18. The communication device of claim 17, wherein the media portal, responsive to receiving a request from the target communication device for the selected media content:

retrieves the selected media content from the media content source according to the metadata pointer,

processes the selected media content according to the selected media content type option,

presents the selected media content at the target communication device, and

deletes the selected media content upon a completion of a viewing of the selected media content.

19. The communication device of claim 16, wherein the metadata pointer is retrievable from the media content source, and wherein the metadata pointer indicates a location of the selected media content in the media content source for subsequent retrieval.

20. The communication device of claim 16, wherein the media portal, responsive to receiving a request from the target communication device for the selected media content:

retrieves the selected media content from the media content source according to the metadata pointer,

removes the video portion of the selected media content, and

presents only the audio portion of the selected media content to the target communication device.