System and method for selecting media to be preloaded for adjacent channels

• US 10,455,279 B2
• Filed: 01/27/2014
• Issued: 10/22/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Spotify AB (Spotify Technology SA)
• Original Assignee: Spotify AB (Spotify Technology SA)
• Inventors: Hoffert, Eric, Berkley, Mike, Faaborg, Kevin, Soderstrom, Gustav
• Primary Examiner(s): Harold, Jefferey F
• Application Number:
  US14/165,513
• Publication Number:
  US 20140368736A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,094 Days
• Field of Search: 348 1401, 348 1402, 348564-569, 348634, 348731, 725 38, 725 39- 46, 725 61, 725 86
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/60 Network streaming of media packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42222 Additional components integrated in the remote control device, e.g. timer, speaker, sensors for detecting position, direction or movement of the remote control, microphone or battery charging device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42224 Touch pad or touch panel provided on the remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43072 of multiple content streams on the same device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43079 of additional data with content streams on multiple devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/437 Interfacing the upstream path of the transmission network, e.g. for transmitting client requests to a VOD server flow control in data networks H04L47/10; streaming protocols, e.g. RTP or RTCP, H04L65/65; scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests in data packet switching networks H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4384 involving operations to reduce the access time, e.g. fast-tuning for reducing channel switching latency
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4392 involving audio buffer management
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44004 involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44209 Monitoring of downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. bandwidth variations of a wireless network arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4667 Processing of monitored end-user data, e.g. trend analysis based on the log file of viewer selections
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 : for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4755 : for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 : End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 : involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02

Abstract

An electronic device with one or more processors, memory and a display receives a first request to display a first video stream that corresponds to a first channel. In response to receiving the first request, the device starts to download the first video stream from a content source for the first video stream. After starting to download the first video stream, the device displays the first video stream and starts to preload one or more video streams including a second video stream that corresponds to a second channel that is adjacent to the first channel. While displaying the first video stream, the device receives a second request to display the second video stream. In response to receiving the second request, the device displays at least a portion of the second video stream using a preloaded portion of the second video stream.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

at an electronic device with one or more processors, memory, and a display;

receiving a first request to display a first video stream on the display, wherein the first video stream corresponds to a first channel in a predetermined sequence of channels;

in response to receiving the first request;

starting to download the first video stream from a content delivery server for the first video stream;

while downloading the first video stream and before displaying a second video stream that corresponds to a second channel that is adjacent to the first channel in the predetermined sequence of channels;

displaying the first video stream on the display;

periodically preloading, using a connection over the Internet to a content delivery server for the second video stream, portions of the second video stream from the content delivery server for the second video stream, wherein periodically preloading portions of the second video stream comprises, while maintaining the connection over the Internet to the content delivery server for the second video stream, stopping delivery of the second video stream to the electronic device from the content delivery server for the second video stream after downloading a portion and, at a later time, refreshing the downloading; and

periodically storing the preloaded portions of the second video stream in the memory;

while displaying the first video stream on the display, receiving a second request to display the second video stream on the display, the receiving including detecting a swiping gesture corresponding to movement in a respective direction; and

in response to receiving the second request, sliding a first video tile that includes content from the first video stream off of a first edge of the display while sliding a second video tile that includes content from the second video stream onto the display from a second edge of the display, wherein at least a portion of the first video tile and at least a portion of the second video tile are displayed on the display simultaneously, and wherein the at least a portion of the second video tile displayed on the display includes a preloaded portion of the second video stream stored in the memory.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

establishing the connection over the Internet to the content delivery server for the second video stream.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising, while downloading the first video stream and before displaying a third video stream that corresponds to a third channel that is adjacent to the first channel in the predetermined sequence of channels, starting to preload a portion of the third video stream from a content delivery server for the third video stream.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein:

receiving the first request to display the first video stream includes receiving a channel switching request for switching channels in a detected channel-switching direction in the predetermined sequence of channels; and

the method includes selecting an order for preloading respective portions of the second video stream and the third video stream in accordance with the detected channel-switching direction.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the second video stream is a live video stream; and

the method includes, in response to receiving the second request to display the second video stream;

determining whether the second request meets recency criteria; and

in accordance with a determination that the second request meets the recency criteria, starting to play the second video stream using the preloaded portion of the second video stream stored in the memory.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the second video stream is displayed in response to detecting an end of the swiping gesture.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the second video stream is requested from the content delivery server for the second video stream in response to detecting the end of the swiping gesture.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the second video stream is requested from the content delivery server for the second video stream in response to detecting a beginning of the swiping gesture.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein:

at least a portion of the second video stream is displayed in response to detecting a beginning of the swiping gesture.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

operating in a first concurrent-download mode of operation, wherein while in the first concurrent-download mode of operation, the electronic device downloads concurrent media streams in accordance with first concurrent download constraints;

while operating in the first concurrent-download mode of operation, detecting a change in an available bandwidth for downloading media streams; and

in response to detecting the change in the available bandwidth for downloading media streams, operating in a second concurrent-download mode of operation, wherein, while in the second concurrent-download mode of operation, the electronic device downloads concurrent media streams in accordance with second concurrent download constraints that are different from the first concurrent download constraints.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising, in response to the second request, displaying at least a portion of a third video stream on the display concurrently with at least the portion of the second video tile and at least the portion of the first video tile.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein:

prior to receiving the first request, the first video tile is displayed at a first size;

the second request includes a request to reduce the size of the first video tile; and

displaying at least the portion of the third video stream on the display concurrently with at least the portion of the second video tile and at least the portion of the first video tile includes displaying an array of video tiles including the first video tile, the second video tile, and a third video tile corresponding to the third video stream, where the first video tile, the second video tile and the third video tile are displayed at respective sizes that are smaller than the first size.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising, after displaying the array of video tiles:

receiving a third request to increase the size of a selected video tile in the array of video tiles; and

in response to receiving the third request, enlarging the selected video tile so that the other video tiles in the array are not displayed on the display.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein:

the array includes a plurality of video tiles for which video data has been preloaded; and

displaying the array includes displaying, in each respective video tile of the plurality of video tiles, preloaded video data corresponding to the respective video tile.

15. A computer system, the computer system comprising:

a display;

one or more processors; and

memory storing one or more programs configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for;

receiving a first request to display a first video stream on the display, wherein the first video stream corresponds to a first channel in a predetermined sequence of channels;

in response to receiving the first request;

starting to download the first video stream from a content delivery server for the first video stream;

while downloading the first video stream and before displaying a second video stream that corresponds to a second channel that is adjacent to the first channel in the predetermined sequence of channels;

displaying the first video stream on the display;

periodically preloading, using a connection over the Internet to a content delivery server for the second video stream, portions of the second video stream from the content delivery server for the second video stream, wherein periodically preloading portions of the second video stream comprises, while maintaining the connection over the Internet to the content delivery server for the second video stream, stopping delivery of the second video stream to the electronic device from the content delivery server for the second video stream after downloading a portion and, at a later time, refreshing the downloading; and

periodically storing the preloaded portions of the second video stream in the memory;

while displaying the first video stream on the display, receiving a second request to display the second video stream on the display, the receiving including detecting a swiping gesture corresponding to movement in a respective direction; and

in response to receiving the second request, sliding a first video tile that includes content from the first video stream off of a first edge of the display while sliding a second video tile that includes content from the second video stream onto the display from a second edge of the display, wherein at least a portion of the first video tile and at least a portion of the second video tile are displayed on the display simultaneously, and wherein the at least a portion of the second video tile displayed on the display includes a preloaded portion of the second video stream stored in the memory.

16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by a computer system with a display, memory, and one or more processors, cause the computer system to:

receive a first request to display a first video stream on the display, wherein the first video stream corresponds to a first channel in a predetermined sequence of channels;

in response to receiving the first request;

start to download the first video stream from a content delivery server for the first video stream;

while downloading the first video stream and before displaying a second video stream that corresponds to a second channel that is adjacent to the first channel in the predetermined sequence of channels;

display the first video stream on the display;

periodically preload, using a connection over the Internet to a content delivery server for the second video stream, portions of the second video stream from the content delivery server for the second video stream, wherein periodically preloading portions of the second video stream comprises, while maintaining the connection over the Internet to the content delivery server for the second video stream, stopping delivery of the second video stream to the electronic device from the content delivery server for the second video stream after downloading a portion and, at a later time, refreshing the downloading; and

periodically store the preloaded portions of the second video stream in the memory;

while displaying the first video stream on the display, receive a second request to display the second video stream on the display, the receiving including detecting a swiping gesture corresponding to movement in a respective direction; and

in response to receiving the second request, slide a first video tile that includes content from the first video stream off of a first edge of the display while sliding a second video tile that includes content from the second video stream onto the display from a second edge of the display, wherein at least a portion of the first video tile and at least a portion of the second video tile are displayed on the display simultaneously, and wherein the at least a portion of the second video tile displayed on the display includes a preloaded portion of the second video stream stored in the memory.