System and method for group stream broadcasting with stateless queuing feature

• US 10,567,184 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2017
• Issued: 02/18/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adeia Media Holdings LLC (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Vertigo Media, Inc.
• Inventors: Savenok, Alexander, Savenok, Pavel, Leekley, Gregory H., Chow, Sai H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Whipple, Brian
• Application Number:
  US15/670,847
• Publication Number:
  US 20170338970A1
• Time in Patent Office: 925 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/4387 by the use of playlists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• 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 65/65 Network streaming protocols, e.g. real-time transport protocol [RTP] or real-time control protocol [RTCP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2187 Live feed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/231 Content storage operation, e.g. caching movies for short term storage, replicating data over plural servers, prioritizing data for deletion
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2335 involving reformatting operations of audio signals, e.g. by converting from one coding standard to another details of audio signal transcoding G10L19/173
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2743 Video hosting of uploaded data from client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 : involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6175 : involving transmission via Internet broadcast-related systems characterised by the transmission system being the Internet H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 : Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 : User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 : for social networking applications

Abstract

A stateless queue system implements and supports a virtual room containing a content playback queue. The system allows multiple clients to listen to queued content in a synchronized manner and to modify the same queue without requiring a broadcasting client to send playback events. The system includes a multiplicity of computing clients that can add content items to the queue by interacting with an application service. The clients are enabled to add content to the queue in a number of ways, including by simple add-on to the bottom of the queue, by vote, or by direct modification of the queue structure. Upon client entrance into the playback session, data is provided to the client that represent the queue order at the time of request, the number of votes each items contains if structure is determined by vote, the start time for each queued item, and the current playing item.

Claims

1. A method for implementing social broadcasting within a social media platform comprising the steps of:

a stateless queue service providing a content queue for synchronized and queued content delivery to content sharing clients in communication with the stateless queue service;

a group origination content sharing client sending to a server an API first request for sharing select content with group member content sharing clients in communication with the group origination content sharing client via the server, the API first request generated by an application running on the group origination content sharing client;

prompting each group member content sharing client with information associated with the select content;

each group member content sharing client querying a user-preferred source for the select content associated with the information; and

sourcing the select content to each group member content sharing client from the user-preferred source as selected from two or more content sources in communication with each group member content sharing client, each content source being characterized by being a legally compliant access point from which legally compliant access point each group member sharing client has a legal right to access the select content.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein each group member content sharing client is independently operable to selectively add content to the content queue by a select content addition mechanism, the select content addition mechanism being selected from the group consisting of bottom-based content addition, vote-based content addition, and direct modification-based content addition.

3. A content broadcast system for providing a sourced broadcast to a social consumer group, the content broadcast system comprising a non-transitory, computer-implementable application embodied in computer instructions stored in a non-transitory storage medium for routing select, consumable, legally-protected and queue-able content to individual members of the social consumer group from a select legally compliant access point associated with each individual member and as determined from at least two legally compliant access points, the at least two legally compliant access points consisting of a user'"'"'s own legally compliant access point and at least one third party legally compliant access point, said legally compliant access points being associated with each individual member such that each individual member has a legal right to access the queue-able content, the queue-able content being queue-able via a queue creation service of the non-transitory, computer-implementable application for creating a content queue, independent clients of the social consumer group being independently operable to selectively add content to the content queue by a select mechanism, the select mechanism being selected from the group consisting of bottom-based content addition, vote-based content addition, and direct modification-based content addition.

4. A group streaming system for enabling individual members of a user group to queue and stream synchronized content in a social environment, the group streaming system comprising

a non-transitory, computer-implementable application embodied in computer instructions stored in a non-transitory storage medium for implementing a stateless queue system;

and

a plurality of application-implementing computer clients for implementing the non-transitory, computer-implementable application;

the computer-implementable application providing a queue creation service for creating a content queue, the plurality of application-implementing computer clients being (a) independently operable to selectively add content to the content queue by a select content addition mechanism, and (b) in communication with at least two content sources, the at least two content sources each being characterized by being a legally compliant access point from which legally compliant access point each computer client has a legal right to access content thereby defining at least two legally compliant access points for each computer client;

the computer-implementable application further for identifying select content and directing delivery of the select content from a select content resource location for each computer client, each select content resource location being selected from the at least two content sources, the members of the user group thereby being able to simultaneously access the queued select content for the purpose of providing a content-based platform for social interaction.

5. The group streaming system of claim 4 comprising a dialogue platform, the dialogue platform enabling members of the user group to engage in real-time dialogue regarding at least the select content.