Visibility of UPNP media renderers and initiating rendering via file system user interface

• US 20040243694A1
• Filed: 05/29/2003
• Published: 12/02/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Weast, John C.
• Granted Patent: US 7,454,511 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• 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: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A computing device is equipped with file system services and media related services that automatically make visible to a user of the computing device, through an user interface of the file system, availability of one or more UPNP media renderers, on discovery of the availability of the one or more UPNP media renderers. In various embodiments, the file system services and the media related services are further equipped to cause a media content to be rendered by a UPNP media renderer, in response to the user dragging and dropping the file system entry corresponding to the media content into the file system entry corresponding to the UPNP media renderer.

Claims

1. In a networked computing device of a network domain, an automated method of operation comprising:

discovering a first UPNP media renderer of the network domain, the first UPNP media renderer being equipped to render media content of a first media type; and

in response to said discovery, automatically creating a first corresponding entry in a file system of the networked computing device for the first UPNP media renderer, to enable availability of the first UPNP media renderer to render media content of the first media type be visible to a user of the networked computing device through an user interface of the file system of the networked computing device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said automatic creating of a first corresponding entry in a file system comprises creating a first corresponding file folder in the file system.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said automatic creating of a first corresponding entry in a file system further comprises storing a description document of the first UPNP media renderer as properties of the first corresponding file folder, the description document describing the first UPNP media renderer.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises

receiving through the user interface of the file system, a request to display description document describing the first UPNP media renderer in a form of a file system request to display descriptive information of the first corresponding entry of the first UPNP media renderer;

and

in response, displaying the requested description document describing the first UPNP media renderer.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises discovering presence of the first UPNP media renderer in the network domain.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises

discovering a second UPNP media renderer of the network domain, the second UPNP media renderer equipped to render media content of a second media type;

and

in response to said discovery, automatically creating a second corresponding entry in a file system of the networked computing device for the second UPNP media renderer, to enable availability of the second UPNP media renderer to render media content of the second media type be visible to a user of the networked computing device, in conjunction with said availability of the first UPNP media renderer to render media content of the first media type, through the user interface of the file system of the networked computing device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises

receiving through the user interface of the file system, a request to use the first UPNP media renderer to render a first media content of the first media type, in a form of a use action dragging an entry of the file system corresponding to the first media content of the first media type and dropping the entry into the first corresponding entry of the first UPNP media renderer;

and

in response, causing the first media content to be made available to, and rendered by the first UPNP media renderer.

8. In a networked computing device of a network domain, an automated method of operation comprising:

receiving through an user interface of a file system of the networked computing device, a request to use a UPNP media renderer to render a media content, in a form of a user action dragging a first entry of the file system corresponding to the media content and dropping the first entry into a second entry of the file system corresponding to the UPNP media renderer; and

in response, causing the media content to be made available to, and rendered by the UPNP media renderer.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said causing comprises determining the first entry being corresponding to the media content.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said causing comprises determining whether the media content has a media type that is supported by the UPNP media renderer.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein said causing comprises determining whether the UPNP media renderer is available.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said causing comprises queuing the media content on determining the UPNP media renderer is not available.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the second entry comprises a file folder, and said queuing comprises placing the first entry in said second file folder entry.

14. A computing device comprising:

storage medium having stored therein a plurality of programming instructions designed to provide

(a) file system services of a file system, and

(b) media related services including a media rendering control service that automatically makes visible through a user interface of the file system, availability of a UPNP media renderer, on discovery of the availability of the UPNP media renderer to render media content of a first media type; and

at least one processor coupled to the storage medium to execute the programming instructions.

15. The computing device of claim 14, wherein said media rendering control service is designed to automatically cause an entry corresponding to the UPNP media renderer be created in the file system to make visible the availability of the UPNP media renderer to render media content of the first media type.

16. The computing device of claim 15, wherein said media rendering control service is designed to automatically cause an entry corresponding to the UPNP media renderer be created in the file system by causing a corresponding file folder to be created in the file system for the UPNP media renderer.

17. The computing device of claim 15, wherein said file system services and said media rendering control service are further designed to include with said automatic creating of a corresponding entry in the file system for the UPNP media renderer, storing of description document of the UPNP media renderer as properties of the corresponding file system entry, the description document describing the UPNP media renderer.

18. The computing device of claim 14, wherein the file system services include a display service designed to facilitate and service generic requests to display properties of entries of the file system, as well as UPNP media renderer tailored requests to display description document of the UPNP media renderer.

19. The computing device of claim 14, wherein the media rendering control service is further designed to discover presence of the UPNP media renderer.

20. The computing device of claim 14, wherein

said file system services are further designed to facilitate receipt through the user interface of the file system, a request to use the UPNP media renderer to render a media content of the first media type, in a form of a use action dragging an entry of the file system corresponding to the media content of the first media type and dropping the entry into the corresponding entry of the UPNP media renderer;

and

said media rendering control service is further designed to cooperate to cause in response, the media content to be made available to, and rendered by the UPNP media renderer.

21. The computing device of claim 14, wherein said computing device is a selected one of a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a palm sized computing device, a pocket personal computer, and a personal digital assistant.

22. A computing device comprising

storage medium having stored therein a plurality of programming instructions designed to provide

(a) file system services of a file system including a user interaction service to facilitate a user of the computing device in dragging and dropping one entry of the file system into another entry of the file system, and

(b) media related services including a media rendering control service that cooperates with the user interaction service, to cause a media content corresponding to an entry being dragged and dropped into an entry corresponding to a UPNP media renderer, to be provided to, and rendered by the UPNP media renderer;

and

at least one processor coupled to the storage medium to execute the programming instructions.

23. The computing device of claim 22, wherein said media rendering control service is equipped to determine that the entry being dragged and dropped corresponds to the media content.

24. The computing device of claim 22, wherein said media rendering control service is equipped to determine whether the media content has a media type that is supported by the UPNP media renderer.

25. The computing device of claim 22, wherein said media rendering control service is equipped to determine whether the UPNP media renderer is available.

26. The computing device of claim 22, wherein said media rendering control service is equipped to queue the media content, on determining that the UPNP media renderer is not available.

27. The computing device of claim 22, wherein said computing device is a selected one of a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a palm sized computing device, a pocket personal computer, and a personal digital assistant.

28. An article of manufacture comprising:

a recordable medium; and

a plurality of programming instructions recorded thereon, the programming instructions are designed to implement for a computing device

(a) file system services of a file system, and

(b) media related services including a media rendering control service that automatically makes visible through a user interface of the file system, availability of one or more UPNP media renderers, on discovery of the availability of the one or more UPNP media renderers.

29. The article of claim 28, wherein the media rendering control service is further designed to cause a media content corresponding to an entry being dragged and dropped into an entry corresponding to a UPNP media renderer, to be provided to, and rendered by the UPNP media renderer.