Media device featuring synchronized playback

• US 20060034581A1
• Filed: 08/10/2004
• Published: 02/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Curtis, William Allen, Konetski, David
• Application Number:
  US10/915,615
• Publication Number:
  US 20060034581A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/220
• 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 21/43076 of the same content streams on multiple devices, e.g. when family members are watching the same movie on different devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction

Abstract

In a first embodiment, a packet, in response to which two or more media players begin playbacks of a piece of media content at a substantially same time, is output. In a second embodiment, a packet is received, and in response to the packet, a time at which to begin a playback of a piece of media content is determined.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

outputting a packet, in response to which, two or more media players begin playbacks of a piece of media content at a substantially same time.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the packet includes an amount of time to wait after the packet is output before beginning the playbacks, and each of the media players determines a time at which to begin its respective playback by adding the amount of time to wait to a time that the packet is output.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, for each of the media players, the time that the packet is output is determined in response to the time that the media player received the packet.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, for each of the media players, the time that the packet is output is determined by subtracting a predetermined amount of time associated with a network delay from the time that the media player received the packet

5. The method of claim 1, wherein, each of the media players, before beginning its respective playback, decodes the piece of media content.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, each of the media players determines a time to begin decoding the piece of media content by subtracting an amount of time associated with the decoding from the time at which to begin its playback of the piece of media content.

7. A method comprising:

receiving a packet; and

in response to the packet, determining a time at which to begin a playback of a piece of media content.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the packet includes an amount of time to wait after the packet is output, before beginning the playback.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the determining includes:

adding the amount of time to wait to a time that the packet is output.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the time that the packet is output is determined in response to a time that the packet is received.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the time that the packet is output is determined by subtracting a predetermined amount of time associated with a network delay from the time that the packet is received.

12. The method of claim 7, and including:

decoding the piece of media content before beginning the playback of the piece of media content.

13. The method of claim 12, and including:

determining a time to begin a decoding the piece of media content by subtracting an amount of time associated with the decoding from the time at which to begin the playback of the piece of media content.

14. The method of claim 7, wherein the piece of media content is stored in a MPEG Layer 3 (“

MP3”

) file.

15. The method of claim 7, wherein the receiving the packet includes receiving the packet via Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (“

TCP/IP”

) network.

16. A system comprising:

an information handling system (“

IHS”

) for;

outputting a packet, in response to which, two or more media players begin playbacks of a piece of media content at a substantially same time.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the packet includes an amount of time to wait after the packet is output before beginning the playbacks, and each of the media players determines a time at which to begin its respective playback by adding the amount of time to wait to a time that the packet is output.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein, for each of the media players, the time that the packet is output is determined in response to the time that the media player received the packet.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein, for each of the media players, the time that the packet is output is determined by subtracting a predetermined amount of time associated with a network delay from the time that the media player received the packet

20. The system of claim 16, and wherein, each of the media players, before beginning its respective playback, decodes the piece of media content.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein, each of the media players determines a time to begin a decoding the piece of media content by subtracting an amount of time associated with the decoding from the time at which to begin its playback of the piece of media content.

22. A system comprising:

an information handling system (“

IHS”

) for;

receiving a packet; and

in response to the packet, determining a time at which to begin a playback of a piece of media content.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the packet includes an amount of time to wait after the packet is output, before beginning the playback.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the determining includes:

adding the amount of time to wait to a time that the packet is output.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the IHS is for:

determining the time that the packet is output, in response to a time that the packet is received.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the IHS is for:

determining the time that the packet is output by subtracting a predetermined amount of time associated with a network delay from the time that the packet is received.

27. The system of claim 22, wherein the IHS is for:

decoding the piece of media content before beginning the playback of the piece of media content.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the IHS is for:

determining a time to begin decoding the piece of media content by subtracting an amount of time associated with the decoding from the time at which to begin the playback of the piece of media content.

29. The system of claim 22, wherein the piece of media content is stored in a MPEG Layer 3 (“

MP3”

) file.

30. The system of claim 22, wherein the receiving the packet includes receiving the packet via Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (“

TCP/IP”

) network.