Controlling content presentation

• US 20060085825A1
• Filed: 05/02/2005
• Published: 04/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Vulcan SA (Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Vulcan SA (Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation)
• Inventors: Istvan, Anthony F., Tanumihardja, Marcellino, Fleck, Rod G., Budd, Robin, Stark, Korina J.B.
• Application Number:
  US11/120,654
• Publication Number:
  US 20060085825A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/86
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4112 having fewer capabilities than the client, e.g. thin client having less processing power or no tuning capabilities
• 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 21/4131 home appliance, e.g. lighting, air conditioning system, metering devices home automation data switching networks exchanging configuration information on appliance services H04L12/2807
• 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 21/4227 Providing Remote input by a user located remotely from the client device, e.g. at work
• 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 21/43615 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 21/4381 Recovering the multiplex stream from a specific network, e.g. recovering MPEG packets from ATM cells transmission of MPEG streams over ATM H04L12/5601
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4433 Implementing client middleware, e.g. Multimedia Home Platform [MHP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• 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 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4858 for modifying screen layout parameters, e.g. fonts, size of the windows
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64707 for transferring content from a first network to a second network, e.g. between IP and wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 : Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 : on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 : by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 : with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal

Abstract

A content management (CM) system is provided to centrally control operation of one or more connected devices by issuing control requests and/or data requests. In some situations the connected device(s) include devices that control presentation of television programming-related content, such as digital video recorder (“DVR”) devices and media center devices, and in other situations may include other types of media devices and/or other electromechanical (“E/M”) devices that may be centrally controlled, such as E/M devices for home automation that may operate independently or in conjunction with the media devices. In some situations, the CM system communicates with the connected devices via a network and using appropriate protocol(s), and may be accessed remotely via a network so as to allow a user to remotely operate the CM system. The CM system may further control searching, identification, selection, and presentation of pieces of media content by the connected device(s).

Claims

1. A computing system configured to control at least one media device, the computing system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a content management system that when executed by the one or more processors communicatively couples to the at least one media device, the content management system including;

a core module to generate control requests and data requests related to operation of the at least one media device, the control requests including a first request for the at least one media device to search at least one media server for media available for presentation, the data request including a second request for the at least one media device to provide data indicative of a result of the search;

at least one gateway module corresponding to each media device, the gateway module being in communication with the core module to receive the first request and the second request from the core module, and further being in communication with the core module to provide responses to the first request and the second request to the core module; and

a communication interface included with each gateway module to provide the first request and the second request from the core module to the at least one media device using a communication protocol, and to receive the responses to the first request and the second request from the at least one media device.

2. The computing system of claim 1 wherein the content management system further includes a graphical user interface that can be used to instruct the core module to generate the first request and the second request, and that can further be used to receive from the core module for presentation at least some of the responses to the control requests and data requests received from the at least one media device, including presentation of at least some of the data, provided by the at least one media device in response to the second request, that is indicative of a result of the search.

3. The computing system of claim 2 wherein the data indicative of the search result includes multimedia content metadata arranged in a playlist, the graphical user interface capable of presenting the playlist in a manner that a piece of content represented by metadata on the playlist can be selected for presentation via the graphical user interface, the content management system further capable of generating another control request to instruct the media device to initiate presentation of the selected piece of content.

4. The computing system of claim 3 wherein the another control request instructs the media device to obtain a copy of the selected piece of content for presentation from a media server that stores the selected piece of content.

5. The computing system of claim 3 wherein the another control request instructs the media device to instruct a media server having the selected piece of content to provide a copy of the selected piece of content to a content presentation device for presentation.

6. The computing system of claim 1 wherein the at least one gateway module comprises a first gateway module and wherein the communication interface comprises a first communication interface, the content management system further including:

a second gateway module to receive at least some of the data requests from the core module, the at least some of the data requests including a third request to directly obtain the data indicative of a result of the search from the at least one media server; and

a second interface included with the second gateway module to provide the third request from the core module to the at least one media server using another communication protocol, and to receive the data indicative of the result of the search from the at least one media server.

7. The computing system of claim 1 wherein the media available for presentation include at least one of a song, audio clip, movie, video clip, text, graphics, photograph, image, video game, advertisement, news clip, article, Internet content, and presentation.

8. The computing system of claim 1 wherein the content management system and the at least one media server comprise parts of a same computing device.

9. The computing system of claim 1 wherein the control requests further include a request for the at least one media device to search for presence of one or more available media servers.

10. A method for a computing device to control at least one media device, the method comprising:

establishing a connection and a communication protocol between the computing device and the at least one media device on at least one communication network;

generating a first control request that instructs the at least one media device to search at least one media server for available media, and sending the first control request from the computing device to the at least one media device on the established connection and using the communication protocol;

generating a data request, from the computing device, that requests results of the search for available media;

presenting at least some of the results of the search on a graphical user interface in a manner that at least one piece of available media represented in the results of the search can be selected for presentation; and

generating a second control request that instructs the at least one media device to initiate presentation of the selected piece of available media, and sending the second control request from the computing device to the at least one device on the established connection and using the communication protocol.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein generating the second control request that instructs the at least one media device to initiate presentation of the selected piece of available-media includes providing in the second control requests-instructions for the at least one media device to obtain a copy of the selected piece of available media for presentation.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein generating the second control request that instructs the at least one media device to initiate presentation of the selected piece of available media includes providing in the second control request instructions for the at least one media device to instruct the at least one media server to-provide a copy of the selected piece of available media to a content presentation device and to instruct the content presentation device to present the copy of the selected piece of available media provided from the at least one media server.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein generating the data request, from the computing device, that requests results of the search for available media includes requesting the results of the search from the at least one media device using the established connection and the communication protocol.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein generating the data request, from the computing device, that requests results of the search for available media includes requesting the results of the search from the at least one media server using some other established connection along with a communication protocol.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising filtering the results of the search for available media to obtain resultant information that corresponds to user-specified criteria.

16. The method of claim 10 wherein presenting at least some of the results of the search on the graphical user interface includes presenting at least some of the results of the search in a list, the list including metadata associated with each piece of available media that is-represented on the- list, any one or more of the available media represented on the list being selectable for presentation using the second control request.

17. A computer-readable medium whose contents enable a computing device to control at least one media device, by performing a method comprising:

establishing a connection and a communication protocol between the computing device and the at least one media device on at least one communication network;

generating a first control request that instructs the at least one media device to search at least one media server for available media, and sending the first control request from the computing device to the at least one media device on the established connection and using the communication protocol;

generating a data request, from the computing device, that requests results of the search for available media;

presenting at least some of the results of the search on a graphical user interface in a manner that at least one piece of available media represented in the results of the search can be selected for presentation; and

generating a second control request that instructs the at least one media device to initiate presentation of the selected piece of available media, and sending the second control request from the computing device to the at least one device on the established connection and using the communication protocol.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the computer-readable medium is a memory of the computing device and/or is a data transmission medium transmitting to the computing device a generated data signal containing the contents.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the contents are instructions that when executed cause the computing device to perform the method.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein the method further includes:

generating another control request for the at least one media device to search for presence of one or more available media servers; and

filtering the results of the search for available media and results of the search form presence of one or more available media servers to obtain resultant information that corresponds to user-specified criteria.