Remote-directed management of media content

• US 20060112144A1
• Filed: 01/10/2006
• Published: 05/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: North Star Innovations Inc. (Wi-LAN Inc.)
• Original Assignee: SigmaTel Incorporated (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: Ireton, Mark
• Granted Patent: US 7,478,084 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4332 by placing content in organized collections, e.g. local EPG data repository interfaces, Database management systems or updating for information retrieval G06F16/23; details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video database G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4825 using a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlists
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99937 Sorting

Abstract

A remote media player and methods for managing content. The media player includes a storage component to store content files. A user interface allows the user to make content selections. The content selections are used with a content database to manage the relationships between the selections and the content files. The player also includes a processor to perform organization tasks on the content files based upon the content selections.

Claims

1. A media player comprising:

a storage component to store content files;

a user interface to receive user input corresponding to one or more content file selections;

a processor to identify content files associated with the one or more content file selections that are not present in the storage component and the processor to initiate a content download task to be executed upon connection to a remote content file source to retrieve the identified content files.

2. The media player of claim 1, wherein the user input comprises a transfer play list comprising a set of identifiers related to the one or more content file selections.

3. The media player of claim 1, further comprising:

a database to store the content download task to be executed upon the connection to the remote content source.

4. The media player of claim 1, wherein the user input comprises a play list comprising a set of identifiers related to content files within the storage component.

5. The media player of claim 1, wherein the user input comprises preferences for managing the one or more content file selections to be initiated upon the connection to the remote content file source.

6. The media player of claim 1, wherein the content files comprise audio files.

7. The media player of claim 1, wherein the content files comprise video files.

8. The media player of claim 1, wherein the processor includes logic to sort the content files.

9. The media player of claim 1, wherein the processor includes logic to generate an output based on the one or more content file selections with the identified missing content files omitted.

10. A method comprising:

receiving at a portable media player a user input signal identifying a set of identifiers related to a selection of content files;

processing the user input signal with respect to a library of content files within the portable media player to identify content files not present in the library of content files relative to the selection of content files;

determining an organizational task related to the identified content files to be performed upon connection of the portable media player to an external content file source; and

storing the organizational task in a database within the portable media player.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

connecting the portable media player to the external content file source;

acquiring the identified content files from the remote content file source based on the organizational task; and

storing the identified content files in the library of content files within the media player.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

generating an output that includes a list of content files related to the selection of content files but omits the content files not present in the library.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving the user input signal comprises:

receiving one or more play lists comprising one or more sets of identifiers.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

connecting the portable media player to the external content file source; and

acquiring a first content file for each of the one or more play lists before acquiring a next respective content file of each of the one or more play lists based on the organizational task.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the organizational task comprises instructions for grouping content files of the selection of content files into a playlist.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the organizational task comprises a retrieval order for retrieving the content files not present in the library, upon connection of the portable media player to the external content file source.

17. A method comprising:

receiving a user input signal at a portable media player, the user input signal comprising a set of identifiers related to a selection of content files;

comparing the user input signal with respect to a library of content files within the portable media player to identify content files not present in the library of content files relative to the selection of content files;

connecting the portable media player to a content source; and

acquiring the identified content files from the content source.

18. The method of claim 17, the method further comprising:

generating an organizational task to be performed upon connection of the portable media player to the content source.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the organizational task comprises instructions for grouping content files of the selection of content files into a playlist.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the library of content files includes one or more sets of identifiers and wherein the organizational task comprises instructions to delete files from the library of content files on the media player that are not associated with at least one of the sets of identifiers.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the organizational task comprises a retrieval order for retrieving the identified content files upon connection of the portable media player to the content file source.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the retrieval order is selected from a group consisting of a sequential order, a random order, and a date order.