User interface to display aggregated digital living network alliance (DLNA) content on multiple servers

• US 20090327892A1
• Filed: 06/27/2008
• Published: 12/31/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Tao, David, Douillet, Ludovic
• Application Number:
  US12/215,478
• Publication Number:
  US 20090327892A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/717
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2812 describing content present in a home automation network, e.g. audio video content retrieval from the Internet G06F16/95
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2393 involving handling client requests scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• 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 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• 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 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739

Abstract

Audio and video (A/V) content information is aggregated from one or more active DLNA servers. The aggregated A/V content information is formatted into a non-hierarchical pool of A/V identifier elements that each represent one item of the aggregated A/V content information. At least a portion of the non-hierarchical pool of A/V identifier elements is displayed to a user via a display device. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.

Claims

1. A method of presenting aggregated Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) audio and video (A/V) content within a DLNA home network, comprising:

aggregating A/V content information received from each of a plurality of active DLNA servers;

formatting the aggregated A/V content information into a non-hierarchical pool of A/V identifier elements that each represent one item of the aggregated A/V content information; and

displaying at least a portion of the non-hierarchical pool of A/V identifier elements to a user via a display device.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving a filter request from the user via an input device and filtering the displayed at least a portion of the non-hierarchical pool of A/V identifier elements in response to receiving the filter request.

3. The method according to claim 1, where each element of the non-hierarchical pool of A/V identifier elements further comprises at least one of a thumbnail image, a uniform resource identifier (URI), a content type, a title, a runtime, a genre, and a date associated with each item of A/V content stored at each of the plurality of DLNA servers.

4. The method according to claim 3, where displaying the at least a portion of the non-hierarchical pool of A/V identifier elements to the user via the display device further comprises:

determining a number of thumbnail images capable of being displayed on the display device based upon dimensions of the thumbnail images and dimensions of a viewable area of the display device; and

displaying the determined number of thumbnail images on the display device.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising scaling at least one of the thumbnail images to increase the determined number of thumbnail images capable of being displayed on the display device.

6. The method according to claim 4, further comprising providing a status area on the display device and displaying at least one of the content type, the title, the runtime, the genre, and the date within the status area in response to a focus action associated with a thumbnail image.

7. The method according to claim 4, further comprising accessing the URI associated with an item of A/V content in response to a select action associated with a displayed thumbnail image.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising rendering the associated item of A/V content.

9. The method according to claim 4, where formatting the aggregated A/V content information into a non-hierarchical pool of A/V identifier elements further comprises sorting the aggregated A/V content information into at least one group based upon at least one of the content type, the runtime, and the genre.

10. The method according to claim 9, where displaying the at least a portion of the non-hierarchical pool of A/V identifier elements to the user via the display device further comprises displaying the at least one of the content type and the genre in association with the at least one group of sorted A/V content information.

11. The method according to claim 1, where aggregating the A/V content information received from each of the plurality of active DLNA servers further comprises aggregating the A/V content information received from each of the plurality of active DLNA servers at a DLNA client device.

12. A Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) audio and video (A/V) content aggregation and presentation device, comprising:

a memory adapted to store representations of A/V content distributed within a home network environment;

a display device adapted to display the stored representations of the A/V content distributed within the home network; and

a processor programmed to;

aggregate A/V content information received from each of a plurality of active DLNA servers;

format the aggregated A/V content information into a non-hierarchical pool of A/V identifier elements that each represent one item of the aggregated A/V content information;

store the non-hierarchical pool of A/V identifier elements to the memory; and

display at least a portion of the non-hierarchical pool of A/V identifier elements to a user via the display device.

13. The device according to claim 12, further comprising an input device adapted to provide input requests from the user to the processor and where the processor is further programmed to receive a filter request from the user via the input device and filter the displayed at least a portion of the non-hierarchical pool of A/V identifier elements in response to receiving the filter request.

14. The device according to claim 12, where each element of the non-hierarchical pool of A/V identifier elements further comprises at least one of a thumbnail image, a uniform resource identifier (URI), a content type, a title, a runtime, a genre, and a date associated with each item of A/V content stored at each of the plurality of DLNA servers.

15. The device according to claim 14, where the processor is further programmed to:

determine a number of thumbnail images capable of being displayed on the display device based upon dimensions of the thumbnail images and dimensions of a viewable area of the display device; and

display the determined number of thumbnail images on the display device.

16. The device according to claim 15, where the processor is further programmed to scale at least one of the thumbnail images to increase the determined number of thumbnail images capable of being displayed on the display device.

17. The device according to claim 15, where the display device is further adapted to provide a status area and the processor is further programmed to display at least one of the content type, the title, the runtime, the genre, and the date within the status area in response to a focus action associated with a thumbnail image.

18. The device according to claim 15, where the processor is further programmed to access the URI associated with an item of A/V content in response to a select action associated with a displayed thumbnail image.

19. The device according to claim 18, where the processor is further programmed to render the associated item of A/V content via the display device.

20. The device according to claim 15, where the processor is further programmed to sort the displayed at least a portion of the non-hierarchical pool of A/V identifier elements into at least one group based upon at least one of the content type, the runtime, and the genre.

21. The device according to claim 20, where the processor is further programmed to display the at least one of the content type and the genre in association with the at least one group of sorted at least a portion of the non-hierarchical pool of A/V identifier elements.

22. The device according to claim 12, where the processor comprises a portion of a DLNA client device.

23. A Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) audio and video (A/V) content aggregation device, comprising:

a memory adapted to store representations of A/V content distributed within a home network environment;

a display device adapted to display the stored representations of the A/V content distributed within the home network;

an input device adapted to provide input requests from a user; and

a processor programmed to;

aggregate A/V content information received from each of a plurality of active DLNA servers, where the A/V content information includes at least one of a thumbnail image, a uniform resource identifier (URI), a content type, a title, a runtime, a genre, and a date associated with each item of A/V content stored at each of the plurality of DLNA servers;

format the aggregated A/V content information into a non-hierarchical pool of A/V identifier elements that each represent one item of the aggregated A/V content information;

store the non-hierarchical pool of A/V identifier elements to the memory;

receive a filter request from the user via the input device;

filter the non-hierarchical pool of A/V identifier elements in response to receiving the filter request;

determine a number of thumbnail images associated with the filtered non-hierarchical pool of A/V identifier elements capable of being displayed on the display device based upon dimensions of the thumbnail images and dimensions of a viewable area of the display device; and

display the determined number of thumbnail images on the display device.