Synchronization of Buffered Audio Data With Live Broadcast

• US 20110040981A1
• Filed: 08/14/2009
• Published: 02/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Powell, Richard Michael, Williams, Joseph M., Lindahl, Aram
• Application Number:
  US12/541,803
• Publication Number:
  US 20110040981A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/189
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/60 of audio data
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/40 Arrangements for broadcast specially adapted for accumulation-type receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/27 Arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/37 for identifying segments of broadcast information, e.g. scenes or extracting programme ID
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/58 of audio determination or detection of speech characteristics in general G10L25/00; speech recognition in general G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Various techniques relating to the buffering of a live audio broadcast on an electronic device and the subsequently playback the buffered data are provided. In one embodiment, the playback speed of the buffered data may be increased relative to the actual speed at which the data was originally broadcasted. If the buffered playback (using the increased playback speed) synchronizes or catches up to the live broadcast, the electronic device may disable buffering and output the live stream instead. This decreases processing demands by lowering processing cycles required for buffering (encoding, etc.) and playback of the buffered data (decoding, etc.), thereby reducing power consumption.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

initiating the buffering of a live audio broadcast received by an electronic device at a first time;

initiating the buffered playback of the live audio broadcast on the electronic device using an increased playback speed at a second time occurring during the live audio broadcast and subsequent to the first time, wherein the increased playback speed is faster relative to a normal playback speed of the live audio broadcast;

determining if the buffered playback is synchronized with the live audio broadcast; and

if the buffered playback is synchronized with the live audio broadcast, ending the buffering of the live audio broadcast at a third time occurring after the second time, and outputting the remainder of the live audio broadcast beginning at the third time.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein buffering the live audio broadcast comprises:

encoding the live audio broadcast data using a codec; and

storing the encoded live audio broadcast data into a storage device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein encoding the live audio broadcast data comprises compressing the live audio broadcast data using a compression bit-rate.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein buffering the live audio broadcast comprises encrypting the encoded live audio broadcast data prior to storing the encoded live audio broadcast data into the storage device.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein encoding the live audio broadcast data comprises:

determining if the live audio broadcast data comprises speech data or music data;

using a speech codec to encode the live audio broadcast data if the live audio broadcast data comprises primarily speech data; and

using a music codec to encode the live audio broadcast data if the live audio broadcast data comprises primarily music data.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein using the increased playback speed comprises:

using a playback speed of between approximately 1.05 to 1.10 times the normal playback speed of the live audio broadcast if the live audio broadcast data comprises primarily music data; and

using a playback speed of between approximately 1.25 to 2.0 times the normal playback speed of the live audio broadcast if the live audio broadcast comprises primarily speech data.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein determining if the live audio broadcast data comprises speech data or music data comprises analyzing metadata information associated with the live audio broadcast or performing frequency analysis of the live audio broadcast data, or some combination thereof.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the music codec comprises an Advanced Audio Coding (ACC) codec, an Apple Lossless Audio codec, an MP3 codec, or any combination thereof, and wherein the speech codec comprises an Adaptive Multi-Rate codec, a Variable Multi-Rate codec, or any combination thereof.

9. The method of claim 1, comprising:

providing a user of the electronic device an option to continue buffering the live audio broadcast even if the buffered playback is synchronized with the live audio broadcast; and

continuing to buffer the live audio broadcast subsequent to the third time if the option is selected.

10. A method, comprising:

initiating the buffering of a live audio broadcast received by an electronic device;

initiating the buffered playback of the live audio broadcast on the electronic device subsequent to the initiation of the buffering, wherein initiating the buffered playback comprises;

selecting a portion of the live audio broadcast to play back;

determining if the selected portion of the live audio broadcast is an essential portion or a non-essential portion of the live audio broadcast;

if the selected portion of the live audio broadcast is an essential portion, playing back the selected portion using a first increased playback speed that is faster relative to a normal playback speed of the live audio broadcast; and

if the selected portion of the live audio broadcast is a non-essential portion, playing back the selected portion using a second increased playback speed that is faster than the first increased playback speed; and

stopping the buffering of the live audio broadcast if the buffered playback becomes synchronized with the live audio broadcast prior to the end of the live audio broadcast and outputting the remainder of the live audio broadcast.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first increased playback speed is between approximately 1.05 to 2 times the normal playback speed.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the buffered playback of the non-essential portion using the second increased playback speed is perceived as being substantially unintelligible by a user of the electronic device.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the second increased playback speed is at least greater than twice the normal playback speed.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the non-essential portion comprises a commercial advertisement or DJ speech, or some combination thereof.

15. The method of claim 10, comprising adjusting the pitch of the buffered playback of the essential portion at the first increased playback speed to approximately match the pitch of the essential portion if it were played back at the normal playback speed.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the determination of whether the selected portion of the live audio broadcast is an essential portion or a non-essential portion comprises analyzing metadata information associated with the live audio broadcast, wherein the metadata information is provided by a Radio Data System (RDS) signal, an Amplitude Modulation Signaling System (AMSS) signal, a Program Associated Data (PAD) signal, or a Program Service Data (PSD) signal, or some combination thereof.

17. An electronic device, comprising:

an audio broadcast receiver configured to receive a live audio broadcast;

an audio output device configured to output audio data;

a storage device configured to store data; and

processing logic configured to buffer the live audio broadcast at a first time and to playback the buffered live audio broadcast data at a second time subsequent to the first time, wherein the processing logic comprises;

encode/decode logic configured to encode the live audio broadcast data using a codec during buffering and to decode the live audio broadcast data using the codec during playback; and

playback speed management logic configured to play back the buffered live audio broadcast data at a first increased playback speed by outputting the buffered live audio broadcast data using the audio output device, wherein the first increased playback speed is faster relative to a normal playback speed of the live audio broadcast;

wherein the processing logic is configured to stop the buffering of the live audio broadcast upon detecting that the buffered playback is synchronized with the live audio broadcast at a third time subsequent to the second time, and to output the live audio broadcast using the audio output device beginning at the third time.

18. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the processing logic comprises pitch adjustment logic configured to adjust the pitch of the buffered live audio broadcast during buffered playback using the first increased playback speed, such that the adjusted pitch of the buffered live audio broadcast approximately matches the pitch of the live audio broadcast when played at the normal playback speed.

19. The electronic device of claim 18, wherein the pitch adjustment logic is configured to adjust the pitch of the buffered live audio broadcast using a time-stretching algorithm.

20. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the processing logic is configured to determine whether a selected portion of the live audio broadcast is an essential portion or non-essential portion of the live audio broadcast, and wherein the playback speed management logic is configured to play back essential portions of the live audio broadcast using the first increased playback speed and to play back non-essential portions of the live audio broadcast using a second increased playback speed, wherein the second increased playback speed is faster than the first increased playback speed.

21. The electronic device of claim 20, wherein the first increased playback speed is between approximately 1.05 and 2 times the normal playback speed, and wherein the second increased playback speed is greater than 2 times the normal playback speed.

22. The electronic device of claim 21, comprising a display device, wherein the first increased playback speed and the second increased playback speed are selectable by a user of the electronic device using a configuration screen accessible through a graphical user interface displayable on the electronic device using the display device.

23. The electronic device of claim 22, wherein the configuration screen is part of a media player application configured to run on the electronic device.

24. The electronic device of claim 21, wherein the configuration screen displays an option to continue buffering the live audio broadcast subsequent to the detection of synchronization at the third time.

25. The electronic device of claim 17, comprising encryption logic configured to encrypt the buffered live audio broadcast data prior to being stored in the storage device, and to decrypt the buffered live audio broadcast data during buffered playback.

26. The electronic device of claim 25, wherein the encryption logic is configured to encrypt the buffered live audio broadcast data using an Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) format or a Data Encryption Standard (DES) format, or some combination thereof.

27. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the audio output device comprises internal speakers integrated with the electronic device, external speakers connected to the electronic device using an audio connection port, or a headset connected to the electronic device using the audio connection port, or some combination thereof.

28. One or more tangible computer-readable storage media having instructions encoded thereon for execution by a processor, the instructions comprising:

code to cause a live audio broadcast received by an electronic device to begin being buffered at a first time; and

code to cause the buffered live audio broadcast data on the electronic device to be played back begin at a second time subsequent to the first time and occurring during the live audio broadcast, wherein the code for causing the playback of the buffered live audio broadcast data comprises;

code to determine if a selected portion of the live audio broadcast is an essential or non-essential portion of the live audio broadcast;

code to cause the selected portion of the live audio broadcast to be played back using an increased playback speed if the selected portion is determined to be an essential portion of the live audio broadcast; and

code to cause the selected portion of the live audio broadcast to be omitted from the buffered playback if the selected portion is determined to be a non-essential portion of the live audio broadcast.

29. The one or more tangible computer-readable storage media of claim 28, wherein the code for determining if a selected portion of the live audio broadcast is an essential or non-essential portion of the live audio broadcast comprises code to analyze metadata information associated with the live audio broadcast.

30. The one or more tangible computer-readable storage media of claim 28, comprising:

code to stop the buffering of the live audio broadcast upon detecting that the buffered playback is synchronized with the live audio broadcast; and

code to cause the output of the live audio broadcast upon detecting the synchronization.