SYNCHRONIZED PLAYBACK OF MEDIA PLAYERS

• US 20110047247A1
• Filed: 08/05/2010
• Published: 02/24/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Modu Limited (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Katz, Hagay, Ron, Uri, Bychkov, Eyal
• Granted Patent: US 8,463,875 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/10 Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel

Abstract

A method for synchronized playback of media players, including selecting, by each of a plurality of media players, a multimedia file to be played, monitoring, by each of the plurality of media players, the environment for an external trigger, and upon detection of the external trigger, playing, by each of the plurality of media players, the selected multimedia file.

Claims

1. A method for synchronized playback of media players, comprising:

selecting, by each of a plurality of media players, a multimedia file to be played;

monitoring, by each of the plurality of media players, the environment to detect an external trigger; and

upon detection of the external trigger, playing, by each of the plurality of media players, the selected multimedia file.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said selecting selects the same multimedia file to be played by each of the plurality of media players.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said selecting selects different multimedia files to be played by each of the plurality of media players.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said playing plays, by each of the plurality of media players, the selected multimedia file from the beginning of the file.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said playing plays, by each of the plurality of media players, the selected multimedia file from a known start point within the file.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the external trigger is generated by a device.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the external trigger is generated manually by a human being.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the external trigger is a sound.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the external trigger is a visual effect.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the external trigger is proximity of an object.

11. A method for synchronized playback of media players, comprising:

selecting, by each of a plurality of media players, a multimedia file to be played;

generating, by one of the plurality of media players, an audio tone;

monitoring, by the others of the plurality of media players, the environment to detect the generated audio tone; and

upon detection of the generated audio tone, playing, by the others of the plurality of media players, the selected multimedia file.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising playing, by the media player that generated the audio tone, after generation of the audio tone, the selected multimedia file.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the media player that generates the audio tone is a pre-determined media player.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the media player that generates the audio tone is randomly determined.

15. A method of synchronized playback of media players, comprising:

recording, by a media player, an audio portion of a song from a known multimedia file being played by another player device;

analyzing the recorded audio portion to determine a start point within the multimedia file related to the recorded audio portion; and

playing the multimedia file on the media player, beginning from the determined start point within the file.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein said analyzing determines the start point by finding a location of a maximum cross-correlation between the recorded audio portion and the song.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the start point determined by said analyzing is of the form T+LT, where T is a time-based location of the recorded audio portion within the song, and Δ

T is the time elapsed between the beginning of said recording and the end of said analyzing.

18. A method of synchronized playback of media players, comprising:

recording, by a media player, an audio portion of a song being played by another media player;

analyzing the recorded audio portion to identify the song, and to identify a multimedia file corresponding to the song;

further analyzing the recorded audio portion to determine a start point within the multimedia file related to the recorded audio portion; and

playing the multimedia file on the media player, beginning from the determined start point within the file.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein said further analyzing determines the start point by finding a location of a maximum cross-correlation between the recorded audio portion and the song.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the start point determined by said further analyzing is of the form T+LT, where T is a time-based location of the recorded audio portion within the song, and Δ

T is the time elapsed between the beginning of said recording and the end of said further analyzing.

21. A method of synchronized playback of media players, comprising:

recording, by a media player, an audio portion of a song being played by another media player;

sending the recorded audio portion to a server computer;

receiving information identifying the song from the server computer;

identifying a multimedia file corresponding to the identified song;

analyzing the recorded audio portion to determine a start point within the multimedia file based on the recorded audio portion; and

playing the multimedia on the media player, beginning from the determined start point within the file.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein said analyzing determines the start point by finding a location of a maximum cross-correlation between the recorded audio portion and the song.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein the start point determined by said analyzing is of the form T+Δ

T, where T is a time-based location of the recorded audio portion within the song, and Δ

T is the time elapsed between the beginning of said recording and the end of said analyzing.

24. A method of synchronized playback of media players, comprising:

recording, by a media player, an audio portion of a song being played by another media player;

sending the recorded audio portion to a server computer;

receiving information (i) identifying the song, and (ii) identifying a location within the song related to the recorded audio portion, from the server computer;

identifying a multimedia file corresponding to the identified song;

determining a start point within the multimedia file based on the identified location; and

playing a multimedia file corresponding to the identified song on the media player, beginning from the determined start point.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the start point determined by determining is of the form T+Δ

T, where T is the identified location received from the server computer, and Δ

T is the time elapsed between the beginning of said recording and the end of said identifying a multimedia file.