SONG FLOW METHODOLOGY IN RANDOM PLAYBACK

• US 20110107213A1
• Filed: 10/30/2009
• Published: 05/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Johnson, Timothy
• Granted Patent: US 8,214,740 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/704
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/329 on a disc [VTOC]

Abstract

An electronic device can play back media items using a random playback mode. To ensure that related media items are played back in a proper order (e.g., live music is played back in concert order), the electronic device can define metadata or other data coupling related media items in a predefined or preset sequence. For example, related media items can include metadata tags identifying the previous and next media items to play back in the sequence. As another example, the electronic device can store a listing of media items of a sequence and the order in which to play them back. When the electronic device reaches a media item that is part of a preset sequence during random playback, the electronic device can identify at least the subsequent media items in the sequence, and insert the subsequent media items in the playback queue. The electronic device can then play back the entire sequence before moving to the next media item in the playback queue.

Claims

1. A method for playing back media items, comprising:

detecting a random playback mode;

defining a playback queue in which media items are arbitrarily ordered;

identifying a media item in the playback queue that is associated with a preset playback sequence;

retrieving at least one other media item of the preset playback sequence; and

introducing the retrieved at least one other media item in the playback queue, wherein the identified media item and the retrieved at least one media item are ordered according to the preset sequence.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting a subset of available media items for playback; and

wherein defining a random playback queue further comprises defining a random playback queue including only the selected subset of available media items.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

identifying the media items of the preset playback sequence that are part of the selected subset; and

wherein introducing further comprises introducing the identified media items of the preset sequence that are part of the selected subset in the playback queue in the preset sequence order.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

changing the order of the identified media items of the preset sequence to the sequence order within the playback queue.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

retrieving media items from the preset sequence that are not in the selected subset of media items; and

introducing the retrieved media items that are not in the elected subset in the playback queue to complete the preset sequence.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving all of the media items of the preset sequence; and

inserting the media items of the entire sequence in the playback queue instead of the identified media item.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving the media items of the preset sequence that follow the identified media item; and

inserting the retrieved media items of the sequence following the identified media item in the playback queue after the identified media item.

8. A electronic device for playing back media items, comprising output circuitry and control circuitry, the control circuitry operative to:

enable a shuffle playback mode;

define a shuffled playlist in which media items are played back in an arbitrary order;

identify at least two media item in the playlist that are part of a sequence; and

reorder the identified at least two media items in the shuffled playlist such that the at least two media items are played back in the order defined by the sequence.

9. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the control circuitry is further operative to:

identify all of the media items in a sequence; and

reorder the identified media items such that the sequence is played back in order in its entirety within the shuffled playlist.

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the control circuitry is further operative to:

determine that at least one media item of the sequence is not in the shuffled playlist;

retrieve the missing at least one media item; and

add the retrieved missing at least one media item in the shuffled playlist in a position defined by the sequence.

11. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the control circuitry is further operative to:

play back a media item within a sequence;

receive an instruction to skip playback forward; and

skip playback to the next media item of the sequence.

12. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the control circuitry is further operative to:

play back a media item within a sequence;

receive an instruction to skip playback forward; and

skip playback to the next media item in the shuffled playlist after the sequence.

13. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein:

the at least two media items that are part of the sequence comprise recordings of live music.

14. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the control circuitry is further operative to:

review metadata associated with each media item of the shuffled playlist; and

identify media items of the shuffled playlist having metadata associated with a particular sequence.

15. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the control circuitry is further operative to:

identify metadata defining at least one of a previous and next media item in the sequence.

16. A method for defining a sequence of media items to play back in a shuffle playback mode, comprising:

receiving a selection of at least two media items;

receiving an instruction to combine the at least two media items in a sequence having a particular order; and

defining metadata associated with each of the at least two media items, wherein the metadata defines at least one of the preceding and following media items in the sequence.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

defining an order for the at least two media items in the sequence.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

defining metadata associated with each of the at least two media items, wherein the metadata identifies all of the media items in the sequence and the order of the media items in the sequence.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

defining at least two sequences for a particular media item; and

defining criteria for determining which sequence to play back instead of the particular media item during random playback.

20. Computer readable media for playing back media items, comprising a computer-readable instructions for:

detecting a random playback mode;

defining a playback queue in which media items are arbitrarily ordered;

identifying a media item in the playback queue that is associated with a preset playback sequence;

retrieving at least one other media item of the preset playback sequence; and

introducing the retrieved at least one other media item in the playback queue, wherein the identified media item and the retrieved at least one media item are ordered according to the preset sequence.

21. The computer readable media of claim 20, further comprising additional computer-readable instructions for:

selecting a subset of available media items for playback; and

wherein defining a random playback queue further comprises defining a random playback queue including only the selected subset of available media items.