DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS OF ACCESSING AND SHARING DIGITAL MEDIA CONTENT AMONG USERS WITH A WEB BASED SERVER

• US 20120059884A1
• Filed: 11/18/2010
• Published: 03/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Matthew Inventions LLC
• Original Assignee: Matthew Inventions LLC
• Inventors: Rothschild, Leigh M.
• Application Number:
  US12/949,227
• Publication Number:
  US 20120059884A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/954 Navigation, e.g. using categorised browsing

Abstract

Systems, devices, and methods for sharing digital media content between a plurality of users across a communication network are disclosed. A web server generates and hosts a web page with a unique web address by the web server, the web page embedded with the digital content and a digital content player. The web server provides the web page to one or more client devices. The client devices may coordinate with each other and the web server to substantially synchronizing play of the digital media content among the client devices from a designated time instant.

Claims

1. A system for sharing digital media content between a plurality of users across a communication network, the system comprising:

(a) a web server coupled to the communication network using one or more server communication interfaces, the web server having one or more server processors coupled to one or more server storage devices, the one or more server processors executing one or more server software applications;

(b) one or more client devices communicatively coupled to the web server across the communication network using one or more client communication interfaces, each of the one or more client devices having client processors coupled to one or more client storage devices, the one or more client processors executing one or more client software applications wherein a first control client device and a set of invited client devices are a subset of the one or more client devices;

(c) a remote digital media content server coupled to the communication network using one or more server communication interfaces, the remote digital media content server having one or more content server processors coupled to one or more content server storage devices, the one or more content server processors executing one or more content server software applications wherein the digital media content is stored at the remote digital content server in one of the one or more content server storage devices;

(d) wherein the first client device;

(i) provides control instructions using one or more client software applications to the web server across the communication network, the control instructions identifying digital media content located in the remote digital media content server and requesting the web server to provide access to the digital media content;

(ii) receives the digital media content embedded as a web page, the web page having a unique web address;

(iii) sends a notification using a communication method to each client device in the set of invited client devices, the notification including a hyperlink to the unique web address;

(iv) receives synchronization instructions to substantially synchronize play the digital media content among the each client device in the set of invited client devices;

(e) wherein each client device in the set of invited client devices (i) receives the notification having the hyperlink to the unique web address from the first control client device;

(ii) selects the hyperlink causing invitation instructions to be sent to the web server, the invitation instructions requesting the web server to provide access to, and substantially synchronous play of the digital media content among the first control client device and each client device in the set of invited client devices;

(iii) receives synchronization instructions to substantially synchronize play the digital media content among the each client device in the set of invited client devices and the first control client device;

(f) wherein the web server (i) receives and processes the control instructions from the first control client device, and receives and processes the invitation instructions for each client device in the set of invited client devices, across the communication network;

(ii) accesses the digital media content from the remote digital media content server and stores the digital media content in the one or more server storage devices based on the control instructions;

(iii) generates and hosts a web page with a unique web address, the web page embedded with the digital content and a digital content player;

(iv) provides the web page to the first control client device and each client device in the set of invited client devices;

(v) provides synchronization instructions to the first control client device and each client device in the set of invited client devices to substantially synchronize play of the digital media content on the first control client device and each client device in the set of invited client devices.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first control client device sends a designated time instant associated with the digital content to the web server and the web server receives the designated time instant and provides synchronization instructions to the first control client device and each client device in the set of invited client devices to substantially synchronize play of the digital media content from the designate time instant on the first control client device and each client device in the set of invited client devices.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein:

(a) the web server provides to the first control client device and each client device in the set of invited client devices a list of digital media content viewers that includes a first digital content viewer corresponding to the first client device and a set of invited digital media content viewers corresponding to the set of invited client devices; and

(b) the first control client device and each client device in the set of invited client devices receive a list of digital media content viewers and displays the list of digital media content viewers on the user interface displaying the digital media content.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first control client device provides user control instructions that include instructions that designate a set of control client devices that provides additional control instructions to the web server, the web server modifies the access, streaming, and control of the digital media content to the first client device and each client device in the set of invited client devices and the set of control client devices based on the user control instructions.

5. The system according to claim 5, the system further comprising:

(a) a list of contacts associated with the social networking website and a database of contacts wherein the first control client device provides a notification based on the list of contacts associated with the social networking website and the database of contacts. (b) one or more content displaying client devices that display the digital media content wherein each content displaying client device exchange messages with other content displaying client devices using one or more messaging client software applications wherein the one or more messaging software applications can be selected from the group consisting of Instant Messaging, Voice over IP, email, mobile texting, Twitter, Facebook, and Chat software applications;

(c) wherein a subset of the one or more client software applications are one or more client social networking software applications and a subset of the one or more server software applications are server social networking software applications.

6. A method for sharing digital media content between a plurality of users across a communication network, the method comprising:

(a) providing control instructions by a first control client device using one or more client software applications to the web server across the communication network, the control instructions identifying digital media content located on the remote digital media content server and requesting the web server to provide access to the digital media content;

(b) receiving and processing the control instructions from the first control client device by a web server;

(c) accessing the digital media content from the remote digital media content server and storing the digital media content in the one or more server storage devices based on the control instructions;

(d) generating and hosting a web page with a unique web address by the web server, the web page embedded with the digital media content and a digital media content player;

(e) providing the web page to the first control client device by the web server;

(f) receiving the digital media content embedded as a web page by the first control client device, the web page having a unique web address;

(g) sending a notification using a communication method by the first control client device to each client device in the set of invited client devices, the notification including a hyperlink to the unique web address;

(h) receiving the notification having the hyperlink to the unique web address from the first control client device by a client device in the set of invited client devices;

(i) selecting the hyperlink causing invitation instructions to be sent to the web server, the invitation instructions requesting the web server to provide access to, and synchronization instructions to substantially synchronous play of the digital media content among the first control client device and each client device in the set of invited client devices;

(j) receiving and processing the invitation instructions for each client device in the set of invited client devices, across the communication network;

(k) providing the web page to each client device in the set of invited client devices;

(l) substantially synchronizing play of the digital media content on the first control client device and each client device in the set of invited client devices.

9. The method according to claim 6, the method further comprising:

(a) providing user control instructions that include instructions that designate a set of control client devices that provides additional control instructions to the web server;

(b) modifying the access, streaming, and control of the digital media content by the web server to the first client device and each client device in the set of invited client devices and the set of control client devices based on the user control instructions.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein a subset of the one or more client software applications are one or more client social networking software applications and a subset of the one or more server software applications are server social networking software applications

11. The method according to claim 6, further comprising exchanging messages with between digital media content displaying client devices using one or more messaging client software applications.

12. The method according to claim 6, wherein the one or more messaging software applications can be selected from the group consisting of Instant Messaging, Voice over IP, email, mobile texting, Twitter, Facebook , and Chat software applications.

7. The method according to claim 7, the method further comprising:

(a) sending a designated time instant associated with the digital content to the web server by the first control client device;

(b) receiving the designated time instant by the web server; and

(c) substantially synchronizing play of the digital media content from the designated time instant on the first control client device and each client device in the set of invited client devices by the web server.

8. The method according to claim 8, the method further comprising:

(a) transmitting a list of digital content media content viewers, by the web server, to the first client device and the set of invited client devices that includes a first digital content viewer corresponding to the first client device and a set of invited digital media content viewers corresponding to the set of invited client devices;

(b) receiving a list of digital media content viewers by first client device and each client device in the set of invited client devices; and

(c) displaying the list of digital media content viewers on the user interface displaying the digital media content.

13. A system for sharing digital media content between a plurality of users across a communication network, the system comprising:

(a) one or more client devices;

(a) a web server coupled to the one or more client devices across the communication network, the web server hosting a web page with embedded digital media content and providing the web page embedded with digital media content to one or more client devices and providing synchronization instructions to the one or more client devices to substantially synchronize play of the digital media content among the one or more client devices;

(c) wherein each of the one or more client devices receives the web page having the embedded digital media content and the synchronization instructions, and each client device substantially synchronizes play of the digital media content based on the synchronization instructions.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein a first control client device sends a designated time instant associated with the digital content to the web server and the web server receives the designated time instant and provides synchronization instructions to the one or more client devices to substantially synchronize play of the digital media content from the designate time instant on the one or more client devices.

15. The system according to claim 13, wherein:

(a) the web server provides to the one or more client devices a list of digital media content viewers that includes a first digital content viewer corresponding to the first client device and a set of invited digital media content viewers corresponding to a set of invited client devices.

(b) the first control client device and each client device in the set of invited client devices receive a list of digital media content viewers and displays the list of digital media content viewers on the user interface displaying the digital media content.

16. The system according to claim 14, wherein the first control client device provides user control instructions that include instructions that designate a set of control client devices that provides additional control instructions to the web server, the web server modifies the access, streaming, and control of the digital media content to the first client device and each client device in the set of invited client devices and the set of control client devices based on the user control instructions.

17. The system according to claim 14, wherein the web server implements one or more server social networking software applications to host the web page with embedded digital media content and provide the web page embedded with digital media content to one or more client devices and synchronization instructions to the one or more client devices and each of the one or more client devices implement one or more client social networking software applications to receive the web page having the embedded digital media content and the synchronization instructions, and to substantially synchronize play of the digital media content among the one or more client devices based on the synchronization instructions.

18. The system according to claim 17, the system further comprising a list of contacts associated with a social networking website and a database of contacts.

19. The system according to claim 13, further comprising one or more content displaying client devices that display the digital media content wherein each content displaying client device exchange messages with other content displaying client devices using one or more messaging client software applications.

20. The system according to claim 19, wherein the one or more messaging software applications can be selected from the group consisting of Instant Messaging, Voice over IP, email, mobile texting, Twitter, Facebook, and Chat software applications.