IMPLIED MEDIA NETWORKS

• US 20150100991A1
• Filed: 05/08/2013
• Published: 04/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cirrus Logic Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Actiwave AB (Cirrus Logic Incorporated)
• Inventors: Risberg, Pr Gunnars, Toth, Landy
• Granted Patent: US 9,860,588 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/60 Network streaming of media packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/611 for multicast or broadcast systems for broadcast or conference H04L12/18; arrangements for broadcast or distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/00; arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time H04H60/00; selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS], H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/75 Media network packet handling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/24 Negotiation of communication capabilities
• 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 21/439 Processing of audio elementary streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44227 Monitoring of local network, e.g. connection or bandwidth variations; Detecting new devices in the local network configuring of peripheral devices in general G06F9/4411; monitoring connectivity in data switched networks H04L43/0811
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/106 for domestic distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04S 7/301 Automatic calibration of stereophonic sound system, e.g. with test microphone

Abstract

A system and/or media network for rendering a media stream from one or more media rendering devices is disclosed. The media network may include one or more configurable peers, each configurable peer configurable as a rendering device, an observer, a processing device, a combination thereof, or the like. The system may be particularly suitable for use in remote locations, to generate a controlled and/or shared meeting topology within an uncontrolled media environment, and/or to generate an intense sound field amongst a group of participants from a collection of associated peers.

Claims

1. A method for rendering a media stream with one or more peers over a network comprising:

designating the one or more peers as rendering devices for rendering the media stream, each rendering device comprising at least one rendering property affecting the rendering of media therefrom;

providing network connections between one or more peers, the network connections supporting a media service;

providing the media stream to at least one of the one or more peers;

distributing at least a portion of the media stream or a stream generated therefrom to each of the rendering devices; and

compensating for at least one of the rendering properties on at least a portion of the media stream or a stream generated therefrom.

2. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the step of compensating is performed by the media service, and/or at least one of the one or more peers.

3. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the media service coordinates and/or synchronizes the media rendering on one or more of the rendering devices.

4. The method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising reporting at least one rendering parameter, wherein the rendering parameter is a latency parameter and the step of compensating comprises adjusting for the latency parameter to synchronize the media rendering on one or more of the rendering devices.

5. The method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising reporting at least one rendering parameter selected from the group consisting of an acoustic parameter, an audio lag, an audio spectral response, an audio glitch, an echo, a sound pressure level, and combinations thereof.

6. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more peers reports one or more parameters relating to one or more of its rendering properties, computational capabilities, available resources, available energy reserve, or any combination thereof to one or more peers on a local area network.

7. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the compensation is provided by the media service.

8. The method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising determining a location of the one or more peers in the network using a localization algorithm.

9. The method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising listening to the rendered media generated by the one or more peers.

10. The method in accordance with claim 9, wherein the listening is used as input to a localization algorithm.

11. A media network for rendering a media stream, comprising:

a plurality of peers connected via a local area network, at least one peer configured as a rendering device comprising one or more rendering properties, the rendering device configured to accept at least a portion of the media stream or a stream generated therefrom and to produce an individual rendered stream, wherein a relationship between the accepted stream and the individual rendered stream is dependent upon the one or more rendering properties; and

a media service configured to distribute at least a portion of the media stream or a stream generated therefrom over the local area network to the rendering device, the media service and/or one or more of the peers being configured to calculate a compensation factor for and/or adjust at least a portion of the media stream to compensate for at least one rendering property of the rendering device so as to adjust the individual rendered stream.

12. The media network in accordance with claim 11, wherein one or more peers is a consumer electronics device selected from the group consisting of a smartphone, a tablet computer, a stereo sound system, a loudspeaker, a television, a headset, a heads up display, and any combination thereof.

13-24. -24. (canceled)

25. A media network for rendering a media stream, comprising:

a plurality of peers connected via a local area network, one or more peers configured as rendering devices, each rendering device comprising one or more rendering properties, each of the rendering devices configured to receive an input stream and to render at least a portion of the input stream to produce an individual rendered stream, the individual rendered stream dependent upon the rendering properties; and

a media service configured to distribute at least a portion of the media stream over the local area network to the rendering devices, the one or more of the peers, and/or the media service configured to adjust one or more individual rendered stream to compensate for at least one rendering property of at least one rendering device.

26. The media network in accordance with claim 25, wherein at least one of the one or more peers is configured as a media source, the media source configured to provide the media stream to the one or more peers via the media service.

27. The media network in accordance with claim 25, wherein at least one of the one or more peers is configured to provide a portal to a wide area network configured to receive or send at least a portion of the media stream.

28. The media network in accordance with claim 25, wherein the media service comprises a real-time transport protocol configured to synchronize two or more of the individual rendered streams.

29. The media network in accordance with claim 25, wherein two or more of the rendering devices are configured to generate a media field through coordinated rendering of the media stream.

30. The media network in accordance with claim 25, further comprising one or more observers each arranged at a location within a media field, at least one observer configured to monitor the media field to generate a correction signal, the media service configured to receive the correction signal.

31. The media network in accordance with claim 30, wherein the media service comprises a compensation algorithm, the compensation algorithm configured to generate a virtual peer at a predetermined location within the media field.

32. The media network in accordance with claim 30, wherein one or more observers is configured to move throughout the media field.

33. The media network in accordance with claim 25, wherein the one or more of the peers is physically located within a media field and is selectively designated as a rendering device dependent upon a location of the one or more peers with the media field.

34-58. -58. (canceled)