Audio-on-demand communication system

• US 7,349,976 B1
• Filed: 10/04/2001
• Issued: 03/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: RealNetworks, Inc.
• Inventors: Glaser, Robert D., O'Brien, Mark, Goldberg, Randy Glen, Boutell, Thomas B.
• Primary Examiner(s): LIN, WEN TAI
• Application Number:
  US09/971,954
• Time in Patent Office: 2,364 Days
• Field of Search: 709217-219, 709/229, 709/250, 709/231, 725/116, 725/132, 725/102, 725/92, 370/93.25, 375/240.01, 360/72.2, 386/83, 386/96, 386/46
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation

Abstract

An audio-on-demand communication system provides real-time playback of audio data transferred via telephone lines or other communication links. One or more audio servers include memory banks which store compressed audio data. At the request of a user at a subscriber PC, an audio server transmits the compressed audio data over the communication link to the subscriber PC. The subscriber PC receives and decompresses the transmitted audio data in less than real-time using only the processing power of the CPU within the subscriber PC. According to one aspect of the present invention, high quality audio data compressed according to lossless compression techniques is transmitted together with normal quality audio data. According to another aspect of the present invention, metadata, or extra data, such as text, captions, still images, etc., is transmitted with audio data and is simultaneously displayed with corresponding audio data. The audio-on-demand system also provides a table of contents indicating significant divisions in the audio clip to be played and allows the user immediate access to audio data at the listed divisions. According to a further aspect of the present invention, servers and subscriber PCs are dynamically allocated based upon geographic location to provide the highest possible quality in the communication link.

Claims

1. A method of seeking to a location within a file having a beginning and an end, the method comprising:

storing a first portion of the file in a memory queue of a remote computing device;

transmitting the first portion to a client electronic device from the memory queue;

receiving by the remote computing device, from the client electronic device, a signal indicating a seek request generated as a result of an input from a user of the client electronic device, said signal being received either while the first portion of the file is being transmitted or in an interval after the first portion of the file is transmitted from the remote computing device to the client electronic device, the seek request including data indicative of a location/address within the file in which a second portion of the file is to begin to be transmitted to the client electronic device, the location/address being not limited to the beginning of the file;

determining by the remote computing device, the location/address within the file based upon the seek request;

storing the second portion of the file into the memory queue; and

transmitting with the remote computing device, the second portion of the file from the memory queue to the client electronic;

wherein the remote computing device, as a result of receiving the seek request and after one other completion of the transmission of the first portion of the file, re-fills at least a portion of the memory queue with the second portion of the file.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the seek request further comprises data indicating a length of rendering time.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the length of rendering time is shorter than a length of rendering time of an entire buffer of a portion of the file at the client electronic device.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the length of rendering time is longer than a length of rendering time of an entire buffer of a portion of the file at the server.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the data comprises an offset amount to further advance into the file or to retreat.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said transmitting comprises clearing by the remote computing device, at least one buffer, after said receiving of the seek request and completion of sending another one of the first portion of the file.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein said transmitting comprises re-filling by the remote computing device, at least one buffer, with at least a portion of the file as a result of said receiving of the seek request, after completion of sending another one of the first portion of the file.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the file includes digitally compressed audio data operative to be streamed to the user.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one other completion of the transmission of the first portion of the file comprises one other completion of the transmission of a packet of the first portion of the file.

10. A server to facilitate seeking of a particular location within a file having a beginning and an end, the server comprising:

a memory for storing the file;

a transmitter for transmitting one or more portion(s) of the file;

a receiver to receive a signal indicating a seek request either while transmitting one or more portion(s) of the file or in an interval between when portions of the file are transmitted, the seek request having data indicative of a location/address within the file in which portions of the file are to begin to be transmitted to the client electronic device, the location/address not limited to the beginning of the file; and

a processor coupled with the memory, the transmitter and the receiver to store or more portion(s) of the file to be transmitted in a memory queue, to transmit one or more portion(s) of the file stored in the memory queue, and as a result of receiving the seek request, determine the location/address within the file based upon the seek request, and after completion of the transmission of another one of the portions of the file stored in the memory queue, re-filling the memory queue with at least another portion of the file to be transmitted or making the memory queue available for re-use.

11. The server of claim 10, wherein the file includes digital compressed audio data.

12. The server of claim 10, wherein the seek request further comprises data indicating a length of rendering time.

13. The server of claim 10 further comprising a message queue wherein the message queue is cleared after the server receives the seek request and completion of transmitting of a current block of the file.

14. The server of claim 10, wherein the seek request comprises data indicating a length of rendering time, and wherein the length of rendering time exceeds a length of rendering time of a current portion of the file stored in the buffer.

15. The server of claim 10, wherein the file is transmitted using TCP/IP.

16. The server of claim 10, wherein the data comprises an offset amount to further advance into the file or to retreat.

17. The server of claim 10, wherein the one other completion of the transmission of the first portion of the file comprises one other completion of the transmission of a packet of the first portion of the file.

18. A computer readable medium comprising instructions, which when executed on a server, perform a method on the server, the method comprising:

storing first portions of a file to be transmitted to a client electronic device in a memory queue of a server, the file having a beginning and an end;

transmitting from the memory queue of the server, the first portions of the file to client electronic device;

receiving a seek request from the client electronic device during either said transmitting or an interval between when portions of the file are transmitted, wherein the seek request comprises data indicating a location/address within the file in which second portions of the file are to begin to be transmitted to the client electronic device, the location/address not limited to the beginning of the file;

determining at the server, the location/address within the file, based upon the seek request;

storing the second portions of the file in the memory queue; and

transmitting from the memory queue of the server, to the client electronic device, the second portions of the file;

as a result of receiving the seek request and after completion of the transmission of one of the first portions of the file, re-filling the memory queue with the second portions of the file or making at least one of the memory queue available for refuse.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the transmitting of the second portion starts after completion of transmission of a current block of the file.

20. A method of seeking to a location within a file, the file having a beginning and an end, the method comprising:

receiving by a client electronic device, from a remote computing device, first portions of the file transmitted from a memory queue of the remote computing device;

generating on the client electronic device, a seek request to seek to a location/address within the file in which portions of the file are to begin to be transmitted to the client electronic device, not limited to the beginning of the file, the seek request including data indicative of the location/address;

transmitting to the remote computing device, a signal indicating the seek request, while said receiving is in progress or during an interval between when portions of the file are being received; and

receiving from the remote computing device, second portions of the file, starting from the location/address, the second portions of the file being transmitted from the memory queue said memory queue being re-filled with the second portions of the file or being made available for re-use after receipt by the remote computing device of the seek request and after the remote computing device completing transmission of another one of the first portions of the file.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the seek request further comprises data indicating a length of rendering time.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the file Includes digital compressed audio data.

23. A client electronic device comprising:

a receiver configured to receive from a remote computing device, first portions of a file transmitted from a memory queue of the remote computing device;

a transmitter; and

a processor coupled with the receiver and the transmitter, said processor operative to generate a seek request indicating a location/address within the file in which portions of the file are to begin to be transmitted from the remote computing device to the client electronic device, the location/address being not limited to the beginning of the file, and operative to indicate to the transmitter to transmit to the remote computing device a signal comprising the seek request, during said receiving of the file or during an interval in between when portions of the file are received, wherein transmission of said seek request results in the receiver continuing to receive the additional portions of the file from the remote computing device beginning with the file location/address and transmitted from the memory queue, said memory queue being re-filled or made available for re-use after receipt by the remote computing device of the seek request and the remote computing device completing transmission of at least one of the first portions of the file.

24. The client device of claim 23, wherein the seek request further includes data indicating a length of rendering time.