Wireless multimedia content at television host device

• US 7,907,213 B1
• Filed: 03/13/2006
• Issued: 03/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Biere, Devon Leon, Gailloux, Michael Arthur
• Primary Examiner(s): Natnael; Paulos M
• Application Number:
  US11/374,650
• Time in Patent Office: 1,828 Days
• Field of Search: 348/552, 348/553, 348/725, 348/14.02, 725/153, 725/141, 370/254
• US Class Current: 348/552
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4122 additional display device, e.g. video projector digital output for controlling a plurality of local displays G06F3/1423
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal

Abstract

Multimedia content captured by a camera-enabled wireless device may be communicated from the camera-enabled wireless device to a television host device for viewing and/or storage. The multimedia content may be communicated wirelessly from the camera-enabled wireless device to a telecommunications network. The telecommunications network forwards the multimedia content to a media-delivery network, which delivers the multimedia content to the television host device. The television host device treats the multimedia content (presents, stores, etc.) based on user-defined preferences.

Claims

1. A method of treating multimedia content received at a television host device from a camera-enabled wireless device, the method comprising:

receiving, at a television host device, multimedia content from a camera-enabled wireless device, wherein the multimedia content is communicated from the camera-enabled wireless device to the television host device over a communication pathway comprising the camera-enabled wireless device, a telecommunications network in communication with the camera-enabled wireless device, a media-delivery network in communication with the telecommunications network, and the television host device in communication with the media-delivery network;

determining, at the television host device, a treatment of the multimedia content based on one or more preference, wherein the determining further comprises accessing one or more parameters associated with at least one of the camera-enabled wireless device, the television host device, and the multimedia content and determining a treatment of the multimedia content based on the one or more preferences in conjunction with the one or more parameters; and

treating the multimedia content in accordance with the determined treatment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more preferences define the one or more parameters to access.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the treatment of the multimedia content at the television host device comprises at least one of presenting the multimedia content, storing the multimedia content, and rejecting the multimedia content.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether the camera-enabled wireless device is authorized to communicate the multimedia content to the television host device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining whether the camera-enabled wireless device is authorized to communicate the multimedia content to the television host device comprises:

receiving, at the television host device, a request to communicate the multimedia content from the camera-enabled wireless device to the television host device; and

determining whether the camera-enabled wireless device is authorized to communicate the multimedia content to the television host device based on one or more preferences.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein determining whether the camera-enabled wireless device is authorized to communicate the multimedia content to the television host device based on one or more preferences comprises:

accessing one or more parameters associated with at least one of the camera-enabled wireless device, the television host device, and the multimedia content; and

determining whether the camera-enabled wireless device is authorized to communicate the multimedia content based on the one or more preferences in conjunction with the one or more parameters.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein determining whether the camera-enabled host device is authorized to communicate the multimedia content to the television host device comprises:

communicating, from the camera-enabled wireless device to a network device, a request to communicate the multimedia content to the television host device; and

determining at the network device whether the camera-enabled wireless device is authorized to communicate the multimedia content to the television host device.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising communicating an acknowledgement message from the television host device to the camera-enabled wireless device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the acknowledgement message comprises at least one of an automatically generated text message, an automatically generated audio message, a user-selected text message, a user-selected audio message, a user-generated text message, a user-generated audio message, and a user-generated multimedia message.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the television host device comprises at least one of set-top box, a legacy box, a digital video recorder, a personal video recorder, a hard disk recorder, a personal video station, a personal TV receiver, and a cable-ready television.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the multimedia content consists of video image content.

12. One or more computer-readable media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing the method of claim 1.

13. A method of communicating multimedia content from a camera-enabled wireless device to one or more television host devices, the method comprising:

capturing multimedia content at a camera-enabled wireless device;

receiving a command to communicate the multimedia content from the camera-enabled wireless device to one or more television host devices;

sending, from the camera-enabled wireless device, a request to communicate the multimedia content to the one or more television host devices, wherein in response to the request, a determination is made regarding whether the camera-enabled wireless device is authorized to communicate the multimedia content to at least one of the one or more television host devices; and

receiving, at the camera-enabled wireless device, an indication that the camera-enabled wireless device is authorized to communicate the multimedia content to the at least one of the one or more television host devices, wherein communicating the multimedia content to the one or more television host devices comprises communicating the multimedia content to the at least one of the one or more television host devices; and

communicating the multimedia content to the one or more television host devices, wherein the multimedia content received at each of the one or more television host devices is treated independently of a treatment of the multimedia content received at another of the one or more television host devices.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the multimedia content consists of video image content.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein receiving a command to communicate the multimedia content comprises receiving a selection of the one or more television host devices.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein receiving a command to communicate the multimedia content comprises receiving a selection of the multimedia content.

17. One or more computer-readable media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing the method of claim 13.

18. One or more computer-storage media having computer-useable instructions that when executed by a computing device cause the computing device to perform a method of treating multimedia content received at a television host device from a camera-enabled wireless device, the method comprising:

determining, at the television host device, whether the camera-enabled wireless device is authorized to communicate the multimedia content to the television host device;

receiving, at a television host device, multimedia content from the camera-enabled wireless device, wherein the multimedia content is communicated from the camera-enabled wireless device to the television host device over a communication pathway comprising the camera-enabled wireless device, a telecommunications network in communication with the camera-enabled wireless device, a media-delivery network in communication with the telecommunications network, and the television host device in communication with the media-delivery network;

determining, at the television host device, a treatment of the multimedia content based on one or more preference; and

treating the multimedia content in accordance with the determined treatment.