File error identification, reporting, and replacement of media files

• US 8,095,858 B2
• Filed: 02/07/2008
• Issued: 01/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Peters, Mark E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chase, Shelly A
• Application Number:
  US12/027,344
• Publication Number:
  US 20090204855A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,433 Days
• Field of Search: 714/6.12, 714/42, 714/48, 714/54, 714/746, 714/798, 714/799, 360/131
• US Class Current: 714/798
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/1883 Methods for assignment of alternate areas for defective areas
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/89 involving methods or arrangements for detection of transmission errors at the decoder
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4425 Monitoring of client processing errors or hardware failure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application

Abstract

The present invention discloses a solution for automatically replacing a media files upon a device able to identify problems with locally stored media files. Initially, an automated process or user of a media playing device can initially identify a media file, which the media playing device is unable to play. The media playing device can be connected to an external device associated with a media store including a set of source media files. The source media files of the media store can be automatically queried for a corresponding one of the detected media file. A copy of a source media file resulting from the query can be automatically conveyed from the media store to the media playing device.

Claims

1. A system for automatically replacing problematic media files comprising:

a first media store configured to store a plurality of digitally encoded local media files;

a second media store configured to store a plurality of digitally encoded source media files;

a media diagnostic engine configured to identify whether problems exist within one of the media files located in the first media store, wherein when a problem is identified, the associated file having the problem is able to be referred to as a problematic file, wherein the media diagnostic engine is configured to identify whether problems exist based upon at least one of a user input and a software based error detection algorithm determination; and

a media replacement engine configured to replace a problematic file in the first media store with a copy of a corresponding media file from the second media store.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a media processing engine is configured to perform at least one digital signal processing (DSP) action to modify the problematic file to remove the problem detected by the media diagnostic engine.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the problematic file and the replacement file are both at least one of a music file and a video file.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the problematic file is a corrupted file.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the first media store is located within a media playing device, and wherein the second media store is a data store external to the media playing device.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the problematic file is a file in a format incompatible with the media playing device, and wherein the replacement file is a file in a format compatible with the media playing device.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the media diagnostic engine is stored within the media playing device and is executed by the media playing device, wherein the media playing device is at least one of a portable digital music playing device and a portable digital video playing device.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the media replacement engine is stored within the media playing device and is executed by the media playing device.

9. The system of claim 5, wherein the second media store is a data store of a desktop computer to which the media playing device is connected via at least one of a wireless personal area network and a direct line-based connection.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein at least one of the media diagnostic engine and the media replacement engine is stored within the desktop computer and is executed by the desktop computer.

11. The system of claim 5, wherein the media playing device comprises a network transceiver, wherein the second media store is a data store of a network server to which the media playing device is directly connected via the network transceiver.

12. The system of claim 5, further comprising:

a desktop computer to which the media playing device is connected via at least one of a wireless personal area network and a direct line-based connection, said desktop computer comprising a network transceiver, and wherein the second media store is a data store of a network server to which the desktop computer is connected via the network transceiver.

13. The system of claim 5, wherein at least one of the media diagnostic engine and the media replacement engine is stored within a network server and is executed by the network server, wherein the second media store is associated with the network server.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the media diagnostic engine configured to identify whether problems exists based upon a user input and based upon a software based error detection algorithm determination.

15. A method for automatically replacing a media file comprising:

within a media playing device, identifying at least one digitally encoded media file, which the media playing device is unable to play;

connecting the media playing device to an external device associated with a media store comprising a plurality of source media files;

querying the source media files of the media store for a corresponding one of the detected media file; and

receiving a copy of the source media file resulting from the query; and

replacing the identified digitally encoded media file with the received copy.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving a user input, wherein said user input identifies that at least one digitally encoded media file that the media player is unable to play.

17. The method of claim 15, said identifying step further comprising:

an error detection software program automatically identifying the at least one digitally encoded media file that the media player is unable to play.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the media playing device is a portable media player, wherein the detected media file and the copy are both at least one of a music file and a video file.

19. A media playing device comprising:

a media store configured to store a plurality of digitally encoded local media files, wherein each of the media files are at least one of a music file and a video file;

media playing components configured allow the media playing device to play the digitally encoded local media files responsive to a user selection;

a port configured to permit the media playing device to exchange data with external computing devices;

a set of programmatic instructions configured to identify whether problems exist within one of the local media files, wherein an identified one of the local media files is referred to as a problematic file, wherein the problematic file is one unable to be properly played by the media playing device; and

a set of programmatic instructions configured to receive a replacement file for the problematic file from one of the external computing devices and configured to replace the problematic file with the received replacement file.

20. The media playing device of claim 19, further comprising:

a user interface configured to receive user input that identifies the problematic files.