Multimedia presentation resumption within an environment of multiple presentation systems

• US 8,122,474 B2
• Filed: 04/07/2008
• Issued: 02/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Tecot, Edward M., Hegg, Shannon C., Habib, Martine
• Primary Examiner(s): Pendleton, Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Saint Cyr, Jean D
• Application Number:
  US12/098,782
• Publication Number:
  US 20080216134A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,415 Days
• Field of Search: 725/146
• US Class Current: 725/80
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/10 Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel

Abstract

With at least one implementation described herein, one or more viewers are able to watch the same source multimedia content at multiple locations within an environment (e.g., a household). With at least one implementation described herein, a viewer is able to resume watching such content at a new location (or “locus”) from the point that she bookmarked the content at an original location. This abstract itself is not intended to limit the scope of this patent. The scope of the present invention is pointed out in the appending claims.

Claims

1. A multimedia-content resumption architecture comprising:

a centralized multimedia server comprising;

one or more multimedia-content receivers configured to receive multimedia programs as part of one or more broadcast media transmissions;

one or more storage units configured to store the multimedia programs;

a computing unit configured to generate and store one or more bookmarks associated with a particular multimedia content;

a plurality of multimedia presentations systems that are communicatively coupled to the centralized multimedia server, each of the plurality of multimedia presentations systems comprising;

a multimedia rendering unit configured to present the multimedia programs and one or more user interfaces; and

a computing unit configured to communicate with the centralized multimedia server and further configured to generate the one or more user interfaces for presentation via the multimedia rendering unit, the computing unit further configured to receive and present the multimedia programs using the one or more bookmarks from the centralized multimedia server;

wherein, in response to a user-submitted request to create a bookmark in a particular multimedia program being presented through a first multimedia presentation system of the plurality of multimedia presentation systems;

a user interface on the first multimedia presentation system is configured to prompt a user to indicate a second multimedia presentation system to which the bookmark is to be sent; and

a user interface at the second multimedia presentation system, upon receiving the bookmark, is configured to present, for user selection, an indication that the particular multimedia program is available for presentation from a location of the bookmark.

2. An architecture as recited in claim 1, wherein the storage unit of the centralized multimedia server is further configured to store the multimedia programs.

3. An architecture as recited in claim 1, wherein the computing unit is further configured to generate and store at least two bookmarks associated with the particular multimedia content.

4. An architecture as recited in claim 1, wherein one or more broadcast media transmissions are selected from a group consisting of incoming live television broadcast, incoming live cable television signal, incoming live satellite signal, incoming live video-on-demand signal, and incoming live pay-per-view signal.

10. An architecture as recited in claim 1, wherein the centralized multimedia server is operable to swap a first receiver of the one or more multimedia-content receivers with a second receiver of the one or more multimedia-content receivers if a bookmark created at a first multimedia presentation system associated with the first receiver is accessed at a second multimedia presentation system associated with the second receiver.

11. An architecture as recited in claim 10, wherein after the centralized multimedia server swaps the first receiver with the second receiver, the first multimedia presentation system is associated with the second receiver and the second multimedia presentation system is associated with the first receiver.

12. An architecture as recited in claim 1, wherein the centralized multimedia server is operable to share a first receiver of the one or more multimedia-content receivers if a bookmark created at a first multimedia presentation system associated with the first receiver is accessed at a second multimedia presentation system associated with a second receiver.

13. An architecture as recited in claim 11, wherein after the centralized multimedia server shares the first receiver, both the first and the second multimedia presentation systems are associated with the first receiver.

5. A multimedia server system which is configured to be communicatively coupled to a plurality of multimedia presentation systems, the server system comprising:

a plurality of multimedia-content receivers configured to receive multimedia programs, a first receiver of the one or more multimedia-content receivers associated with a first multimedia presentation system of the multimedia presentation systems, and a second receiver of the one or more multimedia-content receiver associated with a second multimedia presentation system of the plurality of multimedia presentation systems;

one or more storage units configured to store the multimedia programs;

a computing unit configured to;

bookmark a point during a presentation of a multimedia program of the multimedia programs on the first multimedia presentation system to generate a bookmark;

associate one or more properties with the bookmark;

store the bookmark in association with the multimedia program;

perform at least one of;

swap the first receiver with the second receiver if the bookmark is accessed on the second multimedia presentation system, to associate the first receiver with the second multimedia presentation system and to associate the second receiver with the first multimedia presentation system;

or

share the first receiver if the bookmark is accessed on the second multimedia presentation system, to present on the first multimedia presentation system the multimedia program from the first receiver, and to present on the second multimedia presentation system the multimedia program from the first receiver;

wherein a user interface (UI) associated with the first multimedia presentation system is configured to prompt for a location to which to send a bookmark generated at the first multimedia presentation system, and wherein a UI at a second multimedia presentation system, to which the bookmark was sent, is configured to prepare, without user interaction, for selection by a user, an indication that a user has arrived at the second multimedia presentation system and is ready to resume presentation as indicated by the bookmark.

6. A server system as recited in claim 5 further comprising a user-interface control panel configured to receive user input action that triggers generation of the bookmark, such action is selected from a group consisting of:

selection of another source of multimedia content;

viewing a list of other sources of multimedia content;

manually pressing “

pause key”

;

manually pressing “

bookmark”

key; and

manually pressing another pre-defined key, or choosing a pre-defined option.

7. A server system as recited in claim 5, wherein the properties associated with the bookmark are selected from a group consisting of:

locus of system where the presentation was bookmarked;

identity of user who manually bookmarked the presentation;

chronological time of the bookmark generating;

chronological date of the bookmark generating;

relative time during the presentation where the presentation was bookmarked.

8. A server system as recited in claim 5, wherein:

the first and second receivers are the receivers at which the bookmark was generated and to which the bookmark was sent, respectively;

the bookmark is identified, at the second presentation system, in part by reference to the first multimedia presentation system at which the bookmark was generated;

the multimedia server system is configured to swap the first and second multimedia content receivers, resulting in the second multimedia presentation system being associated with a first tuner, a first buffer, and first recorded content previously associated with the first multimedia presentation system, and the first multimedia presentation system being associated with a second tuner, a second buffer, and second recorded content previously associated with the second multimedia presentation system; and

the multimedia server system is configured to share the first multimedia-content receiver, resulting in both the first and second multimedia presentation systems being associated with the first tuner, the first buffer, and the first recorded content.

9. A server system as recited in claim 5, wherein the one or more multimedia-content receivers are further configured to receive the multimedia program as part of a broadcast media transmission, wherein the broadcast media transmission is selected from a group consisting of incoming live television broadcast, incoming live cable television signal, incoming live satellite signal, incoming live video-on-demand signal, and incoming live pay-per-view signal.

14. A multimedia system comprising:

a multimedia server comprising a first tuner and a second tuner, the first tuner operable to receive a first multimedia program, and the second tuner operable to receive a second multimedia program;

a first presentation system coupled to the multimedia server and associated with the first tuner, the first presentation system receiving and presenting the first multimedia program and presenting a user interface configured to prompt a user to indicate a second multimedia presentation system to which the bookmark is to be sent; and

the second presentation system coupled to the multimedia server and associated with the second tuner, the second presentation system receiving and presenting the second multimedia program;

wherein the multimedia server is configured to;

receive from the first presentation system, a user-submitted request to bookmark a location within the first multimedia program and to resume presentation of the first multimedia program at the second presentation system;

in response to the user-submitted request, store the bookmark in association with the first multimedia program and, without additional input from the user, send an indication of the bookmark to the second presentation system.

15. A multimedia system as recited in claim 14, wherein:

the bookmark is identified, at the second presentation system, in part by reference to the first presentation system at which the bookmark was generated; and

the multimedia server swaps receivers for the first and second presentation systems, resulting in the first tuner, a first buffer, and a first recorded content previously associated with the first presentation system being associated with the second presentation system and the second tuner, a second buffer, and a second recorded content previously associated with the second presentation system being associated with the first presentation system if the bookmark, requested through the first presentation system, is accessed by a user of the second presentation system.

16. A multimedia system as recited in claim 14, wherein the multimedia server shares the first tuner with both the first and the second multimedia presentation systems.

17. A multimedia system as recited in claim 14, further comprising a user-interface control panel configured to receive user input action that triggers generation of the bookmark, such action is selected from a group consisting of:

selection of another source of multimedia content;

viewing a list of other sources of multimedia content;

manually pressing “

pause key”

;

manually pressing “

bookmark”

key; and

manually pressing another pre-defined key, or choosing a pre-defined option.

18. A multimedia system as recited in claim 14, wherein the multimedia server is further operable to:

associate one or more properties with the bookmark; and

store the bookmark in association with the first multimedia program;

wherein the properties associated with the bookmark are selected from a group consisting of;

a locus of system where the presentation was bookmarked;

an identity of the user who manually bookmarked the presentation;

a chronological time of the bookmark generating;

a chronological date of the bookmark generating;

a relative time during the presentation where the presentation was bookmarked.

19. A multimedia system as recited in claim 14, wherein in response to the user-submitted request, presenting, through the second presentation system, a user interface indicating that the first multimedia program is available.

20. A multimedia system as recited in claim 14, wherein the user-submitted request to bookmark a location within the first multimedia program and to resume presentation of the first multimedia program at the second presentation system sends an indication of the bookmark to each of a plurality of second presentation systems.