Synchronized playback of media players

• US 8,463,875 B2
• Filed: 08/05/2010
• Issued: 06/11/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/20/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Katz, Hagay, Bychkov, Eyal, Ron, Uri
• Primary Examiner(s): Joo, Joshua
• Application Number:
  US12/850,804
• Publication Number:
  US 20110047247A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,041 Days
• Field of Search: 709203-205, 709/248, 709/219
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/10 Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel

Abstract

A method for synchronized playback of media players, including selecting, by each of a plurality of media players, a multimedia file to be played, monitoring, by each of the plurality of media players, the environment for an external trigger, and upon detection of the external trigger, playing, by each of the plurality of media players, the selected multimedia file.

Claims

1. A method for synchronized playback of a plurality of media players, comprising:

selecting, by each of the plurality of media players, a multimedia file to be played;

generating, by one of the media players, an audio tone; and

playing, by the one media player, after generation of the audio tone and waiting until a fixed delay, the multimedia file selected by the one media player; and

each media player from the plurality of media players other than the one media player;

monitoring an environment to detect the generated audio tone;

determining a time that the audio tone was generated; and

upon detection of the generated audio tone,

waiting until the fixed delay after the determined time that the audio tone was generated, then

playing the selected multimedia file.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the one media player that generates the audio tone is a pre-determined media player.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the one media player that generates the audio tone is randomly determined using random numbers.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein each media player plays the selected multimedia file from the beginning of the file.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein each media player plays the selected multimedia file from a known start point within the file.

6. A method for synchronized playback of a plurality of media players, comprising:

selecting, by each of the plurality of media players, a multimedia file to be played;

generating, by one of the media players, an audio tone; and

each media player from the plurality of media players other than the one media player;

monitoring an environment to detect the generated audio tone;

determining a time that the audio tone was generated; and

upon detection of the generated audio tone,

waiting until a fixed delay after the determined time that the audio tone was generated, wherein all of the media players other than the one media player use the same fixed delay, and then

playing the selected multimedia file,

wherein the one media player that generates the audio tone is randomly determined using random numbers.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising playing, by the one media player that generates the audio tone, after generation of the audio tone and waiting the fixed delay, the selected multimedia file.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein each other media player from the plurality of media players other than the one media player plays the selected multimedia file from the beginning of the file.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein each other media player from the plurality of media players other than the one media player plays the selected multimedia file from a known start point within the file.