Methods for preloading media assets

• US 8,521,709 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2007
• Issued: 08/27/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: The Jellyvision Lab, Inc.
• Original Assignee: The Jellyvision Lab, Inc.
• Inventors: Gottlieb, Harry N., Jacover, Evan, Fram, Steven
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Hung Q
• Application Number:
  US11/925,460
• Publication Number:
  US 20080104121A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,132 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/705
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25866 Management of end-user data customer care in data networks H04L41/5077
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/262 Content or additional data distribution scheduling, e.g. sending additional data at off-peak times, updating software modules, calculating the carousel transmission frequency, delaying a video stream transmission, generating play-lists scheduling strategies for dispatcher in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/4881; arrangements for scheduling broadcast services or broadcast-related services H04H60/06; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; establishing a time schedule or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26208 the scheduling operation being performed under constraints
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8541 involving branching, e.g. to different story endings
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 Handling of requests in head-ends

Abstract

A method for preloading media assets during playback execution of a multimedia experience is disclosed. The method includes providing a default preloading scheme. The method also includes receiving a custom instruction to preload at least one media asset associated with a multimedia experience and, in response to the custom instruction, loading the at least one media asset so as to override the default preloading scheme. The method further includes playing the least one media asset after loading the at least one media asset.

Claims

1. In a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored therein data representing instructions executable by a programmed processor for supporting a preloading of media assets associated with a multimedia experience, the storage medium comprising instructions operative for:

providing an interactively programmable executable flowchart representing a multimedia experience;

receiving a user input indicating a distance V from a location L in the multimedia experience represented in the flowchart; and

in response to receiving the user input indicating the distance V from the location L, programming the flowchart with at least one instruction to preload when playback execution of the multimedia experience reaches the location L at least one media asset falling within the indicated distance V from the location L.

2. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the at least one instruction is configured to override a predefined scheme for preloading media assets falling within a fixed distance from the location L during playback execution of the multimedia experience.

3. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 2 wherein the distance V is static.

4. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 1 wherein the distance V is dynamic.

5. In a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored therein data representing instructions executable by a programmed processor for supporting a preloading of media assets associated with a multimedia experience, the storage medium comprising instructions operative for:

providing an interactively programmable executable flowchart representing a multimedia experience;

receiving an input indicating a global distance G for a global scheme for preloading media assets; and

in response to receiving the input indicating the global distance G, programming the flowchart with the global scheme for preloading media assets, including at least one instruction to preload when playback execution of the multimedia experience reaches each of a plurality of locations in the multimedia experience media assets falling within the global distance G from the each of the plurality of locations in the multimedia experience.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the at least one instruction is configured to override a default scheme for preloading media assets during playback execution of the multimedia experience.

7. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 5 wherein the global scheme is configured to dynamically vary the global distance G during playback execution of the multimedia experience based on a playback property of the multimedia experience.

8. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 7 wherein the playback property includes a total size of a set of media assets falling within the global distance G from the each of the plurality of locations in the multimedia experience.

9. The storage medium of claim 7 wherein the playback property includes a likelihood of reaching one of a set of media assets falling within the global distance G from the each of the plurality of locations in the multimedia experience.