Real-time or near real-time streaming

• US 8,578,272 B2
• Filed: 04/01/2011
• Issued: 11/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Pantos, Roger, Batson, James David, Coffman, Patrick L.
• Primary Examiner(s): HO, RUAY L
• Application Number:
  US13/078,887
• Publication Number:
  US 20110246885A1
• Time in Patent Office: 949 Days
• Field of Search: 715200-277, 715700-867, 700701-866, 709201-229, 705 50- 79, 345 30-111, 386/96, 386/297
• US Class Current: 715/716
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/764 at the destination reformatting of additional data in video clients H04N21/4355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23439 for generating different versions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2358 for generating different versions, e.g. for different recipient devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26258 for generating a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlist, or scheduling item distribution according to such list retrieval of multimedia data based on playlists G06F16/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4394 involving operations for analysing the audio stream, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in audio streams arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of audio in broadcast systems H04H60/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44209 Monitoring of downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. bandwidth variations of a wireless network arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4431 characterized by the use of Application Program Interface [API] libraries
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4586 Content update operation triggered locally, e.g. by comparing the version of software modules in a DVB carousel to the version stored locally deployment, distribution, installation, update of software G06F8/65; error detection or correction of the data by redundancy during software upgrading G06F11/1433; arrangements for updating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/25
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47217 for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02

Abstract

A user interface (UI) for controlling buffered content of a streaming presentation is disclosed. In one embodiment, the UI includes a time line which represents a length in time of a streaming content that has been buffered at a receiver, such as a client device which retrieves the streaming content by sending one or more URLs, in a playlist file, to a transmitter; an indicator on the time line shows a current playback position within the buffered content at the receiver.

Claims

1. A machine readable, tangible, non-transitory storage medium storing executable instructions that when executed by a data processing system cause the system to perform a method comprising:

presenting a first time line representing a length of a streaming program retrieved through one or more URLs in a playlist file and presenting at least one user interface control for controlling the streaming program, wherein the at least one user interface control is one of (a) a back control;

(b) a pause control;

or (c) a fast forward control;

presenting a second time line representing a length, in time, of an amount of buffered content at the data processing system and presenting an indicator which shows a current playback position within the buffered content, wherein the indicator is selectable by a user to change the current playback position within the buffered content, and wherein the first time line and the second time line are presented concurrently by displaying both time lines simultaneously;

retrieving the streaming program by transmitting requests using the one or more URLs in the playlist file; and

presenting the streaming program while presenting the first time line translucently overlaid on the streaming program and the second time line translucently overlaid on the streaming program.

2. The medium as in claim 1 wherein the indicator is draggable along the second time line.

3. The medium as in claim 1 wherein the first time line comprises a position indicator displayed on the first time line, wherein the position indicator indicates a current playback position within the entire existing content of the streaming program.

4. The medium as in claim 3 wherein the method further comprises:

displaying a first time marker at a first end of the second time line, wherein the first time marker shows a time duration of the buffered content which currently exists before the current playback position within the buffered content; and

displaying a second time marker at a second end of the second time line, wherein the second time marker shows a time duration of the buffered content which currently exists after the current playback position within the buffered content.

5. The medium as in claim 4 wherein the first time marker and the second time marker change when the indicator is moved along the second time line.

6. A method executed by a data processing system, the data processing system comprising a processor, a network interface and a memory configured to receive a length of a streaming program retrieved through one or more URLs in a playlist file, and a memory comprising processor-executable instructions for executing the method, the method comprising:

presenting a first time line representing a length of a streaming program retrieved through one or more URLs in a playlist file and presenting at least one user interface control for controlling the streaming program, wherein the at least one user interface control is one of (a) a back control;

(b) a pause control;

or (c) a fast forward control;

presenting a second time line representing a length, in time, of an amount of buffered content at the data processing system and presenting an indicator which shows a current playback position within the buffered content, wherein the indicator is selectable by a user to change the current playback position within the buffered content, the indicator is draggable along the second time line, the first time line and the second time line are presented concurrently by displaying both time lines simultaneously;

retrieving the streaming program by transmitting requests using the one or more URLs in the playlist file; and

presenting the streaming program while presenting the first time line translucently overlaid on the streaming program and the second time line translucently overlaid on the streaming program.

7. The method as in claim 6 wherein the indicator is draggable along the second timeline.

8. The method as in claim 6 wherein the first time line comprises a position indicator displayed on the first time line, wherein the position indicator indicates a current playback position within the entire existing content of the streaming program.

9. The method as in claim 8 wherein the method further comprises:

displaying a first time marker at a first end of the second time line, wherein the first time marker shows a time duration of the buffered content which currently exists before the current playback position within the buffered content; and

displaying a second time marker at a second end of the second time line, wherein the second time marker shows a time duration of the buffered content which currently exists after the current playback position within the buffered content.

10. The method as in claim 9 wherein the first time marker and the second time marker change when the indicator is moved along the second time line.

11. A data processing system comprising:

means for presenting a first time line representing a length of a streaming program retrieved through one or more URLs in a playlist file and presenting at least one user interface control for controlling the streaming program, wherein the at least one user interface control is one of (a) a back control;

(b) a pause control;

or (c) a fast forward control;

means for presenting a second time line representing a length, in time, of an amount of buffered content at the data processing system and presenting an indicator which shows a current playback position within the buffered content, wherein the indicator is selectable by a user to change the current playback position within the buffered content, wherein the first time line and the second time line are presented concurrently by displaying both time lines simultaneously;

means for retrieving the streaming program by transmitting requests using the one or more URLs in the playlist file; and

means for presenting the streaming program while presenting the first time line translucently overlaid on the streaming program and the second time line translucently overlaid on the streaming program.

12. The system as in claim 11 wherein the indicator is draggable along the second time line.

13. The system as in claim 11 wherein the first time line comprises a position indicator displayed on the first time line, wherein the position indicator indicates a current playback position within the entire existing content of the streaming program.

14. The medium as in claim 13 wherein the system further comprises:

means for displaying a first time marker at a first end of the second time line, wherein the first time marker shows a time duration of the buffered content which currently exists before the current playback position within the buffered content; and

means for displaying a second time marker at a second end of the second time line, wherein the second time marker shows a time duration of the buffered content which currently exists after the current playback position within the buffered content and wherein the first time marker and the second time marker change when the indicator is moved along the second time line.