Method and apparatus for presenting media content

• US 8,719,867 B2
• Filed: 11/20/2009
• Issued: 05/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Scott, Charles, Cansler, James L., White, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Flynn, Nathan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Marandi, James R
• Application Number:
  US12/623,350
• Publication Number:
  US 20110126233A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,628 Days
• US Class Current: 725/44
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• 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 21/47 End-user applications
• 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 21/4825 using a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlists
• 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

Abstract

A method that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, receiving a selection from a media device corresponding to a first media content, generating a play list at a server where the play list includes second media content that is associated with the first media content by at least one of genre, artist and being published in temporal proximity, and providing play list content comprising at least a portion of the first and second media content to the media device, where at least one of the generation of the play list and the providing of the play list content is based on metadata pointers associated with the first and second media content. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A media device, comprising:

a memory to store executable instructions; and

a controller coupled to the memory, wherein the controller, responsive to executing the instructions, performs operations comprising;

receiving a selection of first media content;

presenting in a graphical user interface a first icon representative of the first media content and a second icon representative of second media content, wherein the second media content was created and published in temporal proximity to the first media content;

presenting in the graphical user interface a mapping of the first icon and the second icon representing a relationship between the first media content and the second media content with respect to a mapping criterion;

obtaining a play list based on the first and second media content, wherein the play list is generated based on playlist criteria and the relationship between the first media content and the second media content, wherein a pre-determined weighting factor is applied to the playlist criteria, and wherein the pre-determined weighting factor is selected based on user input; and

retrieving play list content corresponding to the play list from a media content source, wherein the play list content is located using metadata pointers associated with the first media content and the second media content, the media content source being remote from the media device and in communication with the media device over a network,

wherein the mapping criterion is a musical genre, and

wherein the first icon is presented as mapped to the second icon in accordance with the first media content and the second media content being associated by genre.

2. The media device of claim 1, wherein the metadata pointers are embedded in the first and second media content.

3. The media device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise receiving the play list from a remote server and wherein the play list content is located by the remote server using the metadata pointers.

4. The media device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise presenting the first and second icons along a time line.

5. The media device of claim 4, wherein the first icon and the second icon are presented on a first time line and a second time line respectively.

6. The media device of claim 1, wherein the play list content corresponds to audio content.

7. The media device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise receiving a selection of a portion of a set of icons relating to the first media content and the second media content, and generating the play list based on the first media content and the selected portion of the icons.

8. The media device of claim 1, wherein the criteria comprises a time period of being published.

9. The media device of claim 1, wherein the icons provide access to a sample of the second media content.

10. The media device of claim 1, wherein the metadata pointers comprise a uniform resource locator.

11. The media device of claim 1, wherein the metadata pointers are embedded in the second media content.

12. The media device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise generating the play list and transmitting the play list and the play list content to another media device.

13. A method, comprising:

receiving a selection from a media device corresponding to first media content;

generating a play list at a server, the play list comprising second media content, the second media content being associated with the first media content by being created and published in temporal proximity, wherein a relationship between the second media content and the first media content with respect to a mapping criterion is presented at the media device as a mapping of a first icon representing the first media content and a second icon representing the second media content, and wherein the play list is generated based on the relationship and playlist criteria and weighting factors applied to the playlist criteria; and

providing play list content comprising the second media content to the media device, wherein the generation of the play list and the providing of the play list content is based on metadata pointers associated with the first and second media content,

wherein the mapping criterion is a musical genre, and

wherein the first icon is presented as mapped to the second icon in accordance with the first media content and the second media content being associated by genre.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the metadata pointers are embedded in at least one of the first and second media content, and wherein the weighting factors are selected by the server based on monitored user behavior.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the metadata pointers comprise a location of the play list content, and wherein the server selects the weighting factors without user input.

16. The method of claim 13, comprising providing the play list and the play list content to another media device, wherein the weighting factors are selected based on user input, and wherein the second media content is associated with the first media content by artist.

17. A server, comprising:

a memory to store executable instructions; and

a controller coupled with the memory, wherein the controller, responsive to executing the instructions, performs operations comprising;

receiving a selection from a media device corresponding to first media content;

selecting second media content, wherein the first media content and the second media content are related to each other by being created and published in temporal proximity;

mapping the first media content and the second media content based on a relationship between the first media content and the second media content according to a mapping criterion;

generating a play list comprising at least a portion of the first media content and the second media content, wherein the play list is generated based on the mapping and playlist criteria and pre-determined weighting factors applied to the playlist criteria; and

providing play list content comprising the second media content to the media device, wherein the providing of the play list content is based on metadata pointers associated with the second media content,

wherein the mapping criterion is a musical genre, and

wherein a first icon representing the first media content is presented at the media device as mapped to a second icon representing the second media content in accordance with the first media content and the second media content being associated by genre.

18. The server of claim 17, wherein the metadata pointers are embedded in the second media content, and wherein the pre-determined weighting factors are selected based on monitored user behavior.

19. The server of claim 18, wherein the metadata pointers comprise a location of the play list content, and wherein the operations further comprise selecting the pre-determined weighting factors without user input.

20. The server of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting the play list content to another media device, wherein the pre-determined weighting factors are selected based on user input.