Method and apparatus for accessing media content via metadata

• US 8,843,092 B2
• Filed: 10/15/2010
• Issued: 09/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chestnut Hill Sound Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Chestnut Hill Sound Incorporated
• Inventors: Krampf, Steven S., Ross, Evan B., Phung, Trung Quoc
• Primary Examiner(s): Jackson, Blane J
• Application Number:
  US12/906,047
• Publication Number:
  US 20110072050A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,439 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.1, 455/41.2, 455/41.3, 455/151.1, 455/151.2, 455/151.3, 455/151.4, 455/152.1, 455/154.1, 455/168.1, 455/185.1, 455/186.1, 455/179.1, 455/414.1
• US Class Current: 455/185.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/185 Signal analysis techniques for reducing or preventing false alarms or for enhancing the reliability of the system
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 1/0025 in a remote control unit remote control tuning in general H03J9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 2200/25 Remote control device with display
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/088 with parts of the receiver detachable or collapsible
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/20 for coupling gramophone pick-up, recorder output, or microphone to receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 40/45 for FM stereophonic broadcast systems receiving
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/74 using programme related information, e.g. title, composer or interpreter
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/028 associated with devices performing functions other than acoustics, e.g. electric candles
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2205/021 Aspects relating to docking-station type assemblies to obtain an acoustical effect, e.g. the type of connection to external loudspeakers or housings, frequency improvement
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2430/01 Aspects of volume control, not necessarily automatic, in sound systems

Abstract

A method of using an entertainment system to access content stored on a digital content storage device having one or more records containing metadata associated with the content on the storage device. The method includes downloading from the storage device to an entertainment system at least some of the metadata; storing the downloaded metadata in a database accessible to the entertainment system; and accessing content on the storage device from entertainment system using at least a portion of the downloaded metadata in the database.

Claims

1. A method of using an entertainment system to access media content accessible from a media source that is separate from and operatively connected to the entertainment system, the method comprising:

a. the entertainment system receiving, from the media source, media metadata associated with one or more media content items from among a plurality of media content items accessible from the media source;

b. storing the received media metadata in a database accessible to the entertainment system; and

c. using at least a portion of the received media metadata stored in the database to select media content accessible from the media source and to request the media source to send the selected media content from the media source to the entertainment system,

wherein the act (a) of receiving the media metadata further includes;

i. the entertainment system causing the media source to send from the media source to said entertainment system a list of song titles associated with media files or with media streams accessible by said media source, and further said entertainment system;

ii. writing the list of song titles to the database;

iii. interrelating in the database the song titles with at least a name of an album or albums containing corresponding songs, whereby a database is created in which each of the songs is uniquely identified by at least album and song title media metadata;

iv. the entertainment system causing the media source to send from the media source to said entertainment system a list of artists for whom media metadata can be accessed by the media source;

v. the entertainment system writing the list of artists to the database;

vi. for each artist in the list, the entertainment system causing the media source to send to said entertainment system a list of all of that artist'"'"'s albums;

vii. writing the list of albums to the database so as to interrelate artists with their albums; and

viii. for each album so identified, interrelating songs with their respective albums;

whereby the database is created in which each song is uniquely identified and accessible by a combination of artist, album, and song title media metadata.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the act (a) of receiving the media metadata further includes the entertainment system causing the media source to send to the entertainment system media metadata from at least one record containing media metadata accessible by the media source.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the act (a) of receiving the media metadata further includes the entertainment system causing the media source to send to the entertainment system media metadata from plural records containing media metadata accessible by the media source, wherein the received media metadata includes plural kinds of media metadata.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the act (b) of storing the received media metadata further includes:

i. writing the plural kinds of media metadata to database entries in the database, and

ii. interrelating the resulting database entries so that plural kinds of media metadata are interrelated in the database.

5. The method of claim 3 or of claim 4 wherein the plural kinds of media metadata include two or more of song title, album, artist, playlist, stream name, and a location of a media file or of a media stream source.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein the entertainment system includes a portable handheld device for displaying media metadata and receiving user selections based on the displayed media metadata.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein at least a portion of the media metadata database or a copy thereof is stored in the entertainment system.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein at least a portion of the database or a copy thereof is stored in the handheld device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the database comprises a data structure stored in memory with the list of artists at a root level, the albums for each artist at the next level and the song titles for each album at a third level.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising displaying on a display screen of the entertainment system a representation of at least a portion of said data structure, to allow a user to select media content to be played by the entertainment system.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising, in response to user selection of media content, the entertainment system constructing an addressing path to the selected media content automatically from a traversal of the data structure by the user, and retrieving the selected media content from the media source using the constructed addressing path.

12. The method of claim 1 or claim 2 in which accessing the selected media content occurs using a network.

13. The method of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the entertainment system operatively controls the media source using a network.

14. An entertainment system for accessing media content accessible by a media source, the media source storing one or more records that contain media metadata associated with the media content accessible by the media source, comprising:

a. memory storing at least one of program instructions and digital information including media metadata;

b. at least one communications interface configured for communicating with a media source that has at least one corresponding communications interface configured for communicating with the entertainment system;

c. a user interface at least in part used for displaying selected media metadata and receiving user selections; and

d. an instruction processor for executing program instructions, wherein the instruction processor executes instructions that cause at least some of the media metadata to be downloaded from the media source to the memory using the entertainment system communications interface, and wherein the instruction processor executes instructions that cause the downloaded media metadata to be stored in a database accessible to the entertainment system, and further wherein the instruction processor executes instructions causing the entertainment system to access the media content accessible by the media source using at least a portion of the downloaded media metadata stored in the database,

wherein the instruction processor further executes instructions stored in memory to effectuate;

i. the entertainment system causing the media source to send from the media source to the entertainment system a list of artists for whom media metadata are stored on the media source;

ii. the entertainment system writing the list of artists to the database;

iii. for each artist in the list, the entertainment system causing the media source to send to the entertainment system a list of all of that artist'"'"'s albums;

iv. writing the list of albums to the database so as to interrelate, in the database, the artists to their albums; and

v. for each album so identified, interrelating in the database songs with their albums, whereby the database is created in which each song is uniquely identified and accessible by a combination of artist, album, and song title media metadata.

15. The entertainment system of claim 14 wherein the database comprises a data structure in memory with the list of artists at a root level, the albums for each artist at the next level and the song titles for each album at a third level.

16. The entertainment system of claim 15 wherein the instruction processor executes instructions stored in memory to effectuate display on an entertainment system display screen a representation of at least a portion of the data structure, to allow a user to select media content to be played on the entertainment system.

17. The entertainment system of claim 16 further comprising, in response to user selection of media content, the instruction processor executing instructions stored in memory such that an addressing path to the selected media content is constructed automatically from a traversal of the data structure by a user, and the selected media content is accessed using the constructed addressing path.