Method and system for use in coordinating multimedia devices

• US 8,880,714 B2
• Filed: 09/18/2013
• Issued: 11/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deluxe 3D LLC (Deluxe Corp.), Deluxe Digital Distribution Inc. (Deluxe Corp.), Deluxe Digital Studios, Inc. (Deluxe Corp.), Deluxe Entertainment Services Inc., Deluxe Laboratories LLC, Deluxe Media Inc., Deluxe One, LLC, Softitler Net, Inc., Deluxe Creative Services Inc. (The Framestore Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Deluxe Media Inc.
• Inventors: Collart, Todd, Lamkin, Allan
• Primary Examiner(s): Taha, Shaq
• Application Number:
  US14/030,956
• Publication Number:
  US 20140089515A1
• Time in Patent Office: 412 Days
• Field of Search: 709/229
• US Class Current: 709/229
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00137 involving measures which result in a restriction to contents recorded on or reproduced from a record carrier to authorised users
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00159 Parental control systems
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00188 involving measures which result in a restriction to authorised devices recording or reproducing contents to/from a record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00659 involving a control step which is implemented as an executable file stored on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00746 wherein the usage restriction can be expressed as a specific number
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00797 wherein the usage restriction limits the number of times a content can be reproduced, e.g. using playback counters
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00862 wherein the remote server can grant the permission to use a content
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2541 Blu-ray discs; Blue laser DVR discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1066 Session management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2387 Stream processing in response to a playback request from an end-user, e.g. for trick-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2396 characterized by admission policies admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; arrangements for network security using user profiles for access control H04L63/102; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2541 Rights Management protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10; security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43079 of additional data with content streams on multiple devices
• 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 21/835 Generation of protective data, e.g. certificates protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10

Abstract

Some embodiments of the present invention provide methods for use in playing back content. Some of these methods access a content package comprising media content to be locally played back; detect, as defined by the content package, whether a remote secondary device is available with which a connection can be established; determine whether an authorization to establish the connection has been confirmed; establish, when the authorization is confirmed, a communication connection; determine, as instructed by the content package and when the communication with the secondary device is established, whether one or more commands are received from the secondary device; and implement, as instructed by the content package and when it is determined that the one or more commands are received from the secondary device, the one or more commands in controlling playback experience of the media content.

Claims

1. A method for use in playing back content, comprising:

accessing, at a playback device configured to playback multimedia content stored on a portable medium, a content package stored on a portable storage medium that is removably accessed on the playback device, wherein the content package comprises media content to be locally played back through the playback device;

detecting, at the playback device and as defined by the content package, whether a remote secondary device is available with which a communication connection can be established;

determining, when it is determined that the remote secondary device is available, whether an authorization to establish the communication connection has been confirmed;

establishing, when it is determined that the authorization to establish the communication connection has been confirmed, the communication connection with the secondary device;

determining, as instructed by the content package and when the communication connection with the secondary device is established, whether one or more commands are received from the secondary device; and

implementing, as instructed by the content package and when it is determined that the one or more commands are received from the secondary device, the one or more commands in controlling playback experience of the media content through the playback device;

identifying, as instructed by the content package and when the communication connection is established, supplemental content to be forwarded to the secondary device; and

transferring, as instructed by the content package and when there is supplemental content to be forwarded to the secondary device, the supplemental content over the established communication connection;

wherein the identifying the supplemental content comprises identifying supplemental content that is exclusively to be played back by the secondary device and that is not to be played back locally.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying the supplemental content comprises identifying supplemental content within the content package that is to be played back by the secondary device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying the supplemental content comprises identifying supplemental content that cannot be played back locally.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the authorization to establish the communication connection has been confirmed comprises:

requesting, from the secondary device, an authorization code;

determining whether the authorization code corresponds with a locally stored authorization; and

implementing, when the authorization code corresponds with the locally stored authorization, the establishing the communication connection.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the authorization to establish the communication connection has been confirmed comprises:

accessing, by the playback device and as instructed by the content package, a remote server;

requesting, from the remote server, an authorization to establish the communication connection with the secondary device;

implementing, at the playback device when the authorization is received from the remote server, the establishing the communication connection.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

initiating, by the playback device and as instructed by code within the content package, a communication connection with the secondary device;

determining, as controlled by the code of the content package, whether an authorization is defined to established the communication connection with the secondary device; and

implementing the determining the device type of the remote secondary device when the authorization is defined.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

playing back, locally through the playback device, at least a portion of the media content of the content package detecting, during the playback of the at least the portion of the media content, a trigger event defined in the at least the portions of the media content; and

communicating a trigger activation to the secondary device configured to dictate a playback, at the secondary device, of a corresponding portion of the supplemental content that corresponds with the trigger event.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the establishing the communication connection with the secondary device comprises:

communiationally coupling over a distributed network the playback device with a remote server accessible over the distributed network;

establishing a virtual connection through the remote server between the playback device and the secondary device such that communications are exchanged over the virtual connection between the playback device and the secondary device.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining, at the playback device, whether the virtual connection is established over the distributed network and through the remote server between the playback device and the secondary device;

determining, when the virtual connection is implemented, whether the secondary device is available to playback the supplemental content of the content package; and

forwarding the supplemental content to the secondary device when the virtual connection is established and the secondary device is available to playback the supplemental content.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

initiating, through the playback device, logging in to a user account of a plurality of user accounts maintained at the remote server;

wherein the establishing the virtual connection through the remote server comprises confirming that the secondary device has also logged into the user account before establishing the virtual connection between the playback device and the secondary device.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a firmware version on a first firmware operated through the playback device in playing back the media content;

notifying the secondary device of the firmware version;

receiving, at the playback device, new firmware from the secondary device;

replacing, at the playback device, the first firmware with the new firmware.

12. A content package, comprising:

media content;

network access authorization;

authorization to transfer one or more portions of the media content over a distributed network; and

code, to be implemented through a media playback device that locally and directly is accessing the content package, that configures the media playback device when implementing the code to;

determine whether a virtual connection, established over the distributed network and through a single user account maintained at a remote server, is implemented between the media playback device and a remote first secondary device;

determine, when the virtual connection is implemented, whether the remote first secondary device is available to playback a first portion of the media content; and

forward the first portion of the media content when the first secondary device is available to playback the first portion of the media content;

wherein the code further configures the media playback device to playback a second portion of the media content when the first secondary device is not available to playback the first portion of the media content.

13. A content package, comprising:

media content;

network access authorization;

authorization to transfer one or more portions of the media content over a distributed network;

an electronic data file that when transferred into a media playback device causes the media playback device to operate in accordance with a process for use in playing back the media content, the process comprising;

accessing a remote source over a network as defined by the network access authorization;

verifying, through the remote source, an authorization to establish a communication connection with a first secondary device;

communicating a first portion of the media content to the remote source to be forwarded to the first secondary device when the first secondary device is verified as authorized;

playing back a second portion of the media content at the playback device instead of playing back the first portion of the media content when the first secondary device is not authorized.

14. The content package of claim 13, wherein the process further comprises:

receiving a command from the first secondary device through the remote source when the first secondary device is authorized and implementing the command.

15. A method for use in playing back content, comprising:

receiving, over a distributed network and at a server, a first request from a media playback device as initiated by a content package being accessed by the media playback device, where the first request comprises a request to establish a communication connection with a secondary device that is separate from the remote server and the media playback device;

detecting at the server the availability of the secondary device distinct from the media playback device;

identifying the content package at the media playback device, where the content package comprises media content to be played back through the media playback device;

determining whether an authorization is established between the media playback device and the secondary device;

establishing, when it is determined that the authorization is established between the media playback device and the secondary device, a communication connection between the media playback device and the secondary device, wherein the communication is established over the distributed network and through the server;

determining at the server, when it is determined that the communication connection can be established between the media playback device and the secondary device and in accordance with the content package, whether commands are received from the secondary device; and

forwarding from the server, when commands are received and the communication connection is established, the commands to the media playback device to be implemented as dictated by the content package through the media playback device.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the determining whether an authorization is established between the primary device and the secondary device comprises:

receiving a first request from the media playback device, to log into a user account of a plurality of user accounts;

receiving a second request from the secondary device distinct from the media playback device, to log into the user account;

identifying a first supplemental content associated with the content package;

determining, through the user account, whether the first supplemental content is to be forwarded to the secondary device; and

forwarding the first supplemental content to the secondary device when the user account authorizes the first supplemental content to be forwarded to the secondary device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the identifying the first supplemental content comprises receiving, from the media playback device, the first supplemental content extracted from the content package.