Media data sharing between media processing devices

• US 9,020,429 B2
• Filed: 03/06/2014
• Issued: 04/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Syndefense
• Original Assignee: Robin Dua
• Inventors: Dua, Robin
• Primary Examiner(s): Milord, Marceau
• Application Number:
  US14/198,707
• Publication Number:
  US 20140189513A1
• Time in Patent Office: 418 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.1, 455/41.2, 455/41.3, 455/2.01, 455/3.06, 455/556.1, 455/552.1, 455/557
• US Class Current: 455/41.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/44 Browsing; Visualisation therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3278 RFID or NFC payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/48 Transceivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/77 for interrogation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/281 indicating a format for calling an appliance service function in a home automation network for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2816 Controlling appliance services of a home automation network by calling their functionalities arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station; in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom H04Q9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1068 Discovery involving direct consultation or announcement among potential requesting and potential source peers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0264 for a camera module assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0266 for a display module assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/60 Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/14 : Direct-mode setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 : Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/06 : adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Abstract

A wireless media player and a related system and methodology are disclosed. One aspect of the wireless media player system pertains to a virtual connector system, apparatus, and method for the automatic establishment of wireless connectivity with other electronic devices. In one embodiment, the media player device employs the use of integrated Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to exchange communication settings, media capability, and other parameters with an external device that also has integrated RFID technology. The automatic exchange of settings and other information via a proximity-based RFID data exchange allows a media player to quickly establish a secure communication link with another device via a commonly supported wireless protocol such as Ultra Wideband (UWB) or Bluetooth. Another aspect of the media player system pertains to a method of using the captured media capability of the connecting device to customize certain menu options and software parameters in the media player.

Claims

1. A method of sharing data between a plurality of media devices, comprising:

executing a device discovery process between the plurality of media devices by which device-descriptive data are obtained by a first media device from a second media device of the plurality of media devices;

retrieving, from the device-descriptive data obtained by the first media device from the second media device, a second network address of the second media device on a communications network to which the first media device is coupled to at a first network address;

establishing an end-to-end network connection on the communications network between the first and second media devices using the second network address of the second media device retrieved from the device-descriptive data thereof;

transmitting a media asset from the first media device to the second media device over the network connection;

processing the media asset with the second media device to be output according to at least one media control command received by the second media device from the first media device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein processing the media asset comprises:

outputting the media asset to a least one of a display and a speaker of the second media device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving, by the first media device, media processing capabilities of the second media device from the device-descriptive data of the second media device;

determining, from the media processing capabilities of the second media device, whether the media asset of the first media device is of a type that can be processed to be output by the second media device; and

converting, by the first media device, the media asset from a type not renderable by the second media device to the type that is renderable prior to transmitting the media asset to the second media device.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

processing the media asset with the second media device in a presentation mode corresponding to the at least one media control command so as to be rendered by the second media device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the presentation mode is selectable from play, pause, fast forward, rewind, stop, skip back, and skip forward.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

configuring a user interface of the first media device with media presentation controls associated with the selectable media control commands; and

operating the second media device in response to the media control command selected using the media presentation controls of the first media device and transmitted to the second media device.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

receiving the selection of the media control command from the media presentation controls, wherein the media presentation controls of the user interface are electromechanical switches disposed on a housing of the first media device.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

wherein the media presentation controls are configured as respective components of a graphical user interface and rendered on a touch-screen display of the first media device.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

rendering a graphical user interface on a display of the first media device;

receiving a selection of the media asset with the graphical user interface; and

providing the selected media asset to the second media device from the first media device.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

presenting, on the graphical user interface on the first media device, a list of media assets contained on a storage device; and

retrieving the media asset from the storage device that is selected via the media asset selection control with the first media device.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

retrieving, by the first media device, media processing capabilities from the device-descriptive data of the second media device; and

excluding from the list of media assets presented on the graphical user interface on the first media device any of the media assets on the storage device that is of a type not supported by the media processing capabilities of the second media device.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the storage device is remote from the first media device and is accessible over a network connection other than the network connection between the first media device and the second media device.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

presenting, on the graphical user interface on the first media device, a list of media assets contained on a storage device;

transmitting the at least one a control command from the first media device to the second media device to retrieve the media asset that is selected via the media asset selection control with the first media device;

retrieving the media asset from the storage device with the second media device according to the control command received from the first media device.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

processing the media asset with the second media device in a presentation mode corresponding to the at least one media control command so as to be rendered by the second media device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the presentation mode is selectable from play, pause, fast forward, rewind, stop, skip back, and skip forward.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting the retrieved media asset from the second media device to a third media device of the plurality of media processing devices; and

rendering the media asset so as to be output on the third media device according to the at least one media control command.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein executing the device discovery process comprises:

exchanging the device-descriptive data by wireless radio-frequency (RF) communications directly between the first media device and the second media device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the wireless RF communications are near-field RF communications.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the device-descriptive data are stored in near field communication (NFC) tags in the respective media devices.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the device-descriptive data obtained by the first media device from the second media device is via a peer-to-peer wireless communication connection between the first and second media devices.

21. A method of sharing data between a plurality of media devices, comprising:

executing a device discovery process between the plurality of media devices by which device-descriptive data are exchanged between a first media device, that is connected to a wireless communications network, and a second media device of the plurality of media devices, where the second device is not communicatively coupled to the wireless communications network;

connecting the second media device to the wireless communications network according to the device-descriptive data obtained by the second media device from the first media device;

establishing a network connection on the wireless communications network between the first and second media devices according to the exchanged device-descriptive data;

transmitting a media asset from the first media device to the second media device over the network connection; and

processing the media asset with the second media device to be output according to at least one media control command received by the second media device from the first media device.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein processing the media asset comprises:

outputting the media asset to at least one of a display and a speaker of the second media device.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

retrieving, by the first media device, media processing capabilities of the second media device from the device-descriptive data of the second media device;

determining, from the media processing capabilities of the second media device, whether the media asset of the first media device is of a type that can be processed to be output by the second media device; and

converting, by the first media device, the media asset from a type not renderable by the second media device to the type that is renderable prior to transmitting the media asset to the second media device.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

processing the media asset with the second media device in a presentation mode corresponding to the at least one media control command so as to be rendered by the second media device.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the presentation mode is selectable from play, pause, fast forward, rewind, stop, skip back, and skip forward.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

configuring a user interface of the first media device with media presentation controls associated with the selectable media control commands; and

operating the second media device in response to the media control command selected using the media presentation controls of the first media device and transmitted to the second media device.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

receiving the selection of the media control command from the media presentation controls, wherein the media presentation controls of the user interface are electromechanical switches disposed on a housing of the first media device.

28. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

wherein the media presentation controls are configured as respective components of a graphical user interface and rendered on a touch-screen display of the first media device.

29. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

rendering a graphical user interface on a display of the first media device;

receiving a selection of the media asset with the graphical user interface; and

providing the selected media asset to the second media device from the first media device.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

presenting, on the graphical user interface on the first media device, a list of media assets contained on a storage device; and

retrieving the media asset from the storage device that is selected via the media asset selection control with the first media device.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

retrieving, by the first media device, media processing capabilities from the device-descriptive data of the second media device; and

excluding from the list of media assets presented on the graphical user interface on the first media device any of the media assets on the storage device that is of a type not supported by the media processing capabilities of the second media device.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the storage device is remote from the first media device and is accessible over a network connection other than the network connection between the first media device and the second media device.

33. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

presenting, on the graphical user interface on the first media device, a list of media assets contained on a storage device;

transmitting the at least one a control command from the first media device to the second media device to retrieve the media asset that is selected via the media asset selection control with the first media device;

retrieving the media asset from the storage device with the second media device according to the control command received from the first media device.

34. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

transmitting the retrieved media asset from the second media device to a third media device of the plurality of media processing devices; and

rendering the media asset so as to be output on the third media device according to the at least one media control command.

35. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

processing the media asset with the second media device in a presentation mode corresponding to the at least one media control command so as to be rendered by the second media device.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the presentation mode is selectable from play, pause, fast forward, rewind, stop, skip back, and skip forward.

37. The method of claim 21, wherein executing the device discovery process comprises:

exchanging the device-descriptive data by wireless radio-frequency (RF) communications directly between the first media device and the second media device.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the wireless RF communications are near-field RF communications.

39. The method of claim 21, wherein the device-descriptive data are stored in near field communication (NFC) tags in the respective media devices.