Terminals, servers, and methods that find a media server to replace a sensed broadcast program/movie

• US 9,106,801 B2
• Filed: 04/25/2008
• Issued: 08/11/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Mobile Communications AB (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Bengtsson, Henrik Sven, Lindquist, Bjrn Martin Gunnar, Andreasson, Mans Folke Markus, Moliner, Olivier Thierry Nicolas, Larsson, Bo Hakan, strand, Per Emil
• Primary Examiner(s): SHANG, ANNAN Q
• Application Number:
  US12/109,667
• Publication Number:
  US 20090271829A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,664 Days
• Field of Search: 725 74- 85, 725106-120, 725131-134, 725139-142, 725151-153, 348/734
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/58 of audio determination or detection of speech characteristics in general G10L25/00; speech recognition in general G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/59 of video recognising characters or patterns in general G06F18/00, G06V20/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/85 which are mobile communication networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72516 with means for out-of-range alerting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2181 comprising remotely distributed storage units, e.g. when movies are replicated over a plurality of video servers distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/254 Management at additional data server, e.g. shopping server, rights management server arrangements for maintenance or administration in data networks H04L41/00; network services using third party service providers H04L67/53
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42203 sound input device, e.g. microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• 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 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A wireless mobile terminal works with an identification server to automatically identify a broadcast program/movie and then identify and connect to a networked media server to receive the identified program/movie therefrom. The terminal generates data that characterizes content of a broadcast program/movie that is send by the terminal and is playing external thereto. The terminal transmits a message that includes the characterization data and a request for identification of a media server from which the broadcast program/movie can be received. The identification server identifies the broadcast program/movie, and identifies a user viewed location within the identified program/movie that corresponds to what was sensed by the terminal. The identification server identifies an Internet address of a media server from which the terminal can receive transmission of the identified program/movie. The identification server transmits a message to the terminal that identifies the identified program/movie, the user viewed location therein, and the Internet address of the media server. The terminal responds to the message by establishing a communication connection to the identified media server and requesting transmission therefrom of the identified program/movie starting from a location corresponding to the user viewed location.

Claims

1. A wireless mobile terminal comprising:

a radio frequency (RF) transceiver that is configured to communicate via a wireless communication network with a broadcast program/movie identification server and with a program/movie media server;

a microphone/camera sensor that is configured to sense a broadcast program/movie that is playing external to the mobile terminal; and

a controller that is configured to generate characterization data that characterizes content of the broadcast program/movie sensed by the sensor, to transmit via the RF transceiver to the identification server a message that includes the characterization data and a request for identification of the broadcast program/movie and a media server that can supply the identified program/movie, and to respond to a message from the identification server that identifies a media server that can supply the identified program/movie by establishing a communication connection via the RF transceiver to the identified media server and requesting transmission therefrom of the identified program/movie, the controller being further configured to initiate generation of the characterization data and receipt of the identified program/movie at the mobile terminal in response to determining that the mobile terminal has moved away from a source that is playing the broadcast program/movie.

2. The wireless mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein:

the microphone/camera sensor comprises a microphone; and

the controller is further configured to include in the characterization data transmitted to the identification server a recording of an audio portion of the broadcast program/movie sensed by the microphone.

3. The wireless mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein:

the microphone/camera sensor comprises a microphone; and

the controller is further configured to generate spectral data that characterizes a spectral pattern of digital samples of an audio portion of the broadcast program/movie sensed by the microphone, and to include the spectral data in the characterization data transmitted to the identification server.

4. The wireless mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein:

the microphone/camera sensor comprises a camera; and

the controller is further configured to include in the characterization data transmitted to the identification server a recording of a video portion of the broadcast program/movie that is sensed by the camera.

5. The wireless mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein:

the controller is further configured to respond to the message from the identification server containing information identifying the broadcast program/movie and containing an Internet address of the media server from which the identified program/movie can be downloaded by the terminal by establishing a communication connection to the identified Internet address of the media server and downloading therefrom the identified program/movie.

6. The wireless mobile terminal of claim 5, wherein:

the controller is further configured to respond to the message from the identification server identifying a user viewed location within the identified program/movie by transmitting a command to the media server that requests downloading therefrom of the identified program/movie starting from a location corresponding to the identified user viewed location.

7. The wireless mobile terminal of claim 5, wherein:

the controller is further configured to initiate generation of the characterization data, which characterizes content of the broadcast program/movie sensed by the sensor, in response to determining that strength of a sensed audio portion of the broadcast program/movie has decreased over time below a threshold level.

8. The wireless mobile terminal of claim 5, wherein:

the controller is further configured to initiate generation of the characterization data, which characterizes content of the broadcast program/movie sensed by the sensor, in response to determining that strength of short range wireless network communication signals from a wireless communication device has decreased over time below a threshold level.

9. A broadcast program/movie identification server comprising:

a network interface that is configured to communicate via a communication network with a wireless mobile terminal; and

a controller that is configured to receive a message from the terminal that requests identification of a replacement program/movie server, the message including characterization data that characterizes content of a broadcast program/movie that is playing external to and is sensed by the terminal, and the controller is configured to identify the broadcast program/movie in response to the characterization data, to further identify a media server from which the terminal can receive transmission of the identified program/movie, and to transmit a message to the terminal that identifies the media server,

wherein the terminal is configured to initiate generation of the characterization data and receipt of the identified program/movie at the terminal in response to determining that the terminal has moved away from a source that is playing the broadcast program/movie.

10. The broadcast program/movie identification server of claim 9, further comprising:

a repository that contains names of known programs/movies and associated predefined data that characterizes content of the known programs/movies, and that identifies known media servers from which the known programs/movies can be downloaded by the terminal,

wherein the controller is further configured to identify the broadcast program/movie sensed by the terminal by searching the repository to find a match between the characterization data received from the terminal and the predefined data characterizing content of one of the known programs/movies.

11. The broadcast program/movie identification server of claim 10, wherein:

the controller is further configured to identify the broadcast program/movie sensed by the terminal by searching the predefined data in the repository to find a match between an audio recording with the received message of an audio portion of the broadcast program/movie sensed by the terminal and the predefined data characterizing content of one of the known programs/movies.

12. The broadcast program/movie identification server of claim 11, wherein:

the controller is further configured to identify the broadcast program/movie sensed by the terminal by matching a pattern of the recorded audio portion to a pattern of a portion of an audio track of one of the known programs/movies.

13. The broadcast program/movie identification server of claim 10, wherein:

the controller is further configured to identify the broadcast program/movie sensed by the terminal by searching the predefined data in the repository to find a match between a video recording with the received message of a video portion of the broadcast program/movie sensed by the terminal and the predefined data characterizing content of one of the known programs/movies.

14. The broadcast program/movie identification server of claim 10, wherein the controller is further configured to identify the broadcast program/movie sensed by the terminal by at least initially limiting the searching in the repository to programs/movies that are known to be recently broadcasted by TV service providers.

15. The broadcast program/movie identification server of claim 10, wherein the controller is further configured to search the repository to identify an Internet address of a known media server from which the identified program/movie can be downloaded by the terminal, and to transmit the identified Internet address to the terminal.

16. The broadcast program/movie identification server of claim 10, wherein the controller is further configured to identify a user viewed location within the identified program/movie that corresponds to what was sensed by the terminal, and to transmit the user viewed location to the terminal.

17. The broadcast program/movie identification server of claim 16, wherein the identified user viewed location identifies an elapsed completed play time relative to a beginning of the identified program/movie.

18. The broadcast program/movie identification server of claim 16, wherein the controller is further configured to identify the user viewed location in response to a time of day stamp associated with the message and a known play timeline of the identified program/movie.

19. The broadcast program/movie identification server of claim 16, wherein the controller is further configured to identify the user viewed location in response to a location where a match was identified between the characterization data received from the terminal and the predefined data in the repository characterizing content of the identified program/movie.

20. A method comprising:

sensing a broadcast program/movie at a wireless mobile terminal that is playing external to the terminal;

generating characterization data at the terminal that characterizes content of the sensed broadcast program/movie and initiating receipt of the program/movie at the terminal in response to determining that the terminal has moved away from a source that is playing the broadcast program/movie;

transmitting from the terminal a message that includes the characterization data and a request for identification of a media server from which the broadcast program/movie can be received;

identifying, at an identification server, the broadcast program/movie by searching a repository to find a match between the characterization data received from the terminal and predefined data that characterizes content of a plurality of known programs/movies;

identifying, at the identification server, a user viewed location within the identified program/movie that corresponds to what was sensed by the terminal;

identifying, at the identification server, an Internet address of a media server from which the terminal can receive transmission of the identified program/movie;

transmitting a message from the identification server to the terminal that identifies the identified program/movie, the user viewed location within the identified program/movie, and the Internet address of the media server; and

responding, at the terminal, to the message received from the identification server by establishing a communication connection to the Internet address of the identified media server and requesting transmission therefrom of the identified program/movie starting from a location corresponding to the user viewed location.