Remote storage and provisioning of local-media index

• US 9,223,862 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2014
• Issued: 12/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Inventors: Beckhardt, Steven
• Primary Examiner(s): Flanders, Andrew C
• Application Number:
  US14/222,019
• Publication Number:
  US 20150269170A1
• Time in Patent Office: 648 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/41 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/60 of audio data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• 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: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]

Abstract

Embodiments described herein involve remote storage and provisioning of a local-media index. An example method may involve storing, by a computing system, a local-media index that identifies a plurality of multimedia items that are stored within a local area network and accessible within the local area network by a playback device of a media playback system within the local area network, and sending a message over a wide area network that indicates at least a portion of the local-media index to the media playback system. Another example method may involve, determining that a first local-media index is inaccessible over a wide area network to the media playback system, and then providing an identification of at least one multimedia item based on a second local-media index.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting, by a control device of a media playback system, input data that causes the control device to access a first local-media index that identifies a plurality of multimedia items which are stored within a local area network, wherein the first local-media index is stored on a computing device that is not within the local area network;

determining that the first local-media index is inaccessible over the wide area network to the media playback system, wherein the media playback system comprises one or more playback devices; and

after determining that the first local-media index is inaccessible, providing an identification of at least one multimedia item based on a second local-media index that identifies a portion of the plurality of multimedia items.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the identification of at least one multimedia item comprises providing for display a list of the portion of the plurality of multimedia items, wherein the portion of the plurality of multimedia items are available for playback by the one or more playback devices of the media playback system.

3. The method of claim 1,

wherein providing the identification of at least one multimedia item comprises providing for display a representation of media items identified in a playback queue that is associated with at least one playback device of the media playback system, wherein the queue includes at least one of the plurality of multimedia items.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving data indicating multimedia items that have been played by the media playback system; and

determining the second local-media index based on the data indicating the multimedia items, wherein determining the second local-media index comprises identifying one or more media items that have been played more than a threshold number of instances to include in the second local-media index.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after providing an identification of at least one multimedia item based on the second local-media index, determining that the first local-media index is accessible over the wide area network; and

after determining that the computing system that the first local-media index is accessible, providing an identification of at least one multimedia item based on the first local-media index.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

after determining that the first local-media index is accessible over the wide area network, sending a request that causes the computing system to send a message indicating at least a portion of the first local-media index.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein for each of the plurality of multimedia items in the first local-media index, the local-media index includes a respective file location for the multimedia item within the local area network.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after determining that the first local-media index is inaccessible, outputting an indication that the first local-media index is unavailable.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored therein instructions executable by one or more processors to cause a control device to perform operations comprising:

detecting input data that causes the control device to access a first local-media index that identifies a plurality of multimedia items which are stored within a local area network, wherein the first local-media index is stored on a computing device that is not within the local area network;

determining that the first local-media index is inaccessible over the wide area network to the media playback system, wherein the media playback system comprises one or more playback devices; and

after determining that the first local-media index is inaccessible, providing an identification of at least one multimedia item based on a second local-media index that identifies a portion of the plurality of multimedia items.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein detecting input data that causes the control device to access the first local-media index comprises detecting input data that causes the control device to display at least a portion of a music library that includes the plurality of multimedia items which are stored within the local area network.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein providing the identification of at least one multimedia item comprises displaying a list of the portion of the plurality of multimedia items, wherein the portion of the plurality of multimedia items are available for playback by the one or more playback devices of the media playback system.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein detecting input data that causes the control device to access the first local-media index comprises detecting input data that causes the control device to display a representation of media items identified in a playback queue that is associated with at least one playback device of the media playback system, wherein the queue includes at least one of the plurality of multimedia items.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein providing the identification of at least one multimedia item comprises providing for display a representation of media items identified in the playback queue that is associated with at least one playback device of the media playback system.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving data indicating multimedia items that have been played by the media playback system; and

determining the second local-media index based on the data indicating the multimedia items, wherein determining the second local-media index comprises identifying one or more media items that have been played more than a threshold number of instances to include in the second local-media index.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise:

after providing an identification of at least one multimedia item based on the second local-media index, determining that the first local-media index is accessible over the wide area network; and

after determining that the computing system that the first local-media index is accessible, providing an identification of at least one multimedia item based on the first local-media index.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise:

after determining that the first local-media index is accessible over the wide area network, sending a request that causes the computing system to send a message indicating at least a portion of the first local-media index.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein for multimedia items in the first local-media index, the local-media index includes a respective file location for the multimedia item within the local area network.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise:

after determining that the first local-media index is inaccessible, displaying an indication that the first local-media index is unavailable.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise:

detecting one or more additional media items within the local area network are not included in the first-local media index; and

sending an instruction that causes the computing device that is not within the local area network to include the one or more additional media items in the first local-media index.

20. A control device comprising:

one or more processors; and

tangible non-transitory computer-readable memory have instructions encoded therein, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the playback device to perform operations comprising;

detecting input data that causes the control device to access a first local-media index that identifies a plurality of multimedia items which are stored within a local area network, wherein the first local-media index is stored on a computing device that is not within the local area network;

determining that the first local-media index is inaccessible over the wide area network to the media playback system, wherein the media playback system comprises one or more playback devices; and

after determining that the first local-media index is inaccessible, providing an identification of at least one multimedia item based on a second local-media index that identifies a portion of the plurality of multimedia items.