Synchronous delivery of media content in a collaborative environment
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- control logic, when executed by at least one processor associated with the apparatus, for;
controlling a media object and a display of the media object in response to a user entered command with a first device, the user entered command comprises text entered in an Instant Messaging application window,accessing a first time value associated with the user entered command, the first time value being measured relative to a current position of the first device within the media object, anddetermining a metric associated with the media object by calculating a destination time based on the current position and the first time value;
communication logic, when executed by the at least one processor associated with the apparatus, for causing communication of the user entered command and the metric associated with the media object to a second device for synchronizing the display of the media object with the first device and the second device; and
wherein the control logic is further for delaying the controlling of the display of the media object to account for a communication time to the second device, and wherein the synchronizing the display of the media object with the first device and the second device comprises;
advancing, on the first device, the media object by the first time value to reach the destination time, and advancing, on the second device, the media object by a second time value to reach the destination time.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for facilitating a synchronous display of a time-based media object (e.g., a video or audio file) with a remote device is provided. In one example, the apparatus comprises control logic for controlling the display of a media object in response to a user entered command with a first device, and communication logic for causing communication of the user entered command (e.g., play, pause, skip, etc.) and a metric (e.g., time or frame reference) associated with the media object to a second device for synchronizing the display of the media object with the first and second devices. The first and second devices may communicate via peer-to-peer communications, for example, in a collaborative or social application such as an IM application. Further, the apparatus may include various devices such as a personal computer, mobile phone device and/or mobile personal entertainment device, DVR, or the like.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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control logic, when executed by at least one processor associated with the apparatus, for; controlling a media object and a display of the media object in response to a user entered command with a first device, the user entered command comprises text entered in an Instant Messaging application window, accessing a first time value associated with the user entered command, the first time value being measured relative to a current position of the first device within the media object, and determining a metric associated with the media object by calculating a destination time based on the current position and the first time value; communication logic, when executed by the at least one processor associated with the apparatus, for causing communication of the user entered command and the metric associated with the media object to a second device for synchronizing the display of the media object with the first device and the second device; and wherein the control logic is further for delaying the controlling of the display of the media object to account for a communication time to the second device, and wherein the synchronizing the display of the media object with the first device and the second device comprises;
advancing, on the first device, the media object by the first time value to reach the destination time, and advancing, on the second device, the media object by a second time value to reach the destination time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An apparatus comprising:
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a display; and communication logic, when executed by at least one processor associated with the apparatus, for causing a synchronous communications channel with a remote device, wherein a user entered command and a metric associated with a media object is communicated to the remote device for controlling the media object and synchronizing a display of the media object with the display and the remote device, the user entered command comprises text entered in an Instant Messaging application window and is associated with a first time value, the first time value being measured relative to a current position of the apparatus within the media object, wherein the metric associated with the media object is determined by calculating a destination time based on the current position and the first time value, wherein the controlling comprises delaying the controlling of the display of the media object to account for a communication time to the remote device, and wherein the synchronizing the display of the media object with the display and the remote device comprises;
advancing, on the apparatus, the media object by the first time value to reach the destination time, and advancing, on the remote device, the media object by a second time value to reach the destination time. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method comprising:
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controlling, via at least one processor, a media object and a display of the media object in response to a user entered command with a first device, the user entered command comprises text entered in an Instant Messaging application window; accessing, via the at least one processor, a first time value associated with the user entered command, the first time value being measured relative to a current position of the first device within the media object; determining, via the at least one processor, a metric associated with the media object by calculating a destination time based on the current position and the first time value; causing, via the at least one processor, communication of the user entered command and the metric associated with the media object to a second device for synchronizing the display of the media object with the first device and the second device; and wherein the at least one processor is further for delaying the controlling of the display of the media object to account for a communication time to the second device, and wherein the synchronizing the display of the media object with the first device and the second device comprises;
advancing, on the first device, the media object by the first time value to reach the destination time, and advancing, on the second device, the media object by a second time value to reach the destination time. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium tangibly encoded with instructions, that when executed by a computer perform the method comprising:
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controlling a media object and a display of the media object in response to a user entered command with a first device, the user entered command comprises text entered in an Instant Messaging application window; accessing a first time value associated with the user entered command, the first time value being measured relative to a current position of the first device within the media object; determining a metric associated with the media object by calculating a destination time based on the current position and the first time value; causing communication of the user entered command and the metric associated with the media object to a second device for synchronizing the display of the media object with the first device and the second device; and wherein the controlling comprises delaying the controlling of the display of the media object to account for a communication time to the second device, and wherein the synchronizing the display of the media object with the first device and the second device comprises;
advancing, on the first device, the media object by the first time value to reach the destination time, and advancing, on the second device, the media object by a second time value to reach the destination time. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification