Methods and systems to share media

• US 9,286,384 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2011
• Issued: 03/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sonos, Inc.
• Inventors: Kuper, Ron, Hoadley, Joni
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Bai D.
• Application Number:
  US13/239,077
• Publication Number:
  US 20130073584A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,637 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24562 Pointer or reference processing operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/44 Browsing; Visualisation therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/48 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/635 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/60 Network streaming of media packets
• 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

Abstract

Methods and apparatus to share file(s)/recommendation(s) are disclosed. An example method includes verifying a first service used by a first user recommending a file and encoding a first service identification code with the file based on the first service, verifying a second service used by a second user upon receipt of a file request by the second user and/or detection of a mention of the second user in the file recommendation, searching for a second service identification code associated with the file based on the second service and encoding the second service identification code with the file, and providing the file recommendation with the first service identification code to the second user where the second service and the first service are the same or providing the file recommendation with the second service identification code to the second user where the second service and the first service are different.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating playback of multimedia content across different content providers, the method comprising:

receiving, by a computing device, a first service identification code corresponding to a multimedia content item, wherein the multimedia content item is accessible, based at least on the first service identification code, from a first content provider, the first service identification code including a pointer to the multimedia content item from the first content provider;

identifying, in a database by the computing device, a second service identification code which corresponds to the first service identification code, wherein the multimedia content item is accessible, based at least on the second service identification code, from a second content provider, the second service identification code including a pointer to the multimedia content item from the second content provider, and wherein the second content provider is different than the first content provider; and

playing, by the computing device, the multimedia content item from the second content provider based on the second identification code.

2. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising receiving a multimedia content request in response to a selection of an identification of the multimedia content item prior to playing the multimedia content item from the second content provider.

3. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein playing, by the computing device, the multimedia content item comprises searching online and in a local storage for the multimedia content item, wherein the searching is based on the second identification code.

4. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising identifying a third service identification code which corresponds to the first service identification code, wherein the multimedia content is accessible from a third content provider to at least one of play, point or queue the multimedia content item where the third content provider provides at least one of cheaper access to the multimedia content than the second content provider or higher quality multimedia content files than the second content provider.

5. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the receiving, by the computing device, the first service identification code comprises receiving, by the computing device, a recommendation of the multimedia content item.

6. A method as defined in claim 5, wherein the identifying the second service identification code comprises identifying the second service identification code based on one or more of receipt of a message associated with a second account associated with the multimedia content item or identification of the second account in the recommendation.

7. A method as defined in claim 5 further comprising storing a list of connections associated with a first account to form a social network, the social network defining recommendations of particular multimedia content items.

8. A method as defined in claim 7 further comprising dynamically updating the first account of additional recommendations recommended by the connections.

9. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising encoding the first service identification code with the multimedia content item, wherein the first service identification code further comprises a URL link.

10. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising searching one or more of a local library or a network-accessible database for the second service identification code.

11. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising encoding the second service identification code with the multimedia content item, wherein the second service identification code comprises a URL link.

12. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the multimedia content item is a music file.

13. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein one of the first content provider or the second content provider is an online streaming music service.

14. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first service identification code is unique to the first content provider and the second service identification code is unique to the second content provider.

20. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the multimedia content item to be presented by the first content provider and the second content provider are the same.

21. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein identifying the second service identification code associated with the first service identification code comprises identifying the second service identification code based on receipt of the first service identification code.

15. A method comprising:

(1) receiving a request message from a playback device to obtain a first service identification code that corresponds to a first track at a first service, the request message comprising a second service identification code that corresponds to the first track at a second service, wherein the first service is different from the second service, the first service identification code including a pointer to the first service and the second service identification code including a pointer to the second service;

(2) identifying in a database the first service identification code which corresponds to the second service identification code; and

(3) sending the first service identification code to the playback system to access the first track from the first service and playback the track data via the playback device.

16. A tangible machine-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause a machine to at least:

receive a first service identification code corresponding to a multimedia content item, wherein the multimedia content item is accessible, based at least on the first service identification code from a first content provider, the first service identification code including a pointer to the multimedia content item from the first content provider;

identify in a database a second service identification code which corresponds to the first service identification code, wherein the multimedia content item is accessible, based at least on the second service identification code from a second content provider, the second service identification code including a pointer to the multimedia content item from the second content provider, and wherein the second content provider is different than the first content provider; and

playing the multimedia content item from the second content provider based on the second identification code.

17. A medium as defined in claim 16, wherein the instructions further cause the machine to receive a multimedia content request in response to a selection of an identification of the multimedia content item prior to playing the multimedia content item from the second content provider.

18. A medium as defined in claim 16, wherein the instructions further cause the machine to use the second content provider to play the multimedia content item by searching online and in a local storage for the multimedia content item, wherein the searching is based on the second identification code.

19. A medium as defined in claim 16, wherein the instructions further cause the machine to identify a third service identification code which corresponds to the first service identification code, wherein the multimedia content is accessible from a third content provider to at least one of play, point or queue the multimedia content item where the third content provider provides at least one of cheaper access to the multimedia content than the second content provider or higher quality multimedia content files than the second content provider.

22. The medium as defined in claim 16, wherein the first service identification code is unique to the first content provider and the second service identification code is unique to the second content provider.