Method and apparatus for assisting with playback of remotely stored media files

• US 9,584,590 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2014
• Issued: 02/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lord, Robert D., Rogers, Ian C.
• Primary Examiner(s): BOUTAH, ALINA A
• Application Number:
  US14/170,379
• Publication Number:
  US 20140297808A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,124 Days
• Field of Search: 709/202, 709/203, 709/229, 709/231, 709/219, 709/217
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/25 of the same type
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2582 through control of the NAT server, e.g. using universal plug and play [UPnP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2589 over a relay server, e.g. traversal using relay for network address translation [TURN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/45 Network directories; Name-to-address mapping
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1045 Proxies, e.g. for session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• 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 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A software based system for facilitating streaming of media files to a device over a wide area network (WAN) includes an agent process, an authentication process, a client services process and a client process. The agent process catalogs local media files and advises the authentication process of it'"'"'s availability on the WAN and the address at which it may be contacted. The client process contacts the client services process to obtain, after authenticating with it, the WAN address of the agent process and contacts the agent process to receive information or meta-data describing the media files available for streaming. The client process obtains information for forming a URI or playlist, that it then passes to a media player to request the stream over the WAN. Alternately, the client process may direct the agent process to pass the URL to another client process on, for example, the same local area network.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

determining, at a first portable computing device, whether one or more second portable computing devices are available on a local area network;

communicating a request between the first portable computing device and the one or more second portable computing devices for one or more identifiers for respective media content available to be shared via the one or more second portable computing devices within the local area network;

obtaining a user input at the first portable computing device to select media content corresponding to one or more of the identifiers for the respective media content available to be shared via the one or more second portable computing devices within the local area network;

communicating an indication of the user input between the first portable computing device and the one or more second portable computing devices at least in part in response to the user input; and

obtaining the selected media content from the one or more second portable computing device at the first portable computing device for consumption by a user.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the first portable computing device communicating with a web services computing device to determine whether the one or more second portable computing devices are available on the local area network.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising communicating, between the first portable computing device and the one or more second portable computing devices, the request for the one or more identifiers for the respective media content available to be shared at least in part in response to an indication via the web services computing device that the one or more second portable computing devices are authorized to share the respective media content available to be shared within the local area network.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining the selected media content from the first portable computing device comprises obtaining the selected media content via one or more streaming connections.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the streaming connection comprises a wireless streaming connection within the local area network.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more second portable computing devices comprise one or more personal computing devices.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, to obtain the selected media content, the first portable computing device to obtain the selected media content via a streaming connection.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the streaming connection to comprise a wireless streaming connection within the local area network.

7. An article, comprising:

a non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon instructions executable by a first portable computing device to;

determine whether one or more second portable computing devices are to be available on a local area network;

communicate a request between the first portable computing device and the one or more second portable computing devices for one or more identifiers for respective media content to be available to be shared via the one or more second portable computing devices within the local area network;

obtain, via communication between the one or more second portable computing devices and the first portable computing device, one or more identifiers for respective media content to be available to be shared via the one or more second portable computing devices within the local area network;

communicate an indication of a user input between the first portable computing device and the one or more second portable computing devices at least in part in response to the user input being obtained at the first portable computing device to select media content to correspond to one or more of the one or more identifiers for the respective media content to be available to be shared; and

obtain the selected media content via the one or more second portable computing devices for consumption by a user at the first portable computing device.

8. The article of claim 7, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions executable by the first portable computing device to communicate with a web services computing device to determine whether the one or more second portable computing devices are available on the local area network.

9. The article of claim 8, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions executable by the processor of the first portable computing device to communicate, between the first portable computing device and the one or more second portable computing devices, the request to obtain the one or more identifiers for the respective media content to be available to be shared at least in part in response to an indication to be obtained via the web services computing device that the one or more second portable computing devices are authorized to share the respective media content to be available to be shared within the local area network.

10. The article of claim 7, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions executable by the first portable computing device to obtain the selected media content at least in part via one or more streaming connections.

11. The article of claim 10, wherein the one or more streaming connections to comprise one or more wireless streaming connections within the local area network.

12. The article of claim 11, wherein the one or more second portable computing devices to comprise one or more personal computing devices.

13. An apparatus, comprising:

a first portable computing device, including a processor to;

determine whether one or more second portable computing devices are available on a local area network;

communicate a request between the first portable computing device and the one or more second portable computing devices for one or more identifiers for respective media content to be available to be shared via the one or more second portable computing devices within the local area network;

obtain a user input at the first portable computing device to select media content to correspond to one or more of the identifiers for the respective media content to be available to be shared;

initiate communication of an indication of the user input between the first portable computing device and the one or more second portable computing devices at least in part in response to the user input; and

obtain the selected media content at the first computing device via the one or more second portable computing devices for consumption by a user.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor further to initiate communication between the first portable computing device and a web services computing device to determine whether the one or more second portable computing devices are to be available on the local area network.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the processor further to initiate communication, between the first portable computing device and the one or more second portable computing devices, a request to obtain the one or more identifiers for the respective media content to be available to be shared at least in part in response to an indication via the web services computing device that the one or more second portable computing devices are to be authorized to share the respective media content to be available to be shared within the local area network.

18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the one or more second portable computing devices to comprise one or more personal computing devices.