Method and apparatus for presenting media content

• US 9,584,860 B2
• Filed: 12/04/2015
• Issued: 02/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Dey, Spondon
• Primary Examiner(s): Bruckart, Benjamin R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bantamoi, Anthony
• Application Number:
  US14/959,477
• Publication Number:
  US 20160088347A1
• Time in Patent Office: 452 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4402 involving reformatting operations of video signals for household redistribution, storage or real-time display details of conversion of video standards at pixel level H04N7/01; video transcoding H04N19/40; adapting incoming signals to the display format of the display terminal G09G5/005; media handling at the source in data packet switching networks H04L65/764
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4436 Power management, e.g. shutting down unused components of the receiver power management in computer systems G06F1/3203; hibernate or awake process in computer systems G06F9/4418
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4518 involving characteristics of one or more peripherals, e.g. peripheral type, software version, amount of memory available or display capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6181 involving transmission via a mobile phone network arrangements for providing broadcast or conference services to substation in data switching networks in combination with wireless systems H04L12/189; wireless uplink channel access H04W74/004

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a mobile communication device having a controller to receive a broadcast of media content from a first media source using a first communication protocol, display the media content on the mobile communication device, determine whether the media content exceeds one or more parameter thresholds when the media content is available to a display device from a second media source where the one or more parameter thresholds are based at least in part on the media content available from the second media source and where the display device is remote from the mobile communication device, and commence streaming of the media content from the mobile communication device to the display device when the media content exceeds the one or more parameter thresholds. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A mobile communication device comprising:

a memory that stores executable instructions; and

a processing system comprising a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, wherein the processing system, responsive to executing the executable instructions, performs operations comprising;

receiving media content from a first media source via a wireless communication link to a cellular base station using long-term evolution protocol;

determining whether the media content is available to a display device from a second media source; and

if the media content is available from the second media source, then;

selecting a first transmission protocol of a plurality of transmission protocols according to a power consumption criteria associated with a user profile;

transmitting a first stream of the media content to a display device via a first wireless communication interface by the first transmission protocol if transmitting of the media content would not result in power consumption exceeding a threshold; and

allowing the display device to receive the media content from the second media source if the transmitting of the media content would result in the power consumption exceeding the threshold.

2. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving first information from the display device via a first wireless communication interface to the display device, wherein the first information identifies a preferred media content communication protocol for the display device; and

selecting a first media content communication protocol from a plurality of media content communication protocols based on the preferred media content communication protocol.

3. The mobile communication device of claim 2, wherein the first media content communication protocol comprises enhanced-vestigial sideband modulation.

4. The mobile communication device of claim 2, wherein the first media content communication protocol comprises a single carrier frequency division multiple access scheme.

5. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining if the transmitting of the media content via the mobile communication device is resulting in the power consumption exceeding the threshold; and

stopping the transmitting of the media content from the mobile communication device to the display device responsive to the determining that the transmitting of the media content via the mobile communication device is exceeding the threshold.

6. The mobile communication device of claim 5, wherein the display device receives the media content from the second media source from a point in the media content where the mobile communication device stopped transmitting the media content to the display device responsive to the determining that the transmitting of the media content via the mobile communication device is exceeding the threshold.

7. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the power consumption at the mobile communication device is determined by detecting a battery level at the mobile communication device.

8. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise adjusting a format of the media content prior to transmitting the first stream to the display device.

9. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a processing system comprising a processor, media content from a first media source via a wireless communication link to a cellular base station using long-term evolution protocol;

determining, by the processing system, whether transmitting of the media content to a display device via a wireless communication interface would result in power consumption exceeding a threshold;

selecting, by the processing system, a first transmission protocol of a plurality of transmission protocols according to a power consumption criteria associated with a user profile;

transmitting, by the system, a first stream of the media content to a display device via a first wireless communication interface by the first transmission protocol if transmitting of the media content would not result in power consumption exceeding a threshold; and

allowing, by the system, the display device to receive the media content from a second media source if the transmitting of the media content would result in the power consumption exceeding the threshold.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising determining whether the media content is available to the display device from the second media source.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising adjusting a format of the media content prior to the transmitting of the first stream.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising providing a plurality of profile versions of the media content, wherein a first version of the plurality of profile versions has more error correction than a second version.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising receiving a protocol selection signal representing a preferred media communication protocol.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the preferred media communication protocol is a first communication protocol that is different from a second communication protocol that is utilized for receiving the media content from the first media source.

15. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:

receiving media content from a first media source via a wireless communication link to a cellular base station using long-term evolution protocol;

determining whether transmitting of the media content to a display device via a wireless communication interface would result in power consumption exceeding a threshold;

selecting a first transmission protocol of a plurality of transmission protocols according to a power consumption criteria associated with a user profile;

transmitting a first stream of the media content to a display device via a first wireless communication interface by the first transmission protocol if transmitting of the media content would not result in power consumption exceeding a threshold; and

allowing, by the system, the display device to receive the media content from a second media source if the transmitting of the media content would result in the power consumption exceeding the threshold.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise determining whether the media content is available to the display device from the second media source.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise adjusting a format of the media content prior to the transmitting of the first stream.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise providing a plurality of profile versions of the media content, wherein a first version of the plurality of profile versions has more error correction than a second version.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise receiving a protocol selection signal representing a preferred media communication protocol.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the preferred media communication protocol is a first communication protocol that is different from a second communication protocol that is utilized for receiving the media content from the first media source.