Integrating content on remote device accessible via internet with hospitality media system

• US 9,661,366 B2
• Filed: 05/12/2016
• Issued: 05/23/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Guest-tek Interactive Entertainment Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Guest-tek Interactive Entertainment Ltd.
• Inventors: Read, Blake, Warrick, Peter S., King, Brian W., McBeth, Ian S., Cassidy, Brendan G., Lorenzo, Lea, MacMillan, Andrew T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dubasky, Gigi L
• Application Number:
  US15/152,749
• Publication Number:
  US 20160323614A1
• Time in Patent Office: 376 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2143 located in a single building, e.g. hotel, hospital or museum arrangements specially adapted for plural spots in a confined site in broadcast systems H04H20/63; adaptations for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution in television systems H04N7/106
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23106 involving caching operations prefetching while addressing of a memory level in which the access to the desired data or data block requires associative addressing means within memory systems or architectures G06F12/0862; caching at an intermediate stage in a data network H04L67/568
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4126 The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47217 for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 Connection setup

Abstract

A hospitality media system includes a media system controller and a plurality of media devices located in a plurality of rooms and coupled to the media system controller. Each room has one or more in-room media devices located therein for performing a media function. A connection port allows a user of a room to establish data communications between the media system controller and a guest device. The media system controller is coupled to the connection port and configured to catalog guest content available on the guest device to thereby form a guest content list, associate the guest content with one or more associated rooms at least including the user'"'"'s room, and perform the media function utilizing content selected from the guest content list only on the in-room media devices located within the one or more associated rooms.

Claims

1. A method of integrating content with a media system having a plurality of media devices located in a plurality of rooms of a hospitality establishment, wherein the media devices are operable to provide entertainment to users in the rooms;

the method comprising;

streaming original media content available at the hospitality establishment from a streamer to any of the media devices in response to selection of playback of the original media content on one or more of the media devices;

wherein the original media content is a) provided to the streamer from a device on premise at the hospitality establishment and b) streamed from the streamer to the media devices, both without traversing a wide area network;

dynamically generating a passkey;

storing in a database authentication data correlating the passkey to a particular room, the database further storing authentication data respectively correlating other passkeys to other rooms;

wherein the passkey for the particular room is also displayed on a display device in the particular room, and after being displayed in the particular room the passkey is entered into a user interface of a mobile device operated by a user of the particular room;

establishing data communications with the mobile device and receiving the passkey from the mobile device;

querying the database to find the particular room correlated in the database with the passkey received from the mobile device, whereby the mobile device is confirmed to be associated with the particular room;

allowing the user, via the user interface of the mobile device, to configure the media system to integrate remote media content stored on a remote device, wherein the remote device is at a location external to the media system and is accessible via the wide area network;

confirming, via the user interface of the mobile device, that the user agrees to pay an additional fee for an upgraded bandwidth to transfer the remote media content from the remote device to the media system over the wide area network; and

when the user agrees to the additional fee, charging the user the additional fee, establishing a connection via the wide area network between the remote device and an in-room media device located within the particular room, setting the connection to have the upgraded bandwidth by a bandwidth controller, and communicating with the remote device via the connection at the upgraded bandwidth in order to transfer the remote media content from the remote device to the in-room media device for playback.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the upgraded bandwidth is suitable for streaming the remote media content from the remote device to the in-room media device in the particular room for real-time playback.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising allowing the user to choose a particular media asset of the remote media content on the remote device for playback on the in-room media device.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising querying an in-room media device table in order to determine the in-room media device that is located within the particular room.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the device on premise at the hospitality establishment from which the original media content is provided to the streamer is a content cache; and

the original media content was previously transferred into the content cache via the wide area network.

6. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer executable instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method of integrating content with a media system having a plurality of media devices located in a plurality of rooms of a hospitality establishment, wherein the media devices are operable to provide entertainment to users in the rooms;

the method comprising;

streaming original media content available at the hospitality establishment from a streamer to any of the media devices in response to selection of playback of the original media content on one or more of the media devices;

wherein the original media content is a) provided to the streamer from a device on premise at the hospitality establishment and b) streamed from the streamer to the media devices, both without traversing a wide area network;

dynamically generating a passkey;

storing in a database authentication data correlating the passkey to a particular room, the database further storing authentication data respectively correlating other passkeys to other rooms;

wherein the passkey for the particular room is also displayed on a display device in the particular room, and after being displayed in the particular room the passkey is entered into a user interface of a mobile device operated by a user of the particular room;

establishing data communications with the mobile device and receiving the passkey from the mobile device;

querying the database to find the particular room correlated in the database with the passkey received from the mobile device, whereby the mobile device is confirmed to be associated with the particular room;

allowing the user, via the user interface of the mobile device, to configure the media system to integrate remote media content stored on a remote device, wherein the remote device is at a location external to the media system and is accessible via the wide area network;

confirming, via the user interface of the mobile device, that the user agrees to pay an additional fee for an upgraded bandwidth to transfer the remote media content from the remote device to the media system over the wide area network; and

when the user agrees to the additional fee, charging the user the additional fee, establishing a connection via the wide area network between the remote device and an in-room media device located within the particular room, setting the connection to have the upgraded bandwidth by a bandwidth controller, and communicating with the remote device via the connection at the upgraded bandwidth in order to transfer the remote media content from the remote device to the in-room media device for playback.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the upgraded bandwidth is suitable for streaming the remote media content from the remote device for real-time playback on the in-room media device.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises further comprising allowing the user to choose a particular media asset of the remote media content on the remote device for playback on the in-room media device.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the method further comprises querying an in-room media device table in order to determine the in-room media device that is located within the particular room.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein:

the device on premise at the hospitality establishment from which the original media content is provided to the streamer is a content cache; and

the original media content was previously transferred into the content cache via the wide area network.

11. A media system comprising:

a plurality of media devices in a plurality of rooms of a hospitality establishment, the media devices coupled to a local area network and preconfigured to provide entertainment to users in the rooms;

a streamer coupled to the local area network, the streamer operable to stream original media content via the local area network to any of the media devices in response to selection of playback of the original media content on one or more of the media devices;

wherein the original media content is a) provided to the streamer from a device on premise at the hospitality establishment and b) streamed from the streamer to the media devices, both without traversing a wide area network; and

a bandwidth controller intermediate the local area computer network and the wide area network; and

one or more processors, wherein, by the one or more processors executed software loaded from a storage device, the one or more processors are operable to;

dynamically generate a passkey;

store in a database authentication data correlating the passkey to a particular room, the database further storing authentication data respectively correlating other passkeys to other rooms;

wherein the passkey for the particular room is also displayed on a display device in the particular room, and after being displayed in the particular room the passkey is entered into a user interface of a mobile device operated by a user of the particular room;

establish data communications with the mobile device and receiving the passkey from the mobile device;

query the database to find the particular room correlated in the database with the passkey received from the mobile device, whereby the mobile device is confirmed to be associated with the particular room;

allow the user, via the user interface of the mobile device, to configure the media system to integrate remote media content stored on a remote device, wherein the remote device is at a location external to the media system and accessible via the wide area network;

confirm, via the user interface of the mobile device, that the user agrees to pay an additional fee for an upgraded bandwidth to transfer the remote media content from the remote device to the media system; and

when the user agrees to the additional fee, charge the user the additional fee, establish a connection via the wide area network between the remote device and an in-room media device located within the particular room, set the connection to have the upgraded bandwidth by the bandwidth controller, and transfer the remote media content from the remote device to the in-room media device via the connection at the upgraded bandwidth for playback.

12. The media system of claim 11, wherein the upgraded bandwidth is suitable for streaming the remote media content from the remote device for real-time playback on the in-room media device.

13. The media system of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further operable to allow the user to choose a particular media asset of the remote media content on the remote device for playback on the in-room media device.

14. The media system of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further operable to query an in-room media device table in order to determine the in-room media device that is located within the particular room.

15. The media system of claim 11, wherein:

the device on premise at the hospitality establishment from which the original media content is provided to the streamer is a content cache; and

the original media content was previously transferred into the content cache via the wide area network.

16. The media system of claim 11, wherein:

the device on premise at the hospitality establishment from which the original media content is provided to the streamer is a content cache; and

the original media content was previously transferred into the content cache via the wide area network.

17. A media system controller for controlling a plurality of media devices in a plurality of rooms of a hospitality establishment, wherein the media devices and media system controller are preconfigured to together provide entertainment to users in the rooms;

the media system controller comprising one or more processors configured by executing software loaded from a storage device to;

provide original media content available at the hospitality establishment to a streamer for streaming to any of the media devices in response to selection of playback of the original media content on one or more of the media devices;

wherein the original media content is a) provided to the streamer from a device on premise at the hospitality establishment and b) streamed from the streamer to the media devices, both without traversing a wide area network;

dynamically generate a passkey;

store in a database authentication data correlating the passkey to a particular room, the database further storing authentication data respectively correlating other passkeys to other rooms;

wherein the passkey for the particular room is also displayed on a display device in the particular room, and after being displayed in the particular room the passkey is entered into a user interface of a mobile device operated by a user of the particular room;

establish data communications with the mobile device and receiving the passkey from the mobile device;

query the database to find the particular room correlated in the database with the passkey received from the mobile device, whereby the mobile device is confirmed to be associated with the particular room;

allow the user, via the user interface of the mobile device, to configure the media system to integrate remote media content stored on a remote device, wherein the remote device is at a location external to the media system and accessible via the wide area network;

confirm, via the user interface of the mobile device, that the user agrees to pay an additional fee for an upgraded bandwidth to transfer the remote media content from the remote device to the media system; and

when the user agrees to the additional fee, charge the user the additional fee, and dynamically set a bandwidth controller intermediate the media system controller and the wide area network such that a connection established over the wide area network between the remote device and an in-room media device located within the particular room has the upgraded bandwidth;

wherein the remote media content is transferred from the remote device to the in-room media device via the connection at the upgraded bandwidth for playback.

18. The media system controller of claim 17, wherein the upgraded bandwidth is suitable for streaming the remote media content from the remote device for real-time playback on the in-room media device.

19. The media system controller of claim 17, wherein the one or more processors are further operable to allow the user to choose a particular media asset of the remote media content on the remote device for playback on the in-room media device.

20. The media system controller of claim 17, wherein the one or more processors are further operable to query an in-room media device table in order to determine the in-room media device that is located within the particular room.