Streaming at target locations

• US 9,769,612 B1
• Filed: 08/18/2016
• Issued: 09/19/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/18/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wowza Media Systems LLC
• Original Assignee: Wowza Media Systems LLC
• Inventors: Owen, Barry
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, David Q
• Application Number:
  US15/240,246
• Time in Patent Office: 397 Days
• Field of Search: 4554261, 4554042, 4554142, 340521, 701201, 700 91
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/13 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/42 Determining position
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02 using radio waves using satellite radio beacon systems for determining position G01S19/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

A method includes determining, at a server based on location information associated with a mobile device, that the mobile device is within a particular range of a target location. The method also includes sending a notification to the mobile device requesting a video stream from the mobile device, where the video stream is to be captured at the target location.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining, at a server based on location information associated with a mobile device, that the mobile device is at a first location that is within a particular range of a target location; and

in response to the determination, sending, from the server to the mobile device, a notification and direction information, the notification indicating a request for a user associated with the mobile device to travel to the target location and capture a video stream at the target location and the direction information indicating a path from the first location to the target location.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device is determined to be within the particular range of the target location based on global positioning system (GPS) information associated with the mobile device, base station information associated with the mobile device, wireless access point information associated with the mobile device, or any combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending configuration information to the mobile device, the configuration information associated with capturing the video stream.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the configuration information indicates an encoding bitrate, a frame resolution, a frame rate, a key frame interval, an audio coder/decoder (CODEC), a video CODEC, a network address, a port, an application, a stream name, a username, a password, or any combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein at least a portion of the configuration information is included in the notification.

6. The method of claim 3, further comprising sending a message to the mobile device after the notification, wherein at least a portion of the configuration information is included in the message.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification comprises a push notification.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the notification comprises a mobile application notification.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to sending the notification to the mobile device, receiving a message from the mobile device indicating that a user of the mobile device has opted-in to live streaming requests.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising, after receiving at least a portion of the video stream from the mobile device and while a second portion of the video stream is captured at the mobile device, sending the mobile device a second notification requesting a second video stream to be captured at a second target location that is near the target location.

11. A method comprising:

sending, from a mobile device to a server, an indication that a user of the mobile device has opted-in to live streaming requests;

receiving, at the mobile device from the server after sending the indication to the server, a first notification indicating a request to capture a video stream at a target location that is within a particular range of the mobile device;

sending, from the mobile device to the server, first input responsive to the first notification, the first input comprising an acceptance of the request to capture the video stream at the target location; and

after sending the first input to the server, receiving, at the mobile device from the server, direction information indicating a path to the target location.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising receiving, from the server, second information regarding capture of the video stream at the target location.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the direction information comprises global positioning system (GPS) information associated with the target location, directions to the target location, or both.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the second information comprises an indication that the mobile device is within the particular range of the target location.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the second information includes a description of at least one of person, a place, an object, or an event to be depicted in the video stream.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the second information comprises configuration information, wherein configuration information indicates an encoding bitrate, a frame resolution, a frame rate, a key frame interval, an audio coder/decoder (CODEC), a video CODEC, a network address, a port, an application, a stream name, a username, a password, or any combination thereof.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising receiving, from the server while capturing the video stream at the mobile device and transmitting the video stream to the server, a second notification indicating a second request to modify at least one of an orientation of the mobile device, a line of sight of a camera of the mobile device, a zoom parameter of the camera, a brightness parameter of the camera, or a combination thereof.

18. An apparatus comprising:

a network interface configured to;

receive location information associated with a mobile device;

receive a video stream from the mobile device;

send a notification and direction information to the mobile device, the direction information indicating a path to a target location; and

send a second notification to the mobile device while receiving the video stream captured at the target location from the mobile device, the second notification requesting a second video stream to be captured at a second target location;

a processor; and

a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations including determining, based on the location information associated with the mobile device, that the mobile device is within a particular range of the target location,

wherein the notification is associated with a request for the video stream from the mobile device, the video stream to be captured at the target location.