Methods and devices for using one terminal to control a multimedia application executed on another terminal

• US 10,664,646 B2
• Filed: 11/13/2017
• Issued: 05/26/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tencent Technology Company Limited (Tencent Holdings Limited)
• Original Assignee: Tencent Technology Company Limited (Tencent Holdings Limited)
• Inventors: Li, Lie Qiang
• Primary Examiner(s): Dyer, Andrew R
• Application Number:
  US15/810,564
• Publication Number:
  US 20180067904A1
• Time in Patent Office: 925 Days
• Field of Search: 715201, 715203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/12 Use of codes for handling textual entities
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/10 Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/242 Synchronization processes, e.g. processing of PCR [Program Clock References] arrangements for synchronising broadcast or distribution via plural systems in broadcast distribution systems H04H20/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43076 of the same content streams on multiple devices, e.g. when family members are watching the same movie on different devices

Abstract

Methods and devices for terminal control are provided. The method comprises: sending a request from a first terminal to a server to obtain information about a multimedia application currently running on a second terminal, the information comprising application identification and one or more playback attributes of the multimedia application; displaying on the first terminal the information about the multimedia application currently running on the second terminal; generating by the first terminal one or more new playback attributes of the currently running multimedia application, and sending from the first terminal to the second terminal via the server a control request comprising the one or more new playback attributes, thereby allowing the second terminal to control the multimedia playback of the multimedia application based on the one or more new playback attributes in the control request.

Claims

1. A terminal control method, comprising:

sending, by a first terminal, a status request to a server requesting the server to obtain information about a multimedia application currently running on a second terminal, the information comprising application identification and one or more first playback attributes of the multimedia application;

receiving and displaying, by the first terminal, the information about the multimedia application sent by the server in response to the status request;

receiving, by the first terminal, one or more user commands;

generating, by the first terminal, one or more second playback attributes for the multimedia application in accordance with the one or more user commands, sending, by the first terminal, a control request to the server requesting the server to control the multimedia application currently running on the second terminal, the control request comprising the one or more second playback attributes for the multimedia application;

receiving, by the second terminal, the control request from the server and controlling the multimedia application to play a multimedia file in accordance with the one or more second playback attributes in the control request;

determining that one of the one or more second playback attributes generated by the first terminal and received from the server is a comment on the multimedia file;

forwarding the multimedia file, by the server, to the second terminal; and

posting, by the second terminal, after the comment of the multimedia file is forwarded by the server to the second terminal, the comment of the multimedia file to a corresponding website upon receiving the control request in response to determining that one of the one or more second playback attributes is the comment on the multimedia file.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

before sending the status request, sending, by the first terminal, login information to the server;

wherein;

the server responds to the status request after the login information is verified by the server that the first terminal has authority to obtain the information in accordance with the status request; and

the server responds to the control request after the login information is verified by the server that the first terminal has authority to control the multimedia application in accordance with the control request.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

recording an original playback attribute of the multimedia application before receiving the one or more second playback attributes in the control request;

determining that the original playback attribute of the multimedia application includes the multimedia file being stored online and one of the one or more second playback attributes is the multimedia file being stored locally; and

initiating, by the second terminal, downloading of the multimedia file and storing the multimedia file locally upon receiving the control request in response to determining that the original playback attribute of the multimedia application is the multimedia file being stored online and one of the one or more second playback attributes is the multimedia file being stored locally.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

recording an original playback attribute of the multimedia application before receiving the one or more second playback attributes in the control request;

determining that the original playback attribute of the multimedia application includes an existing comment on the multimedia file and one of the one or more second playback attributes is a new comment on the multimedia file, and

posting the new comment of the multimedia file to a corresponding website upon receiving the control request in response to determining that the original playback attribute of the multimedia application includes an existing comment on the multimedia file and one of the one or more second playback attributes is the new comment on the multimedia file.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the multimedia file comprises at least video data.

6. A terminal control method, comprising:

receiving, by a server, a status request from a first terminal, the status request being configured to obtain information about a multimedia application currently running on a second terminal;

requesting, by the server, the information from the second terminal in accordance with the status request, the information comprising application identification and one or more first playback attributes of the multimedia application;

sending, by the server, the information requested from the second terminal to the first terminal;

after sending the information to the first terminal, receiving a control request from the first terminal, the control request comprising one or more second playback attributes for the multimedia application;

sending, by the server, the control request to the second terminal;

receiving, by the second terminal, the control request from the server and controlling the multimedia application to play a multimedia file in accordance with the one or more second playback attributes in the control request;

determining that one of the one or more second playback attributes generated by the first terminal and received from the server is a comment on the multimedia file;

forwarding the multimedia file, by the server, to the second terminal; and

posting, by the second terminal, after the comment of the multimedia file is forwarded by the server to the second terminal, the comment of the multimedia file to a corresponding website upon receiving the control request in response to determining that one of the one or more second playback attributes is the comment on the multimedia file.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising:

receiving, by the server, a first account login information from a first terminal;

receiving, by the server, a second account login information from a second terminal;

verifying, by the server, whether the first terminal has authority to obtain the information based on the first login information and the second login information, wherein the server responds to the status request in response to verifying that the first terminal has authority to obtain the information in accordance with the status request; and

verifying, by the server, whether the first terminal has authority to obtain the information based on the first login information and the second login information, wherein the server responds to the control request in response to verifying that the first terminal has authority to control the multimedia application in accordance with the control request.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the method further comprises:

recording an original playback attribute of the multimedia application before receiving the one or more second playback attributes in the control request;

determining that the original playback attribute of the multimedia application includes an existing comment on the multimedia file and one of the one or more second playback attributes is a new comment on the multimedia file, and

posting the new comment of the multimedia file to a corresponding website upon receiving the control request in response to determining that the original playback attribute of the multimedia application includes an existing comment on the multimedia file and one of the one or more second playback attributes is the new comment on the multimedia file.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein the method further comprises:

recording an original playback attribute of the multimedia application before receiving the one or more second playback attributes in the control request;

determining that the original playback attribute of the multimedia application includes a right to play the multimedia file being unpaid and one of the one or more second playback attributes is a right to play the second multimedia file being paid; and

purchasing the right to play of the multimedia file upon receiving the control request in response to both a first determination and a second determination are satisfied, the first determination being determining that the original playback attribute of the multimedia application on the second terminal is the right to play the multimedia file being unpaid before receiving the control request and the second determination being determining that one of the one or more second playback attributes generated by the first terminal and forwarded by the server is the right to play the multimedia file being paid in accordance with the control request.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein the multimedia file comprises at least video data.

11. A terminal control system, comprising:

a first terminal comprising;

a first memory;

a first processor coupled to the first memory, the first processor being configured for;

sending a status request to a server requesting the server to obtain information about a multimedia application currently running on a second terminal, the information comprising application identification and one or more first playback attributes of the multimedia application;

receiving and displaying the information about the multimedia application sent by the server in response to the status request;

receiving one or more user commands;

generating one or more second playback attributes for the multimedia application in accordance with the one or more user commands;

sending a control request to the server requesting the server to control the multimedia application currently running on the second terminal, the control request comprising the one or more second playback attributes for the multimedia application;

a second terminal comprising;

a second memory;

a second processor coupled to the second memory, the second processor being configured for;

receiving the control request from the server;

controlling the multimedia application to play a multimedia file in accordance with the one or more second playback attributes in the control request;

determining that one of the one or more second playback attributes generated by the first terminal and received from the server is a comment on the multimedia file;

forwarding the multimedia file, by the server, to the second terminal; and

posting, after the comment of the multimedia file is forwarded by the server to the second terminal, the comment of the multimedia file to a corresponding website upon receiving the control request in response to determining that one of the one or more second playback attributes is the comment on the multimedia file.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the first processor is further configured for:

before sending the status request, sending login information to the server;

wherein;

the server responds to the status request after the login information is verified by the server that the first terminal has authority to obtain the information in accordance with the status request; and

the server responds to the control request after the login information is verified by the server that the first terminal has authority to control the multimedia application in accordance with the control request.

13. The system according to claim 11, wherein the second processor is further configured for:

recording an original playback attribute of the multimedia application before receiving the one or more second playback attributes in the control request;

determining that the original playback attribute of the multimedia application includes the multimedia file being stored online and one of the one or more second playback attributes is the multimedia file being stored locally; and

initiating, by the second terminal, downloading of the multimedia file and storing the multimedia file locally upon receiving the control request in response to determining that the original playback attribute of the multimedia application is the multimedia file being stored online and one of the one or more second playback attributes is the multimedia file being stored locally.

14. The system according to claim 11, wherein the second processor is further configured for:

recording an original playback attribute of the multimedia application before receiving the one or more second playback attributes in the control request;

determining that the original playback attribute of the multimedia application includes a right to play the multimedia file being unpaid and one of the one or more second playback attributes is a right to play the second multimedia file being paid; and

purchasing the right to play of the multimedia file upon receiving the control request in response to both a first determination and a second determination are satisfied, the first determination being determining that the original playback attribute of the multimedia application on the second terminal is the right to play the multimedia file being unpaid and the second determination being determining that one of the one or more second playback attributes generated by the first terminal and forwarded by the server is the right to play the multimedia file being paid.

15. The system according to claim 11, wherein the multimedia file comprises at least video data.

16. A network server, comprising:

a memory;

a processor coupled to the memory, the processor being configured for;

receiving a status request from a first terminal, the status request being configured to obtain information about a multimedia application currently running on a second terminal;

requesting the information from the second terminal in accordance with the status request, the information comprising application identification and one or more first playback attributes of the multimedia application;

sending the information requested from the second terminal to the first terminal;

after sending the information to the first terminal, receiving a control request from the first terminal, the control request comprising one or more second playback attributes for the multimedia application;

sending the control request to the second terminal, wherein the second terminal receives the control request and controls the multimedia application in accordance with the one or more second playback attributes in the control request;

determining that one of the one or more second playback attributes generated by the first terminal and received from the server is a comment on the multimedia file;

forwarding the multimedia file, by the server, to the second terminal; and

requesting the second terminal to post, after the comment of the multimedia file is forwarded by the server to the second terminal, the comment of the multimedia file to a corresponding website upon receiving the control request in response to determining that one of the one or more second playback attributes is the comment on the multimedia file.

17. The server according to claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured for:

receiving a first account login information from a first terminal;

receiving a second account login information from a second terminal;

verifying whether the first terminal has authority to obtain the information based on the first login information and the second login information, wherein the server responds to the status request in response to verifying that the first terminal has authority to obtain the information in accordance with the status request; and

verifying whether the first terminal has authority to obtain the information based on the first login information and the second login information, wherein the server responds to the control request in response to verifying that the first terminal has authority to control the multimedia application in accordance with the control request.

18. The server according to claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured for:

recording an original playback attribute of the multimedia application before receiving the one or more second playback attributes in the control request;

determining that the original playback attribute of the multimedia application includes an existing comment on the multimedia file and one of the one or more second playback attributes is a new comment on the multimedia file; and

posting the new comment of the multimedia file to a corresponding website upon receiving the control request in response to determining that the original playback attribute of the multimedia application includes an existing comment on the multimedia file and one of the one or more second playback attributes is the new comment on the multimedia file.

19. The server according to claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured for:

recording an original playback attribute of the multimedia application before receiving the one or more second playback attributes in the control request;

determining that the original playback attribute of the multimedia application includes a right to play the multimedia file being unpaid and one of the one or more second playback attributes is a right to play the second multimedia file being paid; and

purchasing the right to play of the multimedia file upon receiving the control request in response to both a first determination and a second determination are satisfied, the first determination being determining that the original playback attribute of the multimedia application on the second terminal is the right to play the multimedia file being unpaid before receiving the control request and the second determination being determining that one of the one or more second playback attributes generated by the first terminal and forwarded by the server is the right to play the multimedia file being paid in accordance with the control request.

20. The server according to claim 16, wherein the multimedia file comprises at least video data.