Systems and methods for implementing cross-fading, interstitials and other effects downstream

• US 10,679,635 B2
• Filed: 12/11/2018
• Issued: 06/09/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sirius XM Radio Inc. (Liberty Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sirius XM Radio Inc. (Liberty Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Lowe, Raymond, Ward, Christopher, Christine, Charles W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Baker, Charlotte M
• Application Number:
  US16/216,635
• Publication Number:
  US 20190244626A1
• Time in Patent Office: 546 Days
• Field of Search: 704500, 707690, 707803, 707805
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5044 considering hardware capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/008 Multichannel audio signal coding or decoding using interchannel correlation to reduce redundancy, e.g. joint-stereo, intensity-coding or matrixing
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/167 Audio streaming, i.e. formatting and decoding of an encoded audio signal representation into a data stream for transmission or storage purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/26 Pre-filtering or post-filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/038 Cross-faders therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/04 Studio equipment; Interconnection of studios

Abstract

Systems and methods are presented for cross-fading (or other multiple clip processing) of information streams on a user or client device, such as a telephone, tablet, computer or MP3 player, or any consumer device with audio playback. Multiple clip processing can be accomplished at a client end according to directions sent from a service provider that specify a combination of (i) the clips involved; (ii) the device on which the cross-fade or other processing is to occur and its parameters; and (iii) the service provider system. For example, a consumer device with only one decoder, can utilize that decoder (typically hardware) to decompress one or more elements that are involved in a cross-fade at faster than real time, thus pre-fetching the next element(s) to be played in the cross-fade at the end of the currently being played element. The next elements(s) can, for example, be stored in an input buffer, then decoded and stored in a decoded sample buffer, all prior to the required presentation time of the multiple element effect. At the requisite time, a client device component can access the respective samples of the decoded audio clips as it performs the cross-fade, mix or other effect. Such exemplary embodiments use a single decoder and thus do not require synchronized simultaneous decodes.

Claims

1. A audio playback device comprising:

a playout controller configured to download a first audio clip, a second audio clip to be played following the first audio clip, and a clip transition to be played at a boundary between the first and second audio clips;

an input buffer configured to store the first and second audio clips, and the clip transition;

a decoder configured to decode the first and second audio clips, and the clip transition; and

a device performance software agent configured to adjust a download timing and one or more characteristics of the clip transition based at least in part on a performance profile of the playout controller and/or the input buffer.

2. The audio playback device according to claim 1, wherein the download timing and one or more characteristics of the clip transition are adjusted further in part on a device profile.

3. The audio playback device according to claim 1, wherein the download timing and one or more characteristics of the clip transition are adjusted further in part on metadata associated with the first and/or second audio clips.

4. The audio playback device according to claim 1, wherein the decoder is configured to decode the audio clips at a faster than real time rate.

5. The audio playback device according to claim 1, further comprising a cross-fade component configured to take uncompressed signal levels of two source frames from the first and second audio clips and generate a new signal level for a resulting frame of the clip transition based at least in part on a cross-fade mix, blend or other transition effect blend rate.

6. The audio playback device according to claim 1, wherein the one or more characteristics adjustable by the device performance software agent include a real-time management of the downloading and/or decoding of the audio clips based on system resource availability.

7. A audio playback device comprising:

a playout controller configured to download a first audio clip, a second audio clip to be played following the first audio clip, and a clip transition to be played at a boundary between the first and second audio clips;

an input buffer configured to store the first and second audio clips, and the clip transition;

a first decoder and a second decoder, the decoders being configured to decode the first and second audio clips, and the clip transition; and

a device performance software agent configured to adjust a download timing and one or more characteristics of the clip transition based at least in part on a performance profile of the playout controller and/or the input buffer.

8. The audio playback device according to claim 7, wherein the download timing and one or more characteristics of the clip transition are adjusted further in part on a device profile.

9. The audio playback device according to claim 7, wherein the download timing and one or more characteristics of the clip transition are adjusted further in part on metadata associated with the first and/or second audio clips.

10. The audio playback device according to claim 7, wherein the decoder is configured to decode the audio clips at a faster than real time rate.

11. The audio playback device according to claim 7, further comprising a cross-fade component configured to take uncompressed signal levels of two source frames from the first and second audio clips and generate a new signal level for a resulting frame of the clip transition based at least in part on a cross-fade mix, blend or other transition effect blend rate.

12. The audio playback device according to claim 7, wherein the one or more characteristics adjustable by the device performance software agent include a real-time management of the downloading and/or decoding of the audio clips based on system resource availability.