Accessing radio content from a non-radio source

• US 10,735,118 B2
• Filed: 11/27/2017
• Issued: 08/04/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Ingrassia, Michael, Lee, Jeffery T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Flanders, Andrew C
• Application Number:
  US15/823,454
• Publication Number:
  US 20180083724A1
• Time in Patent Office: 981 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/24 Arrangements for distribution of identical information via broadcast system and non-broadcast system
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/26 Arrangements for switching distribution systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/74 using programme related information, e.g. title, composer or interpreter
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/82 the transmission system being the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44204 Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/466 Learning process for intelligent management, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies services using the results of monitoring in broadcast systems H04H60/61

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for accessing broadcast media items and segments from non-broadcast sources. In response to detecting that a user has not finished listening to a broadcast segment (e.g., a radio segment), an electronic device can automatically identify and access an alternate, non-broadcast source for the same broadcast segment (e.g., a corresponding podcast episode). Using the electronic device, a user can play back the segment from the non-broadcast source, starting playback at the last position of the broadcast segment when the user stopped listening to the broadcast. In some embodiments, the electronic device can update library counts (e.g., play counts and new/not new tags) based on media items and segments played back as part of a media broadcast.

Claims

1. A communications device for enabling an electronic device that is remote from the communications device to identify a non-broadcast source and play back media items retrieved from the non-broadcast source, the communications device comprising communications circuitry and a processing system, the processing system operative to:

direct the communications circuitry to receive a media broadcast, wherein the media broadcast comprises a plurality of media items;

identify a last received media item of the media broadcast;

identify a last playback position of the last received media item; and

send identification information for the last received media item and the last playback position from the communications device to a user account of a cloud service, wherein the electronic device is to receive the identification information and the last playback position of the last received media item from the user account of the cloud service and to begin playback of the last received media item on the electronic device, from a user-selected playback position, in response to the user selecting the last received media item and selecting the playback position using the electronic device.

2. The communications device of claim 1, wherein the processing system is further operative to:

determine a duration of a pre-determined portion of the last received media item; and

identify an alternate playback position that is prior to the identified last playback position by the determined duration, wherein the electronic device is to play back the last received media item from the identified alternate playback position.

3. The communications device of claim 2, wherein the pre-determined portion is selected based on at least one of:

a total duration of the last received media item;

a duration between a beginning and the identified last playback position of the last received media item;

or

features of the last received media item'"'"'s audio.

4. The communications device of claim 1, wherein the communications device is further operative to:

periodically send, to the user account of the cloud service, identification information of a currently playing media item and a current playback position at the time of the sending such that the communications device provides a series of data packets identifying received media items and their respective playback positions.

5. The communications device of claim 4, wherein the electronic device can retrieve from the user account of the cloud service, and playback on the electronic device, any media item, from a plurality of media items, whose identification information and playback position was periodically transmitted to the user account of the cloud service by the communications device.

6. The communications device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is further to:

determine that the last received media item is locally stored in memory; and

play back the locally stored media item.

7. The communications device of claim 1 wherein the nonbroadcast source is a streaming source.

8. The communications device of claim 1 wherein the identification information is sent through a wireless communication path.

9. The communications device of claim 1, wherein the user account of the cloud service stores a plurality of media items that have been broadcast to the communications device, and the user account of the cloud service stores a last playback position for each of the plurality of media items that have been broadcast to the communications device.

10. The communications device of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting, by the communications device, to the user account of the cloud service, a status signal at a periodic interval, and in response to the cloud service no longer receiving the status signal from the communications device, the cloud service determining that the last playback position of the communications device is a time of a last received status signal from the communications device, and the cloud service stores, in the user account, the time of the last received status signal as the last playback position of the communications device.

11. The communications device of claim 1, further comprising:

resuming playback of the last received media item on the communications device, from the last playback position stored at the user account of the cloud service.

12. The communications device of claim 11, wherein the last playback position stored at the user account of the cloud service was obtained by the cloud service from the electronic device.

13. The communications device of claim 11, wherein the playback on the communications device is resumed using a non-broadcast source.

14. A method performed by a communications device for enabling an electronic device that is remote from the communications device to identify a nonbroadcast source and play back media items retrieved from the non-broadcast source, the communications device comprising communications circuitry and a processing system, the method comprising:

directing the communications circuitry to receive a media broadcast, wherein the media broadcast comprises a plurality of media items;

identifying a last received media item of the media broadcast;

identifying a last playback position of the last received media item; and

sending identification information for the last received media item and the last playback position from the communications device to a user account of a cloud service, wherein the electronic device is to receive the identification information and the last playback position of the last received media item from the user account of the cloud service and to begin playback of the last received media item on the electronic device from a user selected playback position, in response to the user selecting the last received media item and selecting the playback position using the electronic device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

determining a duration of a pre-determined portion of the last received media item; and

identifying an alternate playback position that is prior to the identified last playback position by the determined duration, wherein the electronic device is to play back the last received media item from the identified alternate playback position.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the pre-determined portion is selected based on at least one of:

a total duration of the last received media item;

a duration between a beginning and the identified last playback position of the last received media item;

or

features of the last received media item'"'"'s audio.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

periodically sending, to the user account of the cloud service, identification information of a currently playing media item and a current playback position at the time of the sending such that the communications device provides a series of data packets identifying received media items and their respective playback positions.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

determining that the last received media item is locally stored in memory; and

playing back the locally stored media item.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein the nonbroadcast source is a streaming source.

20. The method of claim 14 wherein the identification information is sent through a wireless communication path.

21. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing instructions which when executed by a communications device cause the communications device to perform a method for enabling an electronic device that is remote from the communications device to identify a nonbroadcast source and play back media items retrieved from the non-broadcast source, the communications device comprising communications circuitry and a processing system, the method comprising:

directing the communications circuitry to receive a media broadcast, wherein the media broadcast comprises a plurality of media items;

identifying a last received media item of the media broadcast;

identifying a last playback position of the last received media item; and

sending identification information for the last received media item and the last playback position from the communications device to a user account of cloud service, wherein the electronic device is to receive the identification information and the last playback position of the last received media item from the user account of the cloud service and to begin playback of the last received media item on the electronic device from a user-selected playback position, in response to the user selecting the last received media item and selecting the playback position using the electronic device.

22. The medium of claim 21, wherein the method further comprises:

determining a duration of a pre-determined portion of the last received media item; and

identifying an alternate playback position that is prior to the identified last playback position by the determined duration, wherein the electronic device is to play back the last received media item from the identified alternate playback position.

23. The medium of claim 22, wherein the pre-determined portion is selected based on at least one of:

a total duration of the last received media item;

a duration between a beginning and the identified last playback position of the last received media item;

or

features of the last received media item'"'"'s audio.

24. The medium of claim 21, further comprising:

periodically sending, to the user account of the cloud service, identification information of a currently playing media item and a current playback position at the time of the sending such that the communications device provides a series of data packets identifying received media items and their respective playback positions.

25. The medium of claim 21, wherein the method further comprises:

determining that the last received media item is locally stored in memory; and

playing back the locally stored media item.

26. The medium of claim 21 wherein the nonbroadcast source is a streaming source.

27. The medium of claim 21 wherein the identification information is sent through a wireless communication path.