INTELLIGENT MEDIA BUFFERING BASED ON INPUT FOCUS PROXIMITY

• US 20090046545A1
• Filed: 08/16/2007
• Published: 02/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Blinnikka, Tomi
• Granted Patent: US 9,148,628 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 369/30.60
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/422 Input-only peripherals , i.e. input devices connected to specially adapted client devices, e.g. global positioning system [GPS] input devices also receiving signals from specially adapted client devices H04N21/4104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44004 involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

A system and method of pre-buffering media files may be employed to improve the initial playback performance of a media file. In accordance with one aspect, a media player application may present a list of media files for playback. Based on a location and/or movement of an input focus device, the media player may pre-buffer those media files located within a proximity of the input focus device. A pre-buffered media file may be selected for playback by the media player application.

Claims

1. A method of pre-buffering a media file, the method comprising:

providing a list of media items available for playback by a media player, wherein a media item from the list of media items is selected for playback by an input focus device;

responsive to the input focus device, pre-buffering each media item of the list of media items located within a proximity of the input focus device; and

selecting a pre-buffered media item to be played from among the pre-buffered media items.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said pre-buffering buffers a predetermined amount of data for the each media item of the list of media items.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising, responsive to a change in a location of the input focus device, ceasing to pre-buffer the each media item if the each media item is located outside the proximity of the input focus device, and saving the each pre-buffered media item in a temporary storage location.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising, responsive to a change in a location of the input focus device, ceasing to pre-buffer the each media item if the each media item is located outside the proximity of the input focus device, and discarding the each pre-buffered media item.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the each media item is pre-buffered in a dedicated buffer stream.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising instantiating an instance of the media player for the each pre-buffered media item, wherein said pre-buffering each media item occurs in the instantiated media player instance.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the input focus device is a pointer, and wherein the proximity of the pointer is determined as a function of a predetermined radius from the pointer.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the input focus device is a selection tool capable of movement in cardinal directions, and wherein the proximity of the selection tool includes media items adjacent to a media item selected by the selection tool in the cardinal directions.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the each media item is located within a proximity of the input focus device if the each media item is located within a predetermined area surrounding an input focus device location.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the each media item is located within a proximity of the input focus device if the each media item is located in a path of movement of the input focus device, wherein the path of movement is determined by calculating a input focus device movement vector using two points of the input focus device.

11. A computer-readable storage medium encoded with a computer-executable program to perform a method comprising:

providing a list of media items available for playback by a media player, wherein a media item from the list of media items is selected for playback by an input focus device;

responsive to the input focus device, pre-buffering each media item of the list of media items located within a proximity of the input focus device; and

selecting a pre-buffered media item to be played from among the pre-buffered media items.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein said pre-buffering buffers a predetermined amount of data for the each media item of the list of media items.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, further comprising, responsive to a change in a location of the input focus device, ceasing to pre-buffer the each media item if the each media item is located outside the proximity of the input focus device, and saving the each pre-buffered media item in a temporary storage location.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, further comprising, responsive to a change in a location of the input focus device, ceasing to pre-buffer the each media item if the each media item is located outside the proximity of the input focus device, and discarding the each pre-buffered media item.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the each media item is pre-buffered in a dedicated buffer stream.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, further comprising instantiating an instance of the media player for the each pre-buffered media item, wherein said buffering each media item occurs in the instantiated media player instance.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the input focus device is a pointer, and wherein the proximity of the pointer is determined as a function of a predetermined distance from the pointer.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the input focus device is a selection tool capable of movement in cardinal directions, and wherein the proximity of the selection tool includes media items adjacent to a media item selected by the selection tool in the cardinal directions.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the each media item is located within a proximity of the input focus device if the each media item is located within a predetermined area surrounding an input focus device location.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the each media item is located within a proximity of the input focus device if the each media item is located in a path of movement of the input focus device, wherein the path of movement is determined by calculating a input focus device movement vector using two points of the input focus device.

21. A media player, comprising:

a player component to load and play a media file;

an input focus device to select a media item from a list of media items for playback; and

a media cache to store the media items for playback,

wherein said player component pre-buffers, in said media buffer, a media file corresponding to each media item of the list of media items located within a proximity of said input focus device.

22. The media player of claim 21, wherein each of the list of media items includes a URL identifying the corresponding media file stored remotely from the media player.

23. The media player of claim 22, wherein said player component pre-buffers a predetermined amount of data for the media file corresponding to the each media item located within the proximity of said input focus device.

24. The media player of claim 21, wherein responsive to a change in a location of said input focus device, said player component ceases pre-buffering the media file if the corresponding each media item is located outside the proximity of said input focus device, and said player component saves the pre-buffered media file corresponding to the each media item located outside the proximity of the input focus device in said media cache.

25. The media player of claim 21, wherein responsive to a change in a location of said input focus device, said player component ceases pre-buffering the media file if the corresponding each media item is located outside the proximity of said input focus device, and said player component discards the pre-buffered media file corresponding to the each media item located outside the proximity of the input focus device.

26. The media player of claim 21, wherein said player component pre-buffers the media file in a dedicated buffer stream.

27. The media player of claim 26, wherein the media player instantiates a number of instances of said player component equal to a number of the each media item within the proximity of the input focus device, each player component instance pre-buffering the media file corresponding to the each media item using the dedicated buffer stream.

28. The media player of claim 21, wherein the input focus device is a pointer, and wherein the proximity of the pointer is determined as a function of a predetermined distance from the pointer.

29. The media player of claim 21, wherein the input focus device is a selection tool capable of movement in cardinal directions, and wherein the proximity of the selection tool includes media items adjacent to a media item selected by the selection tool in the cardinal directions.

30. The media player of claim 21, wherein the each media item is located within the proximity of the input focus device if the each media item is located within a predetermined area surrounding an input focus device location.

31. The media player of claim 21, wherein the each media item is located within the proximity of the input focus device if the each media item is located in a path of movement of the input focus device, wherein the path of movement is determined by calculating a input focus device movement vector using two points of the input focus device.

32. A multimedia presentation system, comprising:

at least one server to store a plurality of media files; and

a plurality of devices configured to connect to said at least one server, each device comprising;

a media player, comprising;

a player component to play a media file;

a media cache to store media files from the plurality of media files; and

an input focus device to select a media item from a list of media items for playback,

wherein for each media item of the list of media items located within a proximity of said input focus device, said player component pre-buffers a media file from said at least one server corresponding to the each media item.

33. The multimedia presentation system of claim 32, wherein said player component pre-buffers a predetermined amount of data for the media file corresponding to the each media item located within the proximity of the input focus device.

34. The multimedia presentation system of claim 32, wherein responsive to a change in a location of said input focus device, said player component ceases pre-buffering the media file corresponding to the each media item from said at least one server if the each media item is located outside the proximity of said input focus device, and said player component saves in said media cache the pre-buffered media file corresponding to the each media item located outside the proximity of the input focus device.

35. The multimedia presentation system of claim 32, wherein responsive to a change in a location of said input focus device, said player component ceases pre-buffering the media file corresponding to the each media item from said at least one server if the each media item is located outside the proximity of said input focus device, and wherein said player component discards the pre-buffered media file corresponding to the each media item located outside the proximity of the input focus device.

36. The multimedia presentation system of claim 32, wherein said player component pre-buffers the media file in a dedicated buffer stream.

37. The multimedia presentation system of claim 36, wherein the media player instantiates a number of instances of said player component equal to a number of the each media item located within the proximity of the input focus device, each player component instance pre-buffering the media file corresponding to the each media item using the dedicated buffer stream.

38. The multimedia presentation system of claim 32, wherein the input focus device is a pointer, and wherein the proximity of the pointer is determined as a function of a predetermined distance from the pointer.

39. The multimedia presentation system of claim 32, wherein the input focus device is a selection tool capable of movement in cardinal directions, and wherein the proximity of the selection tool includes media items adjacent to a media item selected by the selection tool in the cardinal directions.

40. The multimedia presentation system of claim 32, wherein the each media item is located within the proximity of the input focus device if the each media item is located within a predetermined area surrounding an input focus device location.

41. The multimedia presentation system of claim 32, wherein the each media item is located within the proximity of the input focus device if the each media item is located in a path of movement of the input focus device, wherein the path of movement is determined by calculating a input focus device movement vector using two points of the input focus device.