METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DOWNLOADING AND MANAGING AN EDITED MEDIA STREAM TO A PORTABLE MEDIA DEVICE

• US 20100042920A1
• Filed: 07/15/2009
• Published: 02/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Myine Electronics, LLC
• Original Assignee: Myine Electronics, LLC
• Inventors: SIGAL, Jacob R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,739,034 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/704
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3414 Workload generation, e.g. scripts, playback
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/16 Sound input; Sound output speech processing G10L
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45512 Command shells
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10 Digital recording or reproducing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10546 specifically adapted for audio data
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/322 used signal is digitally coded
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/025 Portable cases
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 33/122 Arrangements for providing electrical connections, e.g. connectors, cables, switches

Abstract

In one aspect the present disclosure is directed to a media system having a base unit and a portable media player. The base unit may be adapted to playback and record media content being received from an external media source. The base unit may further be adapted to analyze the media content and to automatically extract therefrom, without intervention by a user of the system, intermittent, designated portions of the media content as the media content is received by the base unit, and to store the designated portions of the media content as media files for subsequent playback. The portable media player may be docked to the base unit so that stored media files from the base unit may be uploaded to the portable media player.

Claims

1. A media system comprising:

a base unit adapted to playback and record media content being received from an external media source, the base unit further being adapted to analyze said media content and to automatically extract therefrom, without intervention by a user of the system, intermittent, designated portions of the media content as the media content is received by the base unit, and to store the designated portions of the media content as media files for subsequent playback; and

a portable media player adapted to be docked to the base unit and to have uploaded thereto the stored media files from the base unit.

2. The media system of claim 1, wherein the base unit comprises a gap detection software module for analyzing the media content as the media content is received by the base unit and determining which portions of the media content to store as the media files.

3. The media system of claim 2, wherein the stored media files comprise audio files that are able to be played back by the base unit or the portable media player.

4. The media system of claim 1, wherein the base unit includes a memory, and wherein the base unit automatically deletes an oldest one of the stored media files when the memory is one of full or almost full, to make room for a new one of the media files.

5. The media system of claim 1, wherein the base unit includes a control adapted to allow a user to designate one of the saved media files that is being played back on the base unit as a locked song file that is not to be deleted after it is uploaded to the portable media player.

6. The media system of claim 1, wherein the portable media player includes:

a memory for storing the media files uploaded from the base unit; and

a control adapted to allow a user to designate one of the saved media files that is being played back on the portable media player as a locked media file, thereafter preventing the locked media file from being deleted from the portable media player.

7. A media system comprising:

a base unit adapted to receive media content from a media content source;

the base unit including;

a controller;

a memory;

a gap detection software module for detecting gaps in the media content being received by the base unit, the controller using the gap detection software module to filter out portions of the media content and to store a remaining quantity of the media content as media files in the memory;

a portable media player including;

a rechargeable battery;

a memory; and

the portable media player adapted to be electrically coupled to the base unit so that the stored media files can be uploaded from the memory of the base unit to the memory of the portable media player for subsequent playback on the portable media player by a user.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the base unit includes an amplifier and at least one speaker for playing media content that is being input to the base unit as an audio signal.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the base unit includes a playback mode to allow playback of the recorded media files as audio files.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the controller of the base unit controls the storage of the media files being created from the media content so that an oldest one of the stored media files is deleted to make room for a newly recorded media file when the memory of the base unit becomes full.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the base unit includes a control that enables a user to designate one of the recorded media files that is currently playing back on the base unit, as a specific media file that is not to be deleted after it is uploaded to the portable media player.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the base unit includes a control that allows the user to delete one of the stored media files that is currently being played back on the base unit from the memory of the base unit.

13. The system of claim 7, wherein the media files recorded by the base unit and stored in the memory of the base unit comprise audio files.

14. The system of claim 7, wherein the portable media player includes a control that enables a user to lock a currently playing media file to protect the currently playing media file against deletion or being overwritten.

15. The system of claim 7, wherein uploading of the stored media files from the memory of the base unit to the memory of the portable media player being automatically when the portable media player is docked in the docking port of the base unit while the base unit is powered on.

16. An apparatus adapted to receive media content from a media content source, the apparatus comprising;

a controller;

a memory in communication with the controller;

a gap detection software module used by the controller for detecting gaps in the media content being received by the apparatus, the controller using the gap detection software module to filter out portions of the media content and to store a remaining quantity of the media content as media files in the memory;

a playback control for initiating playback of the media files;

a control for allowing a user to designate specific ones of said media files that are not to be deleted; and

the controller further adapted to facilitate uploading of recorded media files to an external device.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the controller operates to delete stored media files in accordance with a first-in-first-out (FIFO) protocol when insufficient memory space is available in the memory to store a new media file.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising a portable media player adapted to be coupled to the apparatus and to receive uploaded media files from the apparatus.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the media files that have been designated as those not to be deleted are recognized by the portable media player as being write protected so as not to be capable of being over-written by a subsequently uploaded media file.

20. A portable media player adapted to receive media files from an external device, the portable media player comprising:

a housing;

controller;

a memory in communication with the controller for storing media files thereon;

an audio transducer adapted to receive the stored media files when the stored media files are being played back on the portable media player and to convert the stored media files to audio tracks; and

a control in communication with the controller for allowing a user to protect specific ones of the stored media files against future deletion as the stored media files are played back as the audio tracks by the audio transducer.

21. The portable media player of claim 20, further comprising an independent, stand-alone base unit for receiving media content broadcast wirelessly from a media content source and storing the media content as media files, the stand-alone base unit including a docking port to enable the portable media player to be coupled thereto and to enable ones of the media files stored on the base unit to be uploaded to the portable media player.

22. A method for recording and playing back media content received from a media source, the method comprising:

using a base unit to receive media content from an external media source, the media content including first portions intermittently separated by second portions;

analyzing the media content to detect the first portions;

storing only the first portions as separate media files in a memory of the base unit;

providing a first control for allowing a user to play back the stored media files;

providing a second control for allowing the user to designate specific ones of the media files stored in the memory of the base unit that are not to be deleted;

placing a portable media player in communication with the base unit; and

uploading the media files stored on the base unit to a memory of the portable media player for future playback on the portable media player.