SOURCE INDICATORS FOR ELEMENTS OF AN AGGREGATE MEDIA COLLECTION IN A MEDIA SHARING SYSTEM

• US 20100094934A1
• Filed: 10/15/2008
• Published: 04/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Concert Technology Corporation
• Original Assignee: Concert Technology Corporation, Eloy Technology, LLC (Concert Technology Corporation)
• Inventors: Svendsen, Hugh, Amidon, Christopher M., Curtis, Scott, Sutherland, Harold
• Granted Patent: US 7,752,265 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed for providing source indicators for one or more elements of an aggregate media collection of a user in a media sharing system. In one embodiment, a local media collection of a user is aggregated with one or more shared media collections hosted by corresponding user devices of other users participating in the media sharing system to provide an aggregate media collection for the user. Via a Graphical User Interface (GUI), for each element of at least a subset of elements of the aggregate media collection, one or more source indicators are presented in association with the element to identify a source or sources of the element in the media sharing system. The elements of the aggregate media collection include at least a subset of media items in the aggregate media collection, playlists including media items from the aggregate media collection, or both.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

presenting a plurality of identifiers to a user identifying a corresponding plurality of media collections to be aggregated for an aggregate media collection of the user, the plurality of media collections comprising one or more shared media collections shared by corresponding one or more sharing users;

assigning a unique source indicator to each of the plurality of media collections to be aggregated;

aggregating the plurality of media collections to provide the aggregate media collection of the user; and

presenting a source indicator in association with at least one element of the aggregate media collection of the user, the source indicator corresponding to the unique source indicator for a one of the plurality of media collections that is a source for the at least one element of the aggregate media collection.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the unique source indicator of each of the plurality of media collections and the source indicator presented in association with the at least one element of the aggregate media collection are visual indicators.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one element comprises a plurality of media items from the aggregate media collection of the user, and presenting the source indicator in association with the at least one element of the aggregate media collection of the user comprises:

for each media item of the plurality of media items from the aggregate media collection of the user, presenting a source indicator in association with an identifier of the media item corresponding to the unique source indicator of one of the plurality of media collections that is a source from which the media item is to be obtained.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one element comprises a plurality of media items from the aggregate media collection of the user, and presenting the source indicator in association with the at least one element of the aggregate media collection of the user comprises:

for each media item of the plurality of media items from the aggregate media collection of the user, presenting one or more source indicators in association with an identifier of the media item, each of the one or more source indicators corresponding to the unique source indicator of one of the plurality of media collections that is a source of the media item.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising, for each media item of the plurality of media items from the aggregate media collection of the user, highlighting a source indicator from the one or more source indicators presented in association with the identifier of the media item that corresponds to a source from which the media item is to be obtained.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one element comprises a currently playing media item, and presenting the source indicator comprises presenting the source indicator in association with a playback progress bar.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein presenting the source indicator in association with the playback progress bar comprises presenting the source indicator as a thumb of the playback progress bar.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one element comprises a playlist including a plurality of media items from the aggregate media collection, and presenting the source indicator in association with the at least one element of the aggregate media collection of the user comprises:

presenting one or more source indicators in association with an identifier of the playlist, each source indicator of the one or more source indicators corresponding to the unique source indicator of one of the plurality of media collections that is a source of at least one of the plurality of media items in the playlist.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of media collections comprise the one or more shared media collections shared by the one or more sharing users and a media collection of the user.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the aggregate media collection comprises a list of unique media items in the plurality of media collections and, for each unique media item in the list of unique media items, information identifying at least one of the plurality of media collections as a source of the unique media item.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein media items from the one or more shared media collections are streamed to a user device of the user for playback as desired.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the method is a method of operation of a user device of the user, and the one or more shared media collections are hosted by corresponding one or more user devices of the one or more sharing users connected to the user device of the user via a network.

13. A computer readable medium comprising software for instructing a computing system to:

present a plurality of identifiers to a user identifying a corresponding plurality of media collections to be aggregated to provide an aggregate media collection of the user, the plurality of media collections comprising one or more shared media collections shared by corresponding one or more sharing users;

assign a unique source indicator to each of the plurality of media collections to be aggregated to provide the aggregate media collection of the user;

aggregate the plurality of media collections to provide the aggregate media collection of the user; and

present a source indicator in association with at least one element of the aggregate media collection of the user, the source indicator corresponding to the unique source indicator for one of the plurality of media collections that is a source for the at least one element of the aggregate media collection.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the unique source indicator of each of the plurality of media collections and the source indicator presented in association with the at least one element of the aggregate media collection are visual indicators.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the at least one media element comprises a plurality of media items from the aggregate media collection of the user, and the software is further adapted to instruct the computing system to:

for each media item of the plurality of media items from the aggregate media collection of the user, present a source indicator in association with an identifier of the media item corresponding to the unique source indicator of one of the plurality of media collections that is a source from which the media item is to be obtained.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the at least one element comprises a plurality of media items from the aggregate media collection of the user, and the software is further adapted to instruct the computing system to:

for each media item of the plurality of media items from the aggregate media collection of the user, present one or more source indicators in association with an identifier of the media item, each of the one or more source indicators corresponding to the unique source indicator of one of the plurality of media collections that is a source of the media item.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 16 wherein the software is further adapted to instruct the computing system to, for each media item of the plurality of media items from the aggregate media collection of the user, highlight a source indicator from the one or more source indicators presented in association with the identifier of the media item that corresponds to a source from which the media item is to be obtained.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the at least one element comprises a currently playing media item, and the source indicator is presented in association with a playback progress bar.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 18 wherein the source indicator is presented as a thumb of the playback progress bar.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the at least one element comprises a playlist including a plurality of media items from the aggregate media collection, and the software is further adapted to instruct the computing system to:

present one or more source indicators in association with an identifier of the playlist, each source indicator of the one or more source indicators corresponding to the unique source indicator of one of the plurality of media collections that is a source of at least one of the plurality of media items in the playlist.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the plurality of media collections comprise the one or more shared media collections shared by the one or more sharing users and a media collection of the user.

22. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the aggregate media collection comprises a list of unique media items in the plurality of media collections and, for each unique media item in the list of unique media items, information identifying at least one of the plurality of media items as a source of the unique media item.

23. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the computing system is a user device of the user, and media items from the one or more shared media collections are streamed to the user device of the user for playback as desired.

24. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the computing system is a user device of the user, and the one or more shared media collections are hosted by corresponding one or more user devices of the one or more sharing users connected to the user device of the user via a network.

25. A user device of a user comprising:

a communication interface communicatively coupling the user device to a network; and

a control system associated with the communication interface and adapted to;

join a media sharing system comprising the user device of the user and one or more user devices of one or more sharing users connected via the network, the one or more user devices of the one or more sharing users hosting a corresponding one or more shared media collections;

present a plurality of identifiers to a user identifying a corresponding plurality of media collections to be aggregated to provide an aggregate media collection of the user, the plurality of media collections comprising the one or more shared media collections;

assign a unique source indicator to each of the plurality of media collections to be aggregated to provide the aggregate media collection of the user;

aggregate the plurality of media collections to provide the aggregate media collection of the user; and

present a source indicator in association with at least one element of the aggregate media collection of the user, the source indicator corresponding to the unique source indicator for a one of the plurality of media collections that is a source for the at least one element of the aggregate media collection.