Audio-on-demand communication system

• US 6,151,634 A
• Filed: 03/13/1998
• Issued: 11/21/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: RealNetworks, Inc.
• Inventors: Glaser, Robert D., O'Brien, Mark, Goldberg, Randy Glen, Boutell, Thomas B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rinehart, Mark H.
• Application Number:
  US09/042,172
• Time in Patent Office: 984 Days
• Field of Search: 709/236, 709/231, 709/219, 709/248, 348/474, 700/94, 370/503, 370/509, 370/512, 370/476
• US Class Current: 709/236
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/28 Arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/30 by a single channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/40 Arrangements for broadcast specially adapted for accumulation-type receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/46 specially adapted for broadcast systems covered by groups H04H20/53-H04H20/95
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/82 using signals not modulated onto a carrier
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/83 not sharing the network with any other service
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/27 Arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/51 of receiving stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/73 using meta-information

Abstract

An audio-on-demand communication system provides real-time playback of audio data transferred via telephone lines or other communication links. One or more audio servers include memory banks which store compressed audio data. At the request of a user at a subscriber PC, an audio server transmits the compressed audio data over the communication link to the subscriber PC. The subscriber PC receives and decompresses the transmitted audio data in less than real-time using only the processing power of the CPU within the subscriber PC. According to one aspect of the present invention, high quality audio data compressed according to lossless compression techniques is transmitted together with normal quality audio data. According to another aspect of the present invention, metadata, or extra data, such as text, captions, still images, etc., is transmitted with audio data and is simultaneously displayed with corresponding audio data. The audio-on-demand system also provides a table of contents indicating significant divisions in the audio clip to be played and allows the user immediate access to audio data at the listed divisions. According to a further aspect of the present invention, servers and subscriber PCs are dynamically allocated based upon geographic location to provide the highest possible quality in the communication link.

Claims

1. An audio data player comprising:

a CPU;

a computer readable storage device storing a data structure including a significant segment of an audio clip along with small portions of a plurality of predetermined segments of audio data; and

playback software executed by said CPU to access said data structure and play said significant segment, said playback software responsive to user input to stop playing said significant segment and to begin playing one of said plurality of predetermined segments.

2. A method of providing audio-on-demand comprising the steps of:

storing an audio clip on a computer-readable storage medium at a first location; and

transmitting a significant segment of said audio clip along with small portions of a plurality of predetermined segments of said audio clip to a second location.

3. The method of providing audio-on-demand as defined in claim 2, wherein said predetermined segments of said audio clip comprise significant divisions within said audio clip.

4. The method of providing audio-on-demand as defined in claim 3, wherein said significant segment of said audio clip corresponds to a book or other material having chapters and wherein said predetermined segments of audio data correspond to chapters.

5. The method of providing audio-on-demand as defined in claim 4, the method further comprising the steps of:

compressing data representing said audio clip at a ratio sufficient to transmit said audio clip at least fast enough to permit a receiving PC to generate continuous sound during receipt of said compressed data representing said audio clip.