Skip feature for a broadcast or multicast media station

• US 8,463,930 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2010
• Issued: 06/11/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Concert Technology Corporation
• Original Assignee: Lemi Technology, LLC (Concert Technology Corporation)
• Inventors: Evans, Gregory M., Farrelly, Eugene Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): Walsh, John B.
• Application Number:
  US12/768,980
• Publication Number:
  US 20120066403A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,140 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/106 Receiver-side switching
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/28 Arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/40 Arrangements for broadcast specially adapted for accumulation-type receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 40/18 Arrangements characterised by circuits or components specially adapted for receiving
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/27 Arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/60 Network streaming of media packets

Abstract

A skip function for a broadcast or multicast media station is disclosed. In one embodiment, two content streams are simultaneously transmitted for a single radio station. A receiving device simultaneously receives the two content streams transmitted for the radio station. The receiving device provides playback of a first content stream of the two content streams. During playback of the first content stream, the receiving device buffers one or more most recently received content items from the second content stream. When a user of the receiving device initiates a skip, the receiving device performs a skip function by switching playback from the first content stream to the second content stream beginning at the start of the one or more most recently received content items from the second content stream that have been buffered at the receiving device.

Claims

1. A method of operation of a receiving device comprising:

receiving two content streams transmitted for a media station;

providing playback of a first content stream of the two content streams;

during playback of the first content stream, in response to receiving each most recent media item in a second content stream of the two content streams, discarding all media items previously received in the second content stream and buffering the each most recent media item received in the second content stream;

receiving a skip request during playback of the first content stream;

in response to the skip request, switching playback from the first content stream to the second content stream to provide playback of the second content stream beginning at a start of the most recent media item received in the second content stream that is buffered by the receiving device; and

during playback of the second content stream, in response to receiving each most recent media item in the first content stream, discarding all media items previously received in the first content stream and buffering each most recent media item received in the first content stream.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

buffering one or more most recent media items received in the first content stream during playback of the second content stream;

receiving a subsequent skip request during playback of the second content stream;

in response to the subsequent skip request, switching playback from the second content stream to the first content stream to provide playback of the first content stream beginning at a start of the one or more most recent media items received in the first content stream that are buffered by the receiving device; and

continuing playback of the first content stream at least until a subsequent skip request is received during playback of the first content stream.

3. The method of claim 1 comprising continuing playback of the second content stream for a duration in which multiple content items are played in the second content stream before receiving a subsequent skip request during playback of the second content stream.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein buffering the one or more most recent media items received in the second content stream comprises updating the one or more most recent media items buffered by the receiving device as new media items are received in the second content stream.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more most recent media items are a single most recent media item received in the second content stream.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein buffering the most recent media item received in the second content stream during playback of the first content stream comprises buffering the second content stream in a buffer such that an output of the buffer is set to a start of the single most recent media item received in the second content stream.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more most recent media items are at most a number N most recent media items received in the second content stream, wherein the number N is greater than 1.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein buffering the one or more most recent media items received in the second content stream comprises buffering the second content stream in a buffer such that an output of the buffer is set to a start of the one or more most recent media items received in the second content stream.

9. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

receiving a subsequent skip request during playback of one of at least two most recent media items received in the second content stream and buffered at the receiving device; and

in response to receiving the subsequent skip request, skipping ahead in playback of the second content stream from the one of the at least two most recent media items to a next one of the at least two most recent media items received in the second content stream and buffered at the receiving device.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the media station is a broadcast media station delivered to a plurality of receiving devices including the receiving device.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the first and second content streams for the broadcast media station are transmitted over a single HD radio carrier frequency.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the media station is a multicast media station delivered to a plurality of receiving devices including the receiving device.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the multicast media station is transmitted using a single Internet Protocol (IP) multicast address.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising enforcing one or more rights management rules at the receiving device to prevent a skip if the skip would violate the one or more rights management rules.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein content is scheduled on the first and second content streams such that one or more rights management rules are not violated at the receiving device taking into consideration potential skip requests.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising, upon initially selecting the media station for playback, identifying one of the two content streams as the first content stream for which to provide playback such that an amount of time until a skip feature is available is minimized.

17. A receiving device comprising:

receiver circuitry adapted to receive two content streams transmitted for a media station;

a first buffer adapted to buffer a first content stream of the two content streams from the receiver circuitry;

a second buffer adapted to buffer a second content stream of the two content streams from the receiver circuitry;

switching circuitry adapted to output a first buffered content stream from the first buffer when configured in a first state and output a second buffered content stream from the second buffer when configured in a second state;

playback circuitry adapted to provide playback of the first or second buffered content stream output by the switching circuitry; and

buffer management circuitry adapted to;

control the first buffer to output the first buffered content stream while the switching circuitry is configured in the first state to provide playback of the first content stream;

control the second buffer such that an output of the second buffer is set to a start of one or more most recent media items received in the second content stream buffered in the second buffer, wherein during playback of the first content stream, in response to receiving each most recent media item in the second content stream, all media items previously received in the second content stream are discarded and each most recent media item received in the second content stream is buffered; and

in response to a skip request from a user of the receiving device, control the second buffer to output the second buffered content stream while the switching circuitry is configured in the second state to provide playback of the second content stream beginning at the start of the one or more most recent media items received in the second content stream buffered in the second buffer, wherein during playback of the second content stream, in response to receiving each most recent media item in the first content stream, all media items previously received in the first content stream are discarded and each most recent media item received in the first content stream is buffered.

18. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing software for instructing a computing device to:

provide playback of a first content stream for a media station, wherein the first content stream for the media station is transmitted with a second content stream for the media station;

during playback of the first content stream, in response to receiving each most recent media item in a second content stream of the two content streams, discard all media items previously received in the second content stream and buffer the each most recent media item received in the second content stream;

receive a skip request during playback of the first content stream;

in response to the skip request, switch playback from the first content stream to the second content stream to provide playback of the second content stream beginning at a start of the one or more most recent media items received in the second content stream that are buffered at the computing device; and

during playback of the second content stream, in response to receiving each most recent media item in the first content stream, discard all media items previously received in the first content stream and buffer each most recent media item received in the first content stream.