Optimizing media player memory during rendering

• US 8,738,615 B2
• Filed: 01/08/2010
• Issued: 05/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation, Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: LaChapelle, Kevin Leigh, Mercer, Ian Cameron, Takeguchi, Nobuyasu, Mizukami, Toshihiko, Yanagawa, Yoshifumi, Matsumi, Chiyoko, Miyamoto, Harutoshi, Torii, Yasuyuki, Matsuo, Keisuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Mofiz, Apu
• Assistant Examiner(s): DAYE, CHELCIE L
• Application Number:
  US12/684,681
• Publication Number:
  US 20100114846A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,600 Days
• Field of Search: 707/2, 707/10, 707/104, 707/713, 707/715, 707/793, 707/796, 707/727, 386/241
• US Class Current: 707/727
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/213 Read-only discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/216 Rewritable discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/218 Write-once discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2545 CDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2562 DVDs [digital versatile discs]; Digital video discs; MMCDs; HDCDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2575 DVD-RAMs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• 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: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

Optimizing operation of a media player during rendering of media files. The invention includes authoring software to create a data structure and to populate the created data structure with obtained metadata. The invention also includes rendering software to retrieve the metadata from the data structure and to identify media files to render. In one embodiment, the invention is operable as part of a compressed media format having a set of small files containing metadata, menus, and playlists in a compiled binary format designed for playback on feature-rich personal computer media players as well as low cost media players.

Claims

1. A method of optimizing operation of a media player, said media player accessing a computer-readable medium for rendering selected media files stored thereon, said media player having a memory, said computer-readable medium further storing memory optimizing data including content related data associated with the media files, said method comprising:

retrieving, by the media player, the memory optimizing data including the content related data stored on the computer-readable medium prior to rendering the selected media files, said memory optimizing data including the content related data being associated with the selected media files stored on the computer readable medium, said memory optimizing data including information categorized for media player operations and media player startup, wherein the content related data includes a reference to a location of each of the selected media files on the computer-readable medium, and wherein the content related data describes content associated with each of the selected media files;

identifying, by the media player, the selected media files in response to the retrieved memory optimizing data including the content related data;

identifying optimizing data categorized for media player startup in the memory of the media player;

rendering, by the media player, the identified media files; and

prior to said rendering, said media player not retaining in the memory of the media player the identified optimizing data thereby increasing the amount of the memory of the media player available to the media player during said rendering by the media player of the identified media files.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying at least a portion of the content related data by the media player in connection with the selected media files to which the memory optimizing data is associated during rendering of the selected media files.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying comprises identifying the selected media files from a plurality of media files stored on the computer-readable medium.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining metadata associated with the selected media files via the memory optimizing data; and

displaying the obtained metadata to a user on a display associated with the media player.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein at least one of:

said obtaining comprises reading logical sector numbers via the memory optimizing data, said logical sector numbers each identifying a respective one of the selected media files;

said obtaining comprises reading menu information from the memory optimizing data, said menu information identifying the selected media files, wherein said reading comprises reading menu information from the memory optimizing data for one of the selected media files and wherein said menu information corresponds to a location in a menu associated with the selected media files, further comprising storing a reference to said menu information;

said obtaining comprises obtaining a thumbnail image via the memory optimizing data, said thumbnail image corresponding to one or more of the selected media files.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising identifying a logical sector number for one of the selected media files by matching a file system storing said one of the selected media files to a file name associated with said one of the selected media files, said obtaining comprising reading a playlist from the memory optimizing data, said playlist identifying one or more of the selected media files, and said obtaining comprising identifying a language from the memory optimizing data, said identified language corresponding to menu information associated with the selected media files.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising storing the obtained metadata in memory associated with the media player.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the content-related data is selected from one or more of the following:

title, composer, performer, genre, studio, director, rating, artist, and description of content of the corresponding media.

9. A media player having one or more computer-readable media storing computer-executable components for optimizing operation of the media player, said media player having a memory, said media player accessing a computer-readable medium for rendering selected media files stored thereon, said computer-readable medium further storing memory optimizing data including content related data associated with the media, said components comprising:

an input module for retrieving the memory optimizing data including the content related data stored on the computer-readable medium prior to rendering the selected media files, said memory optimizing data including the content related data being associated with the selected media files stored on the computer readable medium, said memory optimizing data including information categorized for media player operations and media player startup, wherein the content related data includes a reference to a location of each of the selected media files on the computer-readable medium, and wherein the content related data describes content associated with each of the selected media files; and

a filter module for identifying the selected media files in response to the retrieved memory optimizing data including the content related data from the input module, said selected media files being rendered by the media player such that prior to rendering the memory optimizing data categorized for media player startup is not retained in the memory of the media player thereby increasing the amount of memory available during said rendering of the selected media files stored on the computer-readable medium by the media player.

10. The media player of claim 9, further comprising a user interface module for displaying at least a portion of the content related data in connection with the selected media files to which the memory optimizing data is associated during rendering of the selected media files.

11. The media player of claim 9, wherein at least one of:

the filter module identifies the selected media files from a plurality of media files stored on the computer-readable medium;

the filter module obtains metadata associated with the selected media files via the memory optimizing data, and wherein the filter module displays the obtained metadata to a user on a display associated with the media player;

the filter module reads logical sector numbers via the memory optimizing data, said logical sector numbers each identifying a respective one of the selected media files;

the filter module reads menu information from the memory optimizing data, said menu information identifying the selected media files;

the filter module obtains a thumbnail image via the memory optimizing data, said thumbnail image corresponding to one or more of the selected media files;

the filter module reads a playlist from the memory optimizing data, said playlist identifying one or more of the selected media files; and

the filter module identifies a language from the memory optimizing data, said identified language corresponding to menu information associated with the selected media files.

12. The media player of claim 9 wherein the computer-readable medium has stored thereon a data structure representing the memory optimizing data including the content related data associated with the selected media files stored thereon, said data structure comprising:

a header including a field storing a reference to the content related data associated with one or more media files, wherein the content related data describes content associated with each of the media files, and wherein the content related data includes a location of each of the selected media files on the computer-readable medium.

13. The media player of claim 12, said data structure further comprising a directory table matching directory numbers to directory names associated with the one or more media files, wherein the header references the media files by the directory numbers.

14. The media player of claim 13, wherein the directory table has sequentially numbered entries each corresponding to one of the directory names and wherein the entries each identify a parent directory for said one of the directory names.

15. The media player of claim 13, wherein the header includes separate fields for audio media files, video media files, and still image media files.

16. The media player of claim 13, further comprising a locale identifier having a language field storing a language identifier identifying a language of content related metadata associated with the media files.

17. The media player of claim 13, wherein the content-related data is selected from one or more of the following:

title, composer, performer, genre, studio, director, rating, artist, and description of content of the corresponding media file.

18. The media player of claim 13, wherein the metadata comprise one or more of the following associated with the media files:

menu information, playlist information, and thumbnail images.

19. The media player of claim 13, further comprising a sector field storing a logical sector number for each of the media files.

20. The media player of claim 13, wherein the computer-readable medium stores data in sectors, and wherein the field is stored at a sector boundary.