Client device, method and computer program for playing media content

• US 9,736,206 B2
• Filed: 06/05/2015
• Issued: 08/15/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cinemo Gmbh
• Original Assignee: Cinemo Gmbh
• Inventors: Lesser, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Nano, Sargon
• Application Number:
  US14/732,344
• Publication Number:
  US 20150271240A1
• Time in Patent Office: 802 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/764 at the destination reformatting of additional data in video clients H04N21/4355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2181 comprising remotely distributed storage units, e.g. when movies are replicated over a plurality of video servers distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS], H04L67/1097
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44209 Monitoring of downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. bandwidth variations of a wireless network arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing

Abstract

Client device for playing media content, comprising: a connection interface for establishing a connection with a server and for receiving a media content from the server via the connection; a detector for detecting, whether the media content is to be continued beyond a termination of the connection with the server, and for providing a detection result in case it is determined that the media content is to be continued beyond a determination of the connection with the server; and a processor for taking an action to continue the media content beyond a termination of the connection with the server.

Claims

1. Client device for playing media content, comprising:

a connection interface configured for establishing a connection with a server and for receiving a media content from the server via the connection, in which the connection interface is configured as a small distance wireless connection interface;

a detector configured for detecting, whether playing of the media content is to be continued beyond a termination of the connection with the server, and configured for providing a detection result in case it is determined that the playing of the media content is to be continued beyond the termination of the connection with the server;

a large distance wireless connection interface configured for establishing a connection to the Internet; and

a processor configured for taking an action to continue the playing of the media content by the client device beyond the termination of the connection with the server, in response to the detection result,

wherein the processor is configured, to activate, as the action, the large distance wireless connection interface in response to an indication that the user has actuated a continue playing facility, and to connect to a server associated with a uniform resource locator (URL) and to download a remaining portion of the media content or to stream a remaining portion of the media content using a position information,

wherein the processor is further configured to determine the uniform resource locator, from which the media content can be received, and to determine the position information indicating a position in the media content before or at which the connection to the server was terminated, and

wherein at least one of the connection interface, the detector and the processor comprises a hardware implementation.

2. Client device of claim 1, wherein the detector comprises a user interface having a continue playing input facility;

and

wherein the detector is configured to provide the detection result, when the user has activated the continue playing input facility.

3. Client device of claim 1,

wherein the processor is configured to take the action in response to the detection result without a user input, and

to notify the user by an output signal that the connection is terminated, and that the action has been taken, the output signal comprising an optical display signal, a vibration signal or an acoustic signal.

4. Client device of claim 1, wherein the media stream is originating from a source and a connection to the source is in accordance with a first connection standard,

wherein the processor is configured to connect to a database comprising different source identifications and associated addresses of the same source providing the media content via a different connection standard, to access the database to retrieve the address of the same source providing the media content via the different communication standard, and to connect to the source having the address using the different communication standard.

5. Client device of claim 4, wherein the first connection standard is a digital video broadcasting connection standard to obtain a certain broadcast program, and wherein the second connection standard is an Internet protocol connection standard to obtain the same broadcast program via the Internet.

6. Client device in accordance with claim 1,

wherein the processor is furthermore configured to establish a connection with the server via the connection interface, to receive a streamed content from the server, to render the streamed content via an output interface comprising audio or video replay facilities, to activate a continue playing button on the client device as soon as the processor has detected a quality decrease of the connection with the server by a predefined amount, and to connect to a different source for the media content in response to a user indication that the user has activated the continue playing button.

7. Client device in accordance with claim 1,

in which the processor is configured to perform at least one action of the following set of actions to continue the media content, the set of actions comprising:

determining a position in the media content at or before the detection result is provided, and downloading the media content from the server and storing the downloaded content on the client device starting from the position in the media content indicated by the position information;

determining a position in the media content at or before the detection result is provided, wherein the media content is a predefined playlist comprising a sequence of media items, downloading a remaining portion of a current media item or additionally one or more additional items in the sequence of media contents either in response to a predefined setting or in response to an user input regarding a number of additional items;

determining a position in the media content at or before the detection result is provided, starting a connection to an Internet server by the client device from the position in the stream;

determining a position in the media content at or before the detection result is provided, searching a media database stored in a local storage of the client device, and resuming playback at the position from the media database stored in the local storage of the client device; and

setting a bookmark at a position in the media content at or before the detection result is provided, connecting to a different remote source of the media content, and receiving from the different remote source a media content using the bookmark.

8. Client device of claim 1, in which the processor is configured for replaying the media content until an end of the media content and for deleting the content on the client device, when the end of the media content is fully replayed without any user interaction.

9. Client device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to store a bookmark at a termination of the connection or when the processor has received an indication that the user has actuated a continue playing input facility, and

wherein the processor is configured to resume playing back the media content at the bookmark, when a connection to the same server is established at a later time.

10. Client device in accordance with claim 1,

wherein the server is a distributed playback server,

wherein the processor is configured to replay the media content in synchrony with at least one other client device under a control of the distributed playback server, and

wherein the processor is configured to replay the media content subsequent to taking the action in an autonomous way without being synchronized with the at least one other client device.

11. Client device of claim 1,

wherein the processor is configured to take the action under control of the detector without any user interaction,

wherein the processor is configured to display or activate a continue playing button on the client device, when the processor has established a connection to a different source of the media content and is in the position to replay the media content beyond the termination of the connection, and

wherein the processor is configured to not display or not activate the continue playing button, when the processor, although having taken the action is not in the position to replay the media content beyond the termination of the connection.

12. Method of operating a client device for playing media content, the client device comprising a connection interface, a detector, and a processor, comprising:

establishing, by the connection interface, a connection with a server and receiving a media content from the server via the connection, in which the connection interface is configured as a small distance wireless connection interface;

detecting, by the detector, whether playing of the media content is to be continued beyond a termination of the connection with the server, and providing a detection result in case it is determined that the playing of the media content is to be continued beyond the termination of the connection with the server;

establishing, by a large distance wireless connection interface, a connection to the Internet; and

taking an action, by the processor, to continue the playing of the media content by the client device beyond the termination of the connection with the server in response to the detection result,

wherein the processor is configured, to activate, as the action, the large distance wireless connection interface in response to an indication that the user has actuated a continue playing facility, and to connect to a server associated with a uniform resource locator (URL) and to download a remaining portion of the media content or to stream a remaining portion of the media content using a position information,

wherein the processor is further configured to determine the uniform resource locator, from which the media content can be received, and to determine the position information indicating a position in the media content before or at which the connection to the server was terminated, and

wherein at least one of the connection interface, the detector and the processor comprises a hardware implementation.

13. A non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon a computer program comprising a program code for performing a method of operating a client device, the method comprising:

establishing, by the connection interface, a connection with a server and receiving a media content from the server via the connection, in which the connection interface is configured as a small distance wireless connection interface;

detecting, by the detector, whether playing of the media content is to be continued beyond a termination of the connection with the server, and providing a detection result in case it is determined that the playing of the media content is to be continued beyond the termination of the connection with the server;

establishing, by a large distance wireless connection interface, a connection to the Internet; and

taking an action, by the processor, to continue the playing of the media content by the client device beyond the termination of the connection with the server in response to the detection result,

wherein the processor is configured, to activate, as the action, the large distance wireless connection interface in response to an indication that the user has actuated a continue playing facility, and to connect to a server associated with a uniform resource locator (URL) and to download a remaining portion of the media content or to stream a remaining portion of the media content using a position information,

wherein the processor is further configured to determine the uniform resource locator, from which the media content can be received, and to determine the position information indicating a position in the media content before or at which the connection to the server was terminated.