U.S. patent application number 12/914103 was filed with the patent office on 2012-01-26 for activity indicators in a media sharing system.
This patent application is currently assigned to Eloy Technology, LLC. Invention is credited to Christopher M. Amidon, Harold Sutherland, Hugh Svendsen.
Application Number | 20120023430 12/914103 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42058264 |
Filed Date | 2012-01-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120023430 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Amidon; Christopher M. ; et
al. |
January 26, 2012 |
ACTIVITY INDICATORS IN A MEDIA SHARING SYSTEM
Abstract
A system and method are provided for generating and displaying
one or more indicators indicative of a level of activity within a
media sharing system. In one embodiment, with respect to a user
participating in the media sharing system, an indicator
representative of an activity level of a media collection shared by
the user in the media sharing system may be generated and presented
to the user. In addition or alternatively, indicators
representative of activity levels of media collections shared by
other users participating in the media sharing system may be
generated and presented to the user. Still further, in addition or
alternatively, indicators representative of activity levels with
respect to playlists in the media sharing system may be generated
and presented to the user.
Inventors: |
Amidon; Christopher M.;
(Apex, NC) ; Sutherland; Harold; (San Jose,
CA) ; Svendsen; Hugh; (Chapel Hill, NC) |
Assignee: |
Eloy Technology, LLC
Wilmington
DE
|
Family ID: |
42058264 |
Appl. No.: |
12/914103 |
Filed: |
October 28, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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12239877 |
Sep 29, 2008 |
7853712 |
|
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12914103 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
715/772 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/4387
20190101 |
Class at
Publication: |
715/772 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/048 20060101
G06F003/048 |
Claims
1. A method of operation of a user device of a user comprising:
joining a media sharing system with a plurality of other user
devices of a corresponding plurality of other users such that the
user device has access to one or more shared media collections
hosted by corresponding one or more first user devices of the
plurality of other user devices; receiving playback information
from at least a subset of the plurality of other user devices;
based on the playback information, determining one or more activity
levels in the media sharing system; and presenting one or more
activity indicators representative of the one or more activity
levels to the user at the user device.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the user device shares a local
media collection of the user hosted by the user device with one or
more second user devices of the plurality of other user devices,
and the one or more activity levels comprise an overall activity
level of the local media collection shared by the user device in
the media sharing system.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the one or more first user devices
and the one or more second user devices are the same one or more
user devices.
4. The method of claim 2 wherein at least one of the one or more
first user devices is not one of the one or more second user
devices.
5. The method of claim 2 wherein at least one of the one or more
second user devices is not one of the one or more first user
devices.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more activity levels
comprise an activity level of each of the one or more shared media
collections shared by one or more first user devices of the
plurality of other user devices in the media sharing system.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more activity levels
comprise an activity level of each of one or more playlists in the
media sharing system.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the playback information for each
user device of the at least a subset of the plurality of other user
devices comprises information identifying a media item currently
playing at the user device of the at least a subset of the
plurality of other user devices.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein the playback information for each
user device of the at least a subset of the plurality of other user
devices comprises information identifying one or more media items
played at the user device of the at least a subset of the plurality
of other user devices.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein the playback information for each
user device of the at least a subset of the plurality of other user
devices comprises information identifying one or more media items
expected to be played at the user device of the at least a subset
of the plurality of other user devices.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein the playback information for each
user device of the at least a subset of the plurality of other user
devices comprises information identifying a playlist being played
at the user device of the at least a subset of the plurality of
other user devices.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the one or more
activity levels comprises determining the one or more activity
levels based on the playback information and previously received
playback information received during a defined time-window.
13. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the one or more
activity levels comprises determining the one or more activity
levels based on the playback information and weights assigned to
the users of the at least a subset of the plurality of other user
devices.
14. The method of claim 1 wherein the user device shares a local
media collection of the user hosted by the user device with one or
more second user devices of the plurality of other user devices,
and determining the one or more activity levels comprises
determining an overall activity level of the local media collection
based on one or more criteria determined from the playback
information.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein the one or more criteria
comprise at least one of a group consisting of a number of users
currently playing media items included in the local media
collection and a percentage of users currently playing media items
included in the local media collection.
16. The method of claim 14 wherein the one or more criteria
comprise at least one of a group consisting of a number of users
that have recently played media items included in the local media
collection and a percentage of users that have recently played
media items included in the local media collection.
17. The method of claim 14 wherein the one or more criteria
comprise at least one of a group consisting of a number of users
expected to play media items included in the local media collection
and a percentage of users expected to play media items included in
the local media collection.
18. The method of claim 14 wherein the one or more criteria
comprise at least one of a group consisting of a number of users
playing a playlist included in the local media collection and a
percentage of users playing a playlist included in the local media
collection.
19. The method of claim 14 wherein the one or more criteria
comprise at least one of a group consisting of a number of users
currently playing media items included in the local media
collection and being sourced by the user device and a percentage of
users currently playing media items included in the local media
collection and being sourced by the user device.
20. The method of claim 14 wherein the one or more criteria
comprise at least one of a group consisting of a number of users
that have recently played media items included in the local media
collection and that were sourced by the user device and a
percentage of users that have recently played media items included
in the local media collection and that were sourced by the user
device.
21. The method of claim 14 wherein the one or more criteria
comprise at least one of a group consisting of a number of users
expected to play media items included in the local media collection
and expected to be sourced by the user device and a percentage of
users expected to play media items included in the local media
collection and expected to be sourced by the user device.
22. The method of claim 14 wherein the one or more criteria
comprise at least one of a group consisting of a number of users
currently playing media items included in the local media
collection and being sourced only by the user device and a
percentage of users currently playing media items included in the
local media collection and being sourced only by the user
device.
23. The method of claim 14 wherein the one or more criteria
comprise at least one of a group consisting of a number of users
expected to play media items included in the local media collection
and sourced only by the user device and a percentage of users
expected to play media items included in the local media collection
and sourced only by the user device.
24. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more activity levels
comprise an activity level for each shared media collection of the
one or more shared media collections, and determining the one or
more activity levels comprises determining, for each shared media
collection, the activity level for the shared media collection
based on one or more criteria determined from the playback
information.
25. The method of claim 24 wherein the one or more criteria
comprise at least one of a group consisting of a number of users
currently playing media items included in the shared media
collection and a percentage of users currently playing media items
included in the shared media collection.
26. The method of claim 24 wherein the one or more criteria
comprise at least one of a group consisting of a number of users
that have recently played media items included in the shared media
collection and a percentage of users that have recently played
media items included in the shared media collection.
27. The method of claim 24 wherein the one or more criteria
comprise at least one of a group consisting of a number of users
expected to play media items included in the shared media
collection and a percentage of users expected to play media items
included in the shared media collection.
28. The method of claim 24 wherein the one or more criteria
comprise at least one of a group consisting of a number of users
playing a playlist included in the shared media collection and a
percentage of users playing a playlist included in the shared media
collection.
29. The method of claim 24 wherein the one or more criteria
comprise at least one of a group consisting of a number of users
currently playing media items included in the shared media
collection and being sourced by a user device of the plurality of
other user devices sharing the shared media collection and a
percentage of users currently playing media items included in the
shared media collection and being sourced by the user device
sharing the shared media collection.
30. The method of claim 24 wherein the one or more criteria
comprise at least one of a group consisting of a number of users
that have recently played media items included in the shared media
collection and that were sourced by a user device of the plurality
of other user devices sharing the shared media collection and a
percentage of users that have recently played media items included
in the shared media collection and that were sourced by the user
device sharing the shared media collection.
31. The method of claim 24 wherein the one or more criteria
comprise at least one of a group consisting of a number of users
expected to play media items included in the shared media
collection and expected to be sourced by a user device of the
plurality of other user devices sharing the shared media collection
and a percentage of users expected to play media items included in
the shared media collection and expected to be sourced by the user
device sharing the shared media collection.
32. The method of claim 24 wherein the one or more criteria
comprise at least one of a group consisting of a number of users
currently playing media items included in the shared media
collection and sourced only by a user device of the plurality of
other user devices sharing the shared media collection and a
percentage of users currently playing media items included in the
shared media collection and sourced only by the user device sharing
the shared media collection.
33. The method of claim 24 wherein the one or more criteria
comprise at least one of a group consisting of a number of users
expected to play media items included in the shared media
collection and sourced only by a user device of the plurality of
other user devices sharing the shared media collection and a
percentage of users expected to play media items included in the
shared media collection and sourced only by the user device sharing
the shared media collection.
34. The method of claim 1 wherein the one or more activity levels
comprise an activity level of each of one or more playlists in the
media sharing system, and determining the one or more activity
levels comprises determining, for each playlist of the one or more
playlists, an activity level for the playlist based on one or more
criteria determined from the playback information, the one or more
criteria selected from a group consisting of a number of users
playing the playlist, and a percentage of users playing the
playlist.
35. 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 with a plurality of other
user devices of a corresponding plurality of other users via the
network such that the user device has access to one or more shared
media collections hosted by corresponding one or more first user
devices of the plurality of other user devices; receive playback
information from at least a subset of the plurality of other user
devices; based on the playback information, determine one or more
activity levels in the media sharing system; and present one or
more activity indicators representative of the one or more activity
levels to the user at the user device.
36. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing software for
instructing a user device of a user to: join a media sharing system
with a plurality of other user devices of a corresponding plurality
of other users such that the user device has access to one or more
shared media collections hosted by corresponding one or more second
user devices of the plurality of other user devices; receive
playback information from at least a subset of the plurality of
other user devices; based on the playback information, determine
one or more activity levels in the media sharing system; and
present one or more activity indicators representative of the one
or more activity levels to the user at the user device.
37. The method of claim 1 wherein the playback information
comprises information relating to an act or instance of reproducing
recorded sound and wherein the subset comprises more than one of
the plurality of other user devices.
38. The method of claim 1 wherein determining one or more activity
levels comprises determining activity corresponding to currently
playing, recently played, and expected to play media items.
39. The method of claim 1, wherein determining one or more activity
levels comprises determining one or more activity levels selected
from the group consisting of: an overall activity level of a local
media collection shared by the user device in the media sharing
system, an activity level of each of the one or more shared media
collections shared by one or more of the plurality of other user
devices in the media sharing system, and an activity level of each
of one or more playlists in the media sharing system.
40. The method of claim 1 wherein the playback information
comprises playback information about a plurality of media items.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/239,877, entitled ACTIVITY INDICATORS IN A
MEDIA SHARING SYSTEM, filed on Sep. 29, 2008, which is hereby
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a media sharing system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] There is an enormous amount of digital media content
currently available to consumers. For example, the Apple.RTM.
iTunes Store.RTM. currently hosts over 8 million songs. However,
since no single user owns all of the available content and because
users often desire to experience new content, numerous media
sharing services have been developed. One such media sharing
service is disclosed on commonly owned and assigned U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 12/104,572, entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR
AGGREGATING MEDIA COLLECTIONS BETWEEN PARTICIPANTS OF A SHARING
NETWORK, which was filed on Apr. 17, 2008. Another exemplary media
sharing service is provided by the Apple.RTM. iTunes.RTM. media
player, which enables up to five (5) users to share their music
collections over a Local Area Network (LAN). There is a desire to
enable participants in such a media sharing system to quickly and
easily be informed of playback activity within the media sharing
system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The present invention relates to generating and displaying
one or more indicators indicative of a level of activity within a
media sharing system. In one embodiment, with respect to a user
participating in the media sharing system, an indicator
representative of an activity level of a media collection shared by
the user in the media sharing system may be generated and presented
to the user. In addition or alternatively, indicators
representative of activity levels of media collections shared by
other users participating in the media sharing system may be
generated and presented to the user. Still further, in addition or
alternatively, indicators representative of activity levels with
respect to playlists in the media sharing system may be generated
and presented to the user.
[0005] Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the
present invention and realize additional aspects thereof after
reading the following detailed description of the preferred
embodiments in association with the accompanying drawing
figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
[0006] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming
a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the
invention, and together with the description serve to explain the
principles of the invention.
[0007] FIG. 1 illustrates a media sharing system according to one
embodiment of the present invention;
[0008] FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate the operation of the media
sharing system of FIG. 1 according to one embodiment of the present
invention;
[0009] FIG. 3 is an exemplary Graphical User Interface (GUI)
including activity indictors with respect to the media sharing
system according to one embodiment of the present invention;
and
[0010] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of one
of the user devices of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0011] The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary
information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the
invention and illustrate the best mode of practicing the invention.
Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying
drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the
concepts of the invention and will recognize applications of these
concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood
that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the
disclosure and the accompanying claims.
[0012] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary media sharing system 10 in
which indicators of activity within the media sharing system 10 are
generated and displayed to users according to one embodiment of the
present invention. In general, the media sharing system 10 includes
a number of user devices 12-1 through 12-N having associated users
14-1 through 14-N. In this embodiment, the user devices 12-1
through 12-N are connected via a Local Area Network (LAN) 16 and
are part of the same subnetwork. However, the present invention is
not limited thereto. The user devices 12-1 through 12-N may
alternatively be connected via a Wide Area Network (WAN), a global
network such as the Internet, or the like. As yet another
alternative, some of the user devices 12-1 through 12-N may be
connected via a LAN while others are connected via a WAN or global
network.
[0013] Each of the user devices 12-1 through 12-N may be, for
example, a personal computer, a mobile smart phone, a set-top box,
a portable media player, or the like. Looking at the user device
12-1, the user device 12-1 includes a media player function 18-1
which may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination
thereof. In addition to providing media playback capabilities, the
media player function 18-1 includes an aggregation function 20-1.
In an alternative embodiment, the aggregation function 20-1 may be
implemented as a separate function. For example, if the media
player function 18-1 is a software media player application, the
aggregation function 20-1 may be implemented as a plug-in. In
general, the aggregation function 20-1 operates to generate an
aggregate media collection 24-1 for the user 14-1 including media
items in a local media collection 22-1 of the user 14-1 and media
items from one or more remote shared media collections of one or
more of the other user 14-2 through 14-N.
[0014] In addition, as discussed below, the aggregation function
20-1 generates and displays activity indicators. The activity
indictors may include an indicator of an overall activity level of
the local media collection 22-1 of the user 14-1 within the media
sharing system 10, indicators of activity levels of one or more
shared media collections, indicators of activity levels of one or
more playlists, or the like, or any combination thereof. The
activity level of the local media collection 22-1 may be determined
based on or may otherwise reflect the number or percentage of other
users 14-2 through 14-N that are currently playing, have recently
played, or are expected to play media items included the local
media collection 22-1 of the user 14-1. The activity level of a
shared media collection may be determined based on or may otherwise
reflect the number or percentage of users 14-1 through 14-N that
are currently playing, have recently played, or are expected to
play media items included the shared media collection. The activity
level of a playlist may be determined based on or may otherwise
reflect the number or percentage of users 14-1 through 14-N that
are currently playing or have recently played the playlist.
[0015] Like the user device 12-1, the other user devices 12-2
through 12-N include media player functions 18-2 through 18-N
having corresponding aggregation functions 20-2 through 20-N. In
addition, the other user devices 12-2 through 12-N include local
media collections 22-2 through 22-N and aggregate media collections
24-2 through 24-N, respectively.
[0016] FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate the operation of the media
sharing system 10 of FIG. 1 according to one embodiment of the
present invention. First, the user devices 12-1 and 12-2 through
12-N join the LAN 16 by, for example, coming online (steps
100-104). Next, the aggregation function 20-1 of the user device
12-1 identifies, or discovers, media collections shared by the
users 14-2 through 14-N of the user devices 12-2 through 12-N (step
106). For example, in a MAC OSX or Windows environment where the
user devices 12-1 through 12-N are connected via the LAN 16,
Bonjour may be used to identify the shared media collections of the
users 14-2 through 14-N. The media collections shared by the users
14-2 through 14-N are preferably the local media collections 22-2
through 22-N of the users 14-2 through 14-N. However, the present
invention is not limited thereto. In one exemplary alternative
embodiment, the media collections shared by the users 14-2 through
14-N may be the aggregate media collections 24-2 through 24-N of
the users 14-2 through 14-N. In this embodiment, the aggregation
function 20-1 of the user device 12-1 presents a list of the shared
media collections of the users 14-2 through 14-N to the user 14-1
and then receives user input from the user 14-1 selecting one or
more of the shared media collections for aggregation (step 108). In
this example, the user 14-1 selects at least the shared media
collections of the users 14-2 and 14-N, which are hosted by the
user devices 12-2 and 12-N, respectively.
[0017] The aggregation function 20-1 of the user device 12-1 then
issues an aggregation request to the user device 12-2 of the user
14-2 (step 110). In response, in this embodiment, the aggregation
function 20-2 of the user device 12-2 returns information, which is
also referred to herein as shared media collection information,
identifying media items in the shared media collection of the user
14-2 to the user device 12-1 of the user 14-1 (step 112). Likewise,
the aggregation function 20-1 of the user device 12-1 issues an
aggregation request to the user device 12-N of the user 14-N (step
114). In response, the aggregation function 20-N of the user device
12-N returns information identifying media items in the shared
media collection of the user 14-N to the user device 12-1 of the
user 14-1 (step 116). Note that aggregation requests may also be
issued to and shared media collection information received from
other user devices from the user devices 12-3 through 12-N-1 (not
shown) hosting shared media collections selected by the user
14-1.
[0018] Upon receiving the shared media collection information, the
aggregation function 20-1 of the user device 12-1 aggregates or
merges the local media collection 22-1 of the user 14-1 and the
shared media collections to provide the aggregate media collection
24-1 of the user 14-1 (step 118). More specifically, in one
embodiment, the aggregation function 20-1 aggregates the shared
media collection information identifying the media items in the
shared media collections selected by the user 14-1 for aggregation
and information identifying the media items in the local media
collection 22-1 of the user 14-1 to provide a list of unique media
items available either from the local media collection 22-1 of the
user 14-1 or one of the shared media collections selected by the
user 14-1 for aggregation. In addition, for each unique media item,
a secondary list of available sources for the unique media item may
be generated. Together, the list of unique media items and the
corresponding secondary lists of sources for the unique media items
form the aggregate media collection 24-1 of the user 14-1. For more
information, the interested reader is directed to commonly owned
and assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/104,572, entitled
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AGGREGATING MEDIA COLLECTIONS BETWEEN
PARTICIPANTS OF A SHARING NETWORK, which was filed on Apr. 17, 2008
and is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Note that while the discussion herein focuses on an embodiment
where the shared media collections are aggregated with the local
media collection 22-1 of the user 14-1, the present invention is
not limited thereto. The user 14-1 may choose not to select his
local media collection 22-1 for aggregation, in which case the
shared media collections would be aggregated with one another to
provide the aggregate media collection 24-1 of the user 14-1.
[0019] In addition to including media items, the aggregate media
collection 24-1 of the user 14-1 may include an aggregate list of
playlists. More specifically, the local media collection 22-1 of
the user 14-1 as well the shared media collections selected by the
user 14-1 for aggregation may include static or dynamic playlists.
Information identifying the playlists may then be included within
or provided in association with the shared media collection
information.
[0020] Then, when generating the aggregate media collection 24-1,
the aggregation function 20-1 of the user device 12-1 may also
aggregate the playlists of the shared media collections selected by
the user 14-1 and the playlists in the local media collection 22-1
of the user 14-1. When aggregating playlists, a list of unique
playlists may be generated. As used herein, a unique playlist is a
playlist having a unique title. Playlists having the same title may
be combined or merged. For example, an "80s" playlist of the user
14-1 may be combined with an "80s" playlist of the user 14-2 to
provide an aggregate "80s" playlist including both the media items
from the "80s" playlist of the user 14-1 and the media items from
the "80s" playlist of the user 14-2.
[0021] In a similar fashion, the aggregation function 20-2 of the
user device 12-2 identifies, or discovers, media collections shared
by the users 14-1 and 14-3 through 14-N of the user devices 12-1
and 12-3 through 12-N (step 120). In this embodiment, the
aggregation function 20-2 of the user device 12-2 presents a list
of the shared media collections of the users 14-1 and 14-3 through
14-N to the user 14-2 and then receives user input from the user
14-2 selecting one or more of the shared media collections for
aggregation (step 122). In this example, the user 14-2 selects at
least the shared media collections of the users 14-1 and 14-N,
which are hosted by the user devices 12-1 and 12-N,
respectively.
[0022] The aggregation function 20-2 of the user device 12-2 then
issues an aggregation request to the user device 12-1 of the user
14-1 (step 124). In response, in this embodiment, the aggregation
function 20-1 of the user device 12-1 returns information
identifying media items in the shared media collection of the user
14-1 to the user device 12-2 of the user 14-2 (step 126). Likewise,
the aggregation function 20-2 of the user device 12-2 issues an
aggregation request to the user device 12-N of the user 14-N (step
128). In response, the aggregation function 20-N of the user device
12-N returns information identifying media items in the shared
media collection of the user 14-N to the user device 12-2 of the
user 14-2 (step 130). Note that aggregation requests may also be
issued to and shared media collection information received from
other user devices from the user devices 12-3 through 12-N-1 (not
shown) hosting shared media collections selected by the user
14-2.
[0023] Upon receiving the shared media collection information, the
aggregation function 20-2 of the user device 12-2 aggregates or
merges the local media collection 22-2 of the user 14-2 and the
shared media collections selected by the user 14-2 for aggregation
to provide the aggregate media collection 24-2 of the user 14-2
(step 132). Further, as discussed above, in addition to including
media items, the aggregate media collection 24-2 of the user 14-2
may include an aggregate list of playlists.
[0024] Like the aggregation functions 20-1 and 20-2 of the user
devices 12-1 and 12-2, respectively, the aggregation function 20-N
of the user device 12-N identifies, or discovers, media collections
shared by the users 14-1 through 14-N-1 (not shown) of the user
devices 12-1 through 12-N-1 (step 134). In this embodiment, the
aggregation function 20-N of the user device 12-N presents a list
of the shared media collections of the users 14-1 through 14-N-1 to
the user 14-N and then receives user input from the user 14-N
selecting one or more of the shared media collections for
aggregation (step 136). In this example, the user 14-N selects at
least the shared media collection of the user 14-2, which is hosted
by the user device 12-2, but does not select the shared media
collection of the user 14-1.
[0025] The aggregation function 20-N of the user device 12-N then
issues an aggregation request to the user device 12-2 of the user
14-2 (step 138). In response, in this embodiment, the aggregation
function 20-2 of the user device 12-2 returns information
identifying media items in the shared media collection of the user
14-2 to the user device 12-N of the user 14-N (step 140). Upon
receiving the shared media collection information, the aggregation
function 20-N of the user device 12-N aggregates or merges the
local media collection 22-N of the user 14-N and the shared media
collection(s) selected by the user 14-N for aggregation to provide
the aggregate media collection 24-N of the user 14-N (step 142).
Further, as discussed above, in addition to including media items,
the aggregate media collection 24-N of the user 14-N may include an
aggregate list of playlists.
[0026] Once the aggregate media collection 24-1 of the user 14-1 is
generated, the user 14-1 may utilize the aggregate media collection
24-1 in much the same manner as using the local media collection
22-1 (step 144). For example, the user 14-1 may select media items
from the aggregate media collection 24-1 for playback, generate
playlists including media items from the aggregate media collection
24-1, generate smart or dynamic playlists that are populated from
the aggregate media collection 24-1, play media items in an
existing playlist, or the like. In one embodiment, in order to
provide playback of a media item that is from a shared media
collection of another user, the media item is requested from the
user device hosting the shared media collection and streamed from
that user device to the user device 12-1 of the user 14-1. For
example, if the user 14-1 initiates playback of a media item and
that media item's source is the user device 12-2, the media player
function 18-1 of the user device 12-1 requests the media item from
the user device 12-2. In response, the user device 12-2, and
specifically the media player function 18-2 of the user device
12-2, delivers the media item to the user device 12-1 for playback.
In the preferred embodiment, the media item is delivered via
streaming.
[0027] Periodically or in response to predetermined triggering
events, the aggregation function 20-1, or the media player function
18-1, of the user device 12-1 sends playback information to the
user devices 12-2 and 12-N hosting the shared media collections
selected by the user 14-1 for aggregation (steps 146 and 148).
Alternatively, the playback information may be sent to all of the
user devices 12-2 through 12-N connected to the LAN 16 regardless
of whether the corresponding shared media collections have been
selected by the user 14-1 for aggregation. The playback information
may be sent periodically such as, for example, every 15 minutes.
Alternatively, the playback information may be sent in response to
one or more defined triggering events such as, for example, the
start of playback of a media item, the start of playback of every
Xth media item where X is a predetermined or user configurable
number equal to or greater than one (1), the completion of playback
of a media item, the completion of playback of every Yth media item
where Y is a predetermined or user configurable number equal to or
greater than one (1), the start of playback of a playlist, or the
like. The playback information includes information identifying the
media item or media items played by the media player function 18-2
of the user device 12-2 since the last time playback information
was sent, information identifying one or more media items expected
to be played next by the media player function 18-1 of the user
device 12-1, information identifying a playlist currently being
played by the media player function 18-1 of the user device 12-1,
or any combination thereof. The one or more media items expected to
be played next by the media player function 18-1 of the user device
12-1 may be the next M media items in the playlist currently being
played by the media player function 18-1, where M is a
predetermined or user configurable number equal to or greater than
one (1).
[0028] Likewise, the aggregate media collection 24-2 of the user
14-2 may be utilized by the user 14-2 at the user device 12-2 in
much the same manner as using the local media collection 22-2 (step
150). In addition, periodically or in response to predetermined
triggering events, the media player function 18-2 and/or the
aggregation function 20-2 of the user device 12-2 sends playback
information to the user devices 12-1 and 12-N hosting the shared
media collections selected by the user 14-2 for aggregation (steps
152 and 154). Alternatively, the playback information may be sent
to all of the user devices 12-1 and 12-3 through 12-N connected to
the LAN 16 regardless of whether the corresponding shared media
collections have been selected by the user 14-2 for aggregation.
Again, the playback information includes information identifying
the media item or media items played by the media player function
18-2 of the user device 12-2 since the last time playback
information was sent, information identifying one or more media
items expected to be played next by the media player function 18-2
of the user device 12-2, information identifying a playlist
currently being played by the media player function 18-2 of the
user device 12-2, or any combination thereof.
[0029] Similarly, the aggregate media collection 24-N of the user
14-N may be utilized by the user 14-N at the user device 12-N in
much the same manner as using the local media collection 22-N (step
156). In addition, periodically or in response to predetermined
triggering events, the media player function 18-N and/or the
aggregation function 20-N of the user device 12-N sends playback
information to the user device 12-2 hosting the shared media
collection selected by the user 14-N for aggregation (step 158).
Alternatively, the playback information may be sent to all of the
user devices 12-1 through 12-N-1 (not shown) connected to the LAN
16 regardless of whether the corresponding shared media collections
have been selected by the user 14-N for aggregation. Again, the
playback information includes information identifying the media
item or media items played by the media player function 18-N of the
user device 12-N since the last time playback information was sent,
information identifying one or more media items expected to be
played next by the media player function 18-N of the user device
12-N, information identifying a playlist currently being played by
the media player function 18-N of the user device 12-N, or any
combination thereof.
[0030] Based on the received playback information and, optionally,
previously received playback information, the aggregation function
20-1, or the media player function 18-1 of the user device 12-1,
determines an overall activity level of the local media collection
22-1 of the user 14-1 in the media sharing system 10 (step 160) and
displays a corresponding activity indictor to the user 14-1 at the
user device 12-1 (step 162). The overall activity level may be
determined based on a number or percentage of media items included
in the local media collection 22-1 of the user 14-1 that are
currently being played by one or more other users, a number or
percentage of media items included in the local media collection
22-1 of the user 14-1 that have recently been played by one or more
other users, a number or percentage of media items included in the
local media collection 22-1 of the user 14-1 that are expected to
be played by one or more other users, a number or percentage of
other users that are currently playing a playlist included in the
local media collection 22-1 of the user 14-1, or any combination
thereof. In addition, the overall activity level of the media
collection 22-1 of the user 14-1 may take into account how recently
the playback activity identified by the playback information
occurred such that more recent playback activities influence the
activity level of the playlist more than less recent playback
activities.
[0031] In one embodiment, if a particular media item identified by
the playback information has multiple sources in the media sharing
system 10, including the user device 12-1, that media item is still
counted when determining the overall activity level of the local
media collection 22-1 of the user 14-1 even though the user device
12-1 may or may not operate as the source for the media item for
all or any of the other user devices that are currently playing,
have recently played, or are expected to play the media item. In
another embodiment, the playback information not only identifies
media items currently being played, recently played, and/or
expected to be played, but also identifies the source(s) from which
the media items are, have, or will be obtained. As such, when
determining the overall activity level of the local media
collection 22-1 of the user 14-1, only media items included in the
local media collection 22-1 and sourced or to be sourced by the
user device 12-1 are counted. Similarly, in yet another embodiment,
the overall activity level of the local media collection 22-1 of
the user 14-1 is a function of only media items included in the
local media collection 22-1 that are being sourced or are to be
sourced from the user device 12-1 and that are not available to the
other user devices 12-2 through 12-N from any of the other shared
media collections.
[0032] When determining the overall activity level of the local
media collection 22-1 of the user 14-1, a time-window may be
defined such that previously received playback information that was
received outside of the time-window is discarded. For example, the
time-window might be one (1) hour such that only the currently
received playback information and playback information received
within the last hour are used to determine the overall activity
level of the local media collection 22-1 of the user 14-1. In
addition or alternatively, user weights may be assigned to the
other users 14-2 through 14-N by the user 14-1. These user weights
may then be used to weight the received playback information such
that playback information received from the user devices of other
users having higher weights have a greater influence on the overall
activity level of the local media collection 22-1 of the user 14-1
than playback information received from the user devices of other
users having lower weights.
[0033] In addition or alternatively, based on the received playback
information and, optionally, previously received playback
information, the aggregation function 20-1, or the media player
function 18-1, of the user device 12-1 determines an activity level
of at least a subset of the playlists in the aggregate media
collection 24-1 of the user 14-1 (step 164) and displays
corresponding indictors to the user 14-1 in association with the
playlists (step 166). The activity level of a playlist may be
determined based on the number or percentage of users that are
currently playing the playlist or the number or percentage of users
that are currently playing or have recently played the playlist. In
addition, the activity level of the playlist may take into account
how recently the playback activity identified by the playback
information occurred such that more recent playback activities
influence the activity level of the playlist more than less recent
playback activities.
[0034] Note that when determining the activity level of the
playlists, a time-window may be defined such that previously
received playback information that was received outside of the
time-window is discarded. For example, the time-window might be one
(1) hour such that only the currently received playback information
and playback information received within the last hour are used to
determine the activity level of the playlists. In addition or
alternatively, user weights may be assigned to the other users 14-2
through 14-N by the user 14-1. These user weights may then be used
to weight the received playback information such that playback
information received from the user devices of other users having
higher weights have a greater influence on the activity level of
the playlists than playback information received from the user
devices of other users having lower weights.
[0035] In addition or alternatively, based on the received playback
information and, optionally, previously received playback
information, the aggregation function 20-1, or the media player
function 18-1, of the user device 12-1 determines activity levels
of the users sharing the shared media collections selected by the
user 14-1 for aggregation (step 168) and displays corresponding
indictors to the user 14-1 in association with identifiers of the
shared media collections of those users (step 170). The activity
levels of the sharing users may also be referred to herein as
activity levels of the corresponding shared media collections. The
activity level of a sharing user may be determined based on a
number or percentage of the media items in the shared media
collection of the sharing user that are currently being played by
one or more other users, a number or percentage of the media items
in the shared media collection of the sharing user that have
recently been played by one or more other users, a number or
percentage of the media items in the shared media collection of the
sharing user that are expected to be played by one or more other
users, a number or percentage of other users that are currently
playing a playlist from the shared media collection of the sharing
user, or any combination thereof. In addition, the activity level
of the sharing user may take into account how recently the playback
activity identified by the playback information occurred such that
more recent playback activities influence the activity level of the
shared media collection more than less recent playback
activities.
[0036] In one embodiment, if a particular media item identified by
the playback information has multiple sources in the media sharing
system 10 including the user device 12-1, that media item is still
counted when determining the activity level of the shared media
collection even though the user device sharing the shared media
collection may or may not operate as the source for the media item
for all or any of the user devices that are currently playing, have
recently played, or are expected to play the media item. In another
embodiment, the playback information not only identifies media
items currently being played, recently played, and/or expected to
be played, but also identifies the source(s) from which the media
items are, have, or will be obtained. As such, when determining the
overall activity level of the shared media collection, only media
items included in the shared media collection and sourced or to be
sourced by the user device sharing the shared media collection are
counted. Similarly, in yet another embodiment, the overall activity
level of the shared media collection is a function of only media
items included in the shared media collection that are being
sourced or are to be sourced from the user device hosting the
shared media collection and that are not available to the other
user devices from any of the other shared media collections.
[0037] When determining the activity level of the sharing users, a
time-window may be defined such that previously received playback
information that was received outside of the time-window is
discarded. For example, the time-window might be one (1) hour such
that only the currently received playback information and playback
information received within the last hour are used to determine the
activity level of the sharing users. In addition or alternatively,
user weights may be assigned to the other users 14-2 through 14-N
by the user 14-1. These user weights may then be used to weight the
received playback information such that playback information
received from the user devices of other users having higher weights
have a greater influence on the activity level of the sharing users
than playback information received from the user devices of other
users having lower weights. In a similar manner, overall activity
levels, playlist activity levels, and/or sharing user activity
levels may be determined by the aggregation functions 20-2 and
20-N, or the media players 18-2 and 18-N, of the user devices 12-2
and 12-N, respectively, and displayed to the users 14-2 and 14-N
(steps 172-194).
[0038] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary Graphical User Interface
(GUI) 26 for displaying activity indicators with respect to the
media sharing system 10 according to one embodiment of the present
invention. In this example, the media sharing system 10 is a music
sharing system. However, the present invention is not limited
thereto. The media sharing system 10 may enable sharing of media
collections that include audio content such as songs, podcasts, or
audio books; video content such as movies, television programs,
video clips, or user-generated videos; or the like, or any
combination thereof.
[0039] The GUI 26 includes a navigation area 28 and a display area
30. The navigation area 28 includes a media collection selection
area 32 and a playlist selection area 34. Using the user 14-1 as an
example, the media collection selection area 32 is used to present
a list of media collections available to the user 14-1. In this
example, the list of media collections available to the user 14-1
includes the local media collection 22-1 of the user 14-1 which has
the title "My Collection" and three shared media collections having
the titles "Chris's Collection," "Harold's Collection," and "Hugh's
Collection." In this example, the user 14-1 has selected his local
media collection 22-1 having the title "My Collection" and the
shared media collections having the titles "Chris's Collection" and
"Harold's Collection" for aggregation. Further, by selecting the
"Music" playlist, a list of the unique songs in the aggregate music
collection of the user 14-1 is presented in the display area
30.
[0040] Within the media collection selection area 32, an activity
indicator 36 indicates an activity level of the shared music
collection "Chris's Collection," which is also referred to herein
as the activity level of the corresponding sharing user. In this
example, the activity indictor 36 is hierarchical and can be
expanded as shown in order to display a number of activity
indictors 38, 40, and 42 indicating activity levels for
corresponding subgroups of the music collection "Chris's
Collection." In this example, the subgroups are music genres.
However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example,
there may additionally or alternatively be subgroups for time
periods such as decades. In a similar fashion, activity indicators
may be presented to the user 14-1 for the other selected shared
media collection "Harold's Collection" and, optionally, the local
media collection 22-1 of the user 14-1. In a similar manner, the
playlist selection area 34 includes a list of playlists in the
aggregate media collection 24-1 of the user 14-1. Activity
indicators 44, 46, and 48 indicate the activity levels for the
corresponding playlists.
[0041] In addition to the activity indicators 38-48, the GUI 26
also includes an overall activity indicator 50 indicating the
activity level for the local media collection 22-1 of the user
14-1. Alternatively, the overall activity indicator 50 may be
presented in association with the "My Collection" identifier in the
media collection selection area 32 in a manner similar to that
discussed above with respect to the shared media collection
"Chris's Collection."
[0042] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of the
user device 12-1 of FIG. 1. This discussion is equally applicable
to the other user devices 12-2 through 12-N. In general, the user
device 12-1 includes a control system 52 having associated memory
54. In this example, the media player function 18-1 including the
aggregation function 20-1 is implemented in software and stored in
the memory 54. However, the present invention is not limited
thereto. The media player function 18-1 including the aggregation
function 20-1 may be implemented in software, hardware, or a
combination thereof. The user device 12-1 also includes one or more
digital storage devices 56 such as, for example, one or more hard
disk drives or the like. In one embodiment, the local media
collection 22-1 and the aggregate media collection 24-1 are stored
in the one or more digital storage devices 56. However, the present
invention is not limited thereto. The user device 12-1 also
includes a communication interface 58 communicatively coupling the
user device 12-1 to the LAN 16. The communication interface 58 may
be a wired or wireless connection. For example, the communication
interface 58 may be an Ethernet connection, an IEEE 802.11x
connection, or the like. The user device 12-1 also includes a user
interface 60, which may include components such as, but not limited
to, one or more user input devices, a display, a speaker, or the
like.
[0043] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and
modifications to the preferred embodiments of the present
invention. All such improvements and modifications are considered
within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein and the claims
that follow.
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