U.S. patent application number 13/759008 was filed with the patent office on 2013-06-13 for media system having preemptive digital audio and/or video extraction function.
This patent application is currently assigned to HARMAN INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIES, INCORPORATED. The applicant listed for this patent is Harman International Industries, Incorporated. Invention is credited to Nicholas Murrells, Mark Sears.
Application Number | 20130151968 13/759008 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38576727 |
Filed Date | 2013-06-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130151968 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Murrells; Nicholas ; et
al. |
June 13, 2013 |
MEDIA SYSTEM HAVING PREEMPTIVE DIGITAL AUDIO AND/OR VIDEO
EXTRACTION FUNCTION
Abstract
A media system includes a primary storage device capable of
storing a first plurality of audio files, and a secondary storage
device capable of reading a second plurality of audio files from a
removable storage medium. A media player plays the first plurality
of audio files. A recorder records a third plurality of audio files
from the removable storage medium to the primary storage device.
The recorder preemptively records a predetermined portion of at
least two audio files of the third plurality of audio files from
the removable storage medium to the primary storage device before
recording all portions of the at least two audio files. In response
to a selection event and when all portions of the first audio file
have not been recorded, the media player directs the recorder to
record the first audio file and suspend a recording of other audio
files.
Inventors: |
Murrells; Nicholas; (North
Hollywood, CA) ; Sears; Mark; (Simi Valley,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Harman International Industries, Incorporated; |
Stamford |
CT |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
HARMAN INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIES,
INCORPORATED
Stamford
CT
|
Family ID: |
38576727 |
Appl. No.: |
13/759008 |
Filed: |
February 4, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
11402297 |
Apr 11, 2006 |
8369971 |
|
|
13759008 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
715/716 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 16/64 20190101;
G06F 16/68 20190101; G06F 3/048 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
715/716 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/048 20060101
G06F003/048 |
Claims
1. A media system comprising: a user interface; a primary storage
device configured to store a first plurality of audio files; a
secondary storage device configured to read a second plurality of
audio files from a removable storage medium; and a processor
configured to play the first plurality of audio files stored on the
primary storage device; and the processor further configured to
record the second plurality of audio files from the removable
storage medium onto the primary storage device using the secondary
storage device, where the processor is configured to preemptively
record a predetermined portion of at least two audio files of the
second plurality of audio files onto the primary storage device
prior to the processor recording all portions of the at least two
audio files of the second plurality of audio files onto the primary
storage device; the processor further configured to record a first
audio file of the at least two audio files of the removable storage
medium and suspend recording of other audio files in response to
receipt of a selection event from the user interface in which the
first audio file is selected for playback prior to all portions of
the first audio file being recorded from the removable storage
medium to the primary storage device.
2. The media system of claim 1, where the processor, in response to
the selection event, is configured to begin playback of the first
audio file using the predetermined portion of the first audio file
stored on the primary storage device, and the processor is
configured to continue recording the first audio file from the
removable storage medium to the primary storage device concurrently
with the playback.
3. The media system of claim 1 where the predetermined portion of
each audio file of the at least two audio files of the second
plurality of audio files comprises a beginning portion of each
audio file of the at least two audio files.
4. The media system of claim 1 where the predetermined portion of
each audio file of the at least two audio files comprises
approximately five to ten seconds of a beginning section of each
audio file of the at least two audio files.
5. The media system of claim 1 where the primary storage device
comprises a hard disk drive.
6. The media system of claim 1 where the first plurality of audio
files are stored on the primary storage device in a compressed
audio format selected from a group of compressed audio formats
consisting of an MP3 format, an ADPCM format, a FLAC format, and a
VORBIS format.
7. The media system of claim 6 where the second plurality of audio
files are stored on the removable storage medium using a lossless
audio compression format.
8. The media system of claim 1 where in response to all portions of
the first audio file of the at least two audio files of the second
plurality of audio files being recorded from the removable storage
medium to the primary storage device, the processor is configured
to continue any ongoing recording of any other audio files of the
second plurality of audio files.
9. The media system of claim 1 where the selection event is a first
selection event, and the processor is further configured to
determine whether all portions of the second audio file have been
recorded from the removable storage medium to the primary storage
device in response to receipt of a second selection event from the
user interface in which a second audio file of the at least two
audio files is selected for playback while the first audio file is
still being recorded, and in response to all portions of the second
audio file not being recorded, the media player is further
configured to direct the recorder to preempt recording of the first
audio file in favor of the second audio file and to instead record
the second audio file.
10. The media system of claim 9 where the processor is further
configured to resume recording of the first audio file in response
to completion of recording of all portions of the second audio
file.
11. A media system comprising: a primary storage device configured
to store a first plurality of audio files; a secondary storage
device configured to access a second plurality of audio files
included on a removable storage medium, the second plurality of
audio files identified as a plurality of respective tracks; and a
processor configured to play the first plurality of audio files
stored on the primary storage device; the processor configured to
record the second plurality of audio files from the removable
storage medium to the primary storage device; where the processor
is configured to determine a probability density function based on
a likelihood of user selection for playback of a track included
among the plurality of respective tracks; where the processor is
configured to preemptively record a predetermined portion of at
least two audio files of the second plurality of audio files from
the removable storage medium to the primary storage device in a
sequence determined in accordance with the probability density
function.
12. The media system of claim 11, where the processor is configured
to record a remainder of the second plurality of audio files after
preemptively recording the at least two audio files of the second
plurality of audio files in a sequence determined in accordance
with the probability density function.
13. The media system of claim 11, where the processor is configured
to identify respective tracks that are most frequent user
selections, and derive the probability density function based on
the identified most frequently selected respective tracks.
14. The media system of claim 13, where the processor is configured
to delay generation of the probability density function until
receipt of an indication that a predetermined number of track
selections have been received.
15. The media system of claim 11, where the probability density
function is a first probability density function, and the processor
is configured to determine a second probability density function
different than the first probability density function, and the
processor is configured to record a remainder of the second
plurality of audio files after preemptively recording the at least
two audio files, the remainder of the second plurality of audio
files recorded by the processor in a sequence determined from the
second probability density function.
16. A media system comprising: a primary storage device configured
to store audio files; an optical disk reader configured to read
audio tracks from an optical medium; and a processor configured to
play the audio files on the primary storage device; the processor
configured to record the audio tracks as the audio files on the
primary storage device, the audio tracks read by the optical disk
reader from the optical medium; the processor configured to
automatically store a predetermined audio portion of each audio
track read by the optical disk reader on the primary storage device
prior to recordation and storage of all audio portions of the audio
tracks on the primary storage device; and the processor further
configured to record the predetermined audio portion of a first
audio track from among the audio tracks onto the primary storage
device, and suspend recordation of other of the audio tracks onto
the primary storage device in response to a) receipt of a user
selection for playback of a first audio file corresponding to the
first audio track, and b) determination that all audio portions of
the first audio track from the removable storage medium are not
recorded on to the primary storage device at a time of receipt of
the selection.
17. The media system of claim 16, where the processor is configured
to begin playback of the first audio file using the predetermined
audio portion of the first audio track stored on the primary
storage device, and the processor is configured to continue
recordation of the first audio track from the optical medium on to
the primary storage device as the predetermined audio portion of
the first audio file is played back concurrently.
18. The media system of claim 16 where the optical disk reader is
configured to read an optical disk selected from a group consisting
of a CD audio disc, a DVD audio disc, and a super audio compact
disc.
19. The media system of claim 16 where the predetermined audio
portion of each audio track comprises a beginning portion of each
audio track.
20. The media system of claim 16 where the predetermined audio
portion of each audio track comprises approximately five seconds of
a beginning section of each audio track.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Priority Claim
[0002] This application claims the benefit of priority from U.S.
application Ser. No. 11/402,297, filed Apr. 11, 2006, which is
incorporated by reference.
[0003] 2. Technical Field
[0004] The present invention is directed to a media system having
preemptive media file extraction capability that may be used to
reduce playback latency.
[0005] 3. Related Art
[0006] Media systems may be capable of playing a wide range of
different media file types. These media file types include, for
example, various audio file formats as well as various video file
formats. The media files may be streamed to the media system from
the Internet, a subscriber network, or a local-area network. Some
media systems are also capable of accessing media files from
removable storage media such as, for example, audio CDs, video CDs,
super audio CDs, audio DVDs, and video DVDs.
[0007] Media systems that are capable of reading media files from
removable storage media may also include recording functions. The
recording functions are used to transfer the media files from the
removable storage media to a local primary storage device
associated with the media system. The media files may be encoded to
a different file format on the primary storage device.
[0008] When removable storage media is inserted into a media system
having recording capability, the user may be presented with visual
information through which media files may be selected for recording
to the primary storage device. In some systems, recording of all
selected media files must be completed before any of the media
files can be played. From the standpoint of a user, the delay
caused by the recording time may be unacceptable and reduce the
perceived value of the media system.
[0009] Other systems may offer limited playback capability during
the recording process. The limited playback systems, however, may
experience unacceptable latency in the playback response. For
example, if a user changes playback tracks of an audio CD during a
concurrent playback/recording operation of a current track, it may
take an undesirably long time for the system to access the new
audio track on the CD, buffer an amount of the audio of the new
track, and play the audio file. Therefore a need exists to reduce
this delay.
SUMMARY
[0010] A media system is disclosed that uses preemptive recording
of media files to reduce playback latency when media tracks are
selected for playback while the media system is still engaged in
the recording process. The media system comprises a primary storage
device capable of storing media files and a secondary storage
device capable of reading digital media files from a removable
storage medium. The system also includes a media player capable of
playing media files stored on the primary and secondary storage
devices as well as a recorder that reads digital media data from
the secondary storage device. The recorder stores media files
corresponding to the digital media data of the removable storage
medium on the primary storage device. To reduce playback latency
when media tracks are selected for playback during the recording
process, the recorder automatically stores only predetermined
portions of each media file read from the storage medium on the
primary storage device when the removable storage medium is, for
example, initially engaged with the secondary storage device. The
preemptive recording may also occur at times other than the time at
which the removable storage medium is initially engaged with the
secondary storage device. Further, preemptive recording may be
limited to the media files selected by the user for complete
recording from the secondary storage device to the primary storage
device.
[0011] Various examples of such a media system are disclosed. In
one system, the primary storage device comprises an optical reader
that is capable of reading digital media data from an optical disk,
such as an audio CD disc (CDDA), DVD video disc, DVD audio disc,
super audio CD, or the like. To this end, digital audio data, such
as the audio tracks of a CD, may be extracted from the CD and
stored on the primary storage device, which may be in the form of a
hard disk drive. The recorder may preemptively record beginning
portions of each audio track, such as the first five-to-ten seconds
of track audio, to the primary storage device, before proceeding
with complete recording of each track to the primary storage
device. When the media system detects a track selection event, such
as a playback request by the user, playback may begin with the
preemptively recorded section of the audio track as the remaining
portions of the audio track are extracted for recording and
playback. If the track selection event is directed to a track that
has been preemptively recorded, the playback latency may be reduced
compared to other systems that require complete recording of a
track before the track may be selected by the user for
playback.
[0012] Other systems, methods, features and advantages will be, or
will become, apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination
of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended
that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages
be included within this description, be within the scope of the
invention, and be protected by the following claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The system may be better understood with reference to the
following drawings and description. The components in the figures
are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon
illustrating the principles of the invention. Moreover, in the
figures, like referenced numerals designate corresponding parts
throughout the different views.
[0014] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a media system.
[0015] FIG. 2 shows interrelated processing operations that may be
used to record media to the primary storage device of FIG. 1.
[0016] FIG. 3 shows interrelated processing operations that may be
used to respond to a track selection event.
[0017] FIG. 4 shows interrelated processing operations that may be
executed in response to insertion of removable media into the
secondary storage device shown in FIG. 1.
[0018] FIG. 5 shows a track selection probability density function
that may be used in the media system of FIG. 1.
[0019] FIG. 6 shows interrelated processing operations that may be
used to generate a track selection probability density
function.
[0020] FIG. 7 shows another track selection probability density
function that may be used in the media system of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0021] FIG. 1 shows a hardware platform that may be used to
implement a media system 100. In FIG. 1, the media system 100
includes a central processor 102 that may be connected to an I/O
controller hub 110. The I/O controller hub 110 may be used to
provide communication between the processor 102 and a variety of
peripheral components. In FIG. 1, the peripheral components include
a user interface 147, a primary storage device 160, a secondary
storage device 165 and an audio I/O subsystem 145.
[0022] Interface 147 provides a point of interaction or
communication between a user and the system 100. For example,
interface 147 may include a display and a number of different push
buttons or the like. The display may be used to prompt the user for
data and/or control input while the buttons may be used to enter
the data and/or control input. Interface 147 additionally, or in
the alternative, may include a video display and keyboard such as
those used in personal computer systems. Playback, track selection,
fast-forward, fast-reverse, record, and playback volume, without
limitation, are among the many control inputs that may be initiated
through the buttons or other input devices of the user interface
147. Similarly, song/media selection lists, song/media names,
song/media artists or other media information may be provided on
the display of user interface 147. The information and prompts
displayed to the user as well as the media that is selected by the
user for playback through the system 100 may be coordinated with
one another through software executed by the processor 102.
[0023] The media system 100 includes a primary storage device 160
and a secondary storage device 165. The primary storage device 160
may include a device where information is kept such as one or more
hard disk drives that are used to store files containing media such
as video and/or audio. The files of the primary storage device 160
may be stored in one or more predetermined data formats that, for
example, may include lossy as well as lossless formats. For
example, the primary storage device 160 may include audio files
that have been encoded using MP3, ADPCM, FLAC, and/or VORBIS
codecs. Additionally, WAV and/or AIFF audio files may be stored on
device 160.
[0024] The secondary storage device 165 may be adapted to access
media files, such as digital audio and/or digital video files, that
are stored on a removable storage medium. The removable storage
medium, for example, may be an optical medium. In such instances,
the secondary storage device 165 may include one or more optical
disk drives. The disk drives may be capable of reading and/or
writing audio CD disks, audio DVD disks, super audio compact disks,
video DVD disks, video CD disks, multimedia CD disks, and
multimedia DVD disks. The formats used to store the media files on
the optical medium may be selected from the same formats used to
store media files on the primary storage device 160. The secondary
storage device 165 may be adapted to access, without limitation, CD
audio disks formatted in accordance with the Redbook specification.
Similarly, the secondary storage device 165 may be adapted to
access DVD video disks that have been formatted in a standard
manner used to commercially distribute movies.
[0025] Media files on the secondary storage device 165 may be
recorded to the primary storage device 160 and played through the
audio I/O subsystem 145. In the following examples, it is assumed
that audio files of an audio CD are to be recorded to the primary
storage device 160, and that each audio file stored on device 160
corresponds to a track of the audio CD. FIGS. 2 through 4 show
processing operations that may be used to accomplish this function.
The operations may be implemented through software that is executed
on the hardware platform such as that shown in FIG. 1. However,
other hardware/software combinations may also be used to implement
the media system 100 and the preemptive digital data extraction
operations.
[0026] The exemplary process begins at operation 200, where the
media system 100 determines whether an audio CD (or other media
storage medium) has been inserted into the secondary storage device
165. Upon insertion of an audio CD, the media system reads the
table of contents of the audio CD at operation 205.
[0027] At operation 215, the recorded status of the CD may be
checked to determine whether one or more of the audio tracks of the
CD have been previously recorded to the primary storage device 160.
To this end, the system 100 may query database 210. The result of
the database query may be used to set the appropriate case scenario
for subsequent processes.
[0028] The first case scenario, Case #1, is shown at operation 220.
In this scenario, none of the tracks of the audio CD have been
previously recorded. Some other cases are indicated at link 225,
which continues on FIG. 4.
[0029] At operation 230, the system 100 calculates the starting
point and ending point of each audio track. These calculations may
be stored in a record or corresponding file on the primary storage
device 160 for subsequent use in accessing the tracks at the proper
location on the audio CD.
[0030] The system 100 may compare the access time of the secondary
storage device 165 to a predetermined threshold value at operation
235. This comparison may be implemented in real-time, near
real-time, or after a delay by measuring the access time to
determine whether it is equal to or above the threshold value. In
another implementation, operation 235 may be deemed unnecessary
provided that the access time is known to be sufficiently low to
proceed to operation 240. In either instance, operation 240 may be
skipped if the access time is below a particular threshold
value.
[0031] Operation 240 involves recording a predetermined portion of
each audio track (or each audio tracks selected for recording by
the user) of the audio CD to the principal storage device 160. For
example, about the first 5-10 seconds of each audio track may be
preemptively recorded to the principal storage device 160 to reduce
subsequent playback latency. As each track is preemptively
recorded, a corresponding entry of this fact may be provided in the
media database 210 for use in subsequent processing operations.
[0032] Once the preemptive recording of the tracks at operation 240
is completed or almost completed, the system 100 may begin
recording complete audio tracks at operation 245. The sequence in
which the audio tracks are completely recorded from the audio CD to
the primary storage device 160 may vary. In a relatively simple
form, the system 100 may begin complete recording in a sequential
manner, for example, starting with the lowest number audio track
and proceeding until the highest number audio track has been
recorded. When an audio track has been completely recorded to the
primary storage device 160, the system 100 checks at operation 250
to determine whether all audio tracks of the CD have been
transferred. If not, the recording process returns to operation
245. After all audio tracks that are requested have been recorded,
the process terminates at operation 255.
[0033] Processing operations 245 through 255 are executed in the
foregoing manner assuming that a track selection event does not
occur. However, in some instances the user may wish to play back a
track during the recording process. Further, the user may wish to
switch between tracks during the recording process. To this end, a
track selection event 260 may occur such as the one shown in FIG.
2. FIG. 2 represents, for example, a change in the track that is
played back through the system 100. The track change may be
initiated by the user through the user interface 147, which may
include a point of connection to push buttons, switches, or the
like, that allow the user to advance through the audio tracks in
either the forward or reverse directions. Another type of track
selection event occurs when the audio from one track has been
completely or almost completely played and the audio for a
subsequent track has been queued for playback.
[0034] FIG. 3 illustrates how the media system 100 may respond to a
track selection event. When a track selection event 260 occurs, the
media system 100 may execute a track selection event process at
operation 300. At operation 305, the system 100 checks the media
database 210 to determine whether the newly selected track has been
completely recorded or almost completely recorded to the primary
storage device 160. If it has not been fully recorded or almost
completely recorded, the initial audio segment of the newly
selected track stored at operation 240 is played back at operation
310 from the principal storage device 160 and the remaining portion
of the newly selected track is completely transferred to principal
storage device 160 at operation 315. Playback of the newly selected
track beyond the initial audio segment may continue from the
principal storage device 160 since the recording process has a head
start on the playback process. Additionally, the recording process
and playback process may occur concurrently when the access time of
the secondary storage device 165 is below the threshold that is
checked at operation 235. If the newly selected track has
previously been fully recorded to the principal storage device 160,
the media system 100 may continue recording the previously selected
track at operation 320 until the previously selected track has been
completely transferred to the principal storage device 160. The
newly selected track is played as the previously selected track is
concurrently recorded to the primary storage device 160.
Alternatively, complete recording of requested tracks may proceed
in accordance with another track sequence.
[0035] In either instance, once the previously selected track is
completely or almost completely recorded at operation 320 or the
newly selected track is completely or almost completely recorded at
operation 315, the media system 100 checks to determine whether all
audio tracks have been recorded to the principal storage device 160
at operation 325. If not, the tracks that have not been recorded
are transferred to the principal storage device 160 at operation
330. If all tracks have been recorded, the process may terminate at
operation 335.
[0036] FIG. 4 illustrates other cases that may occur at link 225 of
FIG. 1. In Case #2, as shown at operation 400, a check of the media
database 210 indicates that only a subset of the total number of
tracks of the CD have been previously recorded to the primary
storage device 160. It is assumed that the user has requested
playback of a particular track when the CD was inserted into the
secondary storage device 165. Accordingly, the media system 100
begins playing the requested track from the primary storage device
160 at operation 405. A check is made at operation 410 to determine
whether the remaining portion of the requested track has been
recorded to the primary storage device 160. The record for the
requested track may be accessed from media database 210 to make
this determination. To this end, the media database 210 may include
one or more fields indicating whether a given audio track has been
partially recorded or completely recorded.
[0037] The course taken by the process of FIG. 4 depends on whether
the requested track has been completely recorded or only partially
recorded to the primary storage device 160. If the audio track only
has been subject to partial recording, complete recording of the
track as it is played back by the media system 100 takes place at
operation 415. At operation 420, the media system 100 monitors the
recording process for completion. When recording of the requested
track has been completed, a check is made at operation 425 to
determine whether all of the audio tracks of the CD have been
recorded to the primary storage device 160. If not, recording of
the remaining audio tracks may continue at operation 430 until all
requested tracks of the CD have been completely recorded, at which
point the process is completed at operation 435.
[0038] If a determination is made at operation 410 that the
requested audio track has been completely recorded to the primary
storage device 160, the media system 100 continues playing the
requested track from the primary storage at operation 440. While
the requested track is playing, the media system proceeds to
operation 425 to determine whether all of the audio tracks of the
CD have been recorded to the primary storage device 160. If not,
recording of the remaining audio tracks continues at operation 430
until all tracks of the CD have been completely or almost
completely recorded, at which point the process is completed at
operation 435.
[0039] In Case #3, as shown at operation 445, it is assumed that
all of the tracks of the CD have been recorded to the primary
storage device 160. The media system 100 may respond to the
insertion of a CD that has been completely recorded as though the
user requested playback of the audio files from the primary storage
device 160. This operation is illustrated at operation 450.
Alternatively, the media system 100 may respond to the insertion of
the CD as though the user has requested re-recording of one or more
of the audio tracks to the primary storage device 160. To this end,
the user may be prompted through the user interface 147 to select
which audio tracks, if any, are to be re-recorded. Otherwise,
prompting of the user may be skipped and re-recording of all tracks
begun in the manner shown in FIG. 1. This latter option may be
useful in those instances in which one or more of the audio files
stored on the primary storage device 160 have become corrupted.
[0040] The sequence in which audio files are preemptively recorded
may be optimized in accordance with a track selection probability
density function. This increases the likelihood that a track
selected for playback by the user will have a corresponding initial
audio segment on the primary storage device 160 when the user
initiates or the system otherwise experiences a track selection
event. As a result, the likelihood that a user will or may
experience unacceptable latency between track selection and the
start of track playback will be reduced as well. The sequence in
which complete audio tracks are recorded from the CD to the primary
storage device 160 may also be optimized in accordance with a track
selection probability density function. The probability density
function may be the same as the one used for preemptive recording
or may be different and determined from other design criterion.
[0041] One probability density function is shown in FIG. 5, which
is a plot showing the probability that a particular track will be
selected by the user versus the audio track number. In this
exemplary profile, it has been assumed that the average CD includes
fifteen audio tracks. The plot of FIG. 5 illustrates a probability
density function in which the probability of selection linearly
declines with increasing audio track number. In such instances,
preemptive recording may begin with the lowest number track and
proceed incrementally, track by track, until the highest numbered
track has been preemptively recorded, after which the media system
100 may proceed with complete recording of each audio track in
either a calculated sequence or other predetermined sequence. It
will be recognized, however, that other probability density
functions may also be employed.
[0042] A probability density function may also be derived from the
operating habits of the user. For example, the media system 100 may
monitor which audio track numbers are most frequently selected by
the user. One manner in which this may be done is shown in FIG.
6.
[0043] In this exemplary process, the system 100 monitors track
selection inputs from the user at operation 600. A record of the
track selection inputs from the user may be maintained, for
example, in a file table or the like on the primary storage device
160. The media system 100 may wait until a predetermined number of
track selection inputs have been detected before proceeding to
operation 605, at which point the media system 100 derives a
probability distribution function from the track entry data.
Waiting until a predetermined number of selection inputs have been
detected may assist in increasing the accuracy of the probability
distribution function. The resulting probability density function
may be stored at operation 610 for subsequent use during the
preemptive recording operation 240 of FIG. 2. Similarly, the
recording of complete audio files at operation 245 of FIG. 2 may
access the resulting probability density function to determine the
sequence in which the audio tracks are to be completely recorded to
the primary storage device 160. Although this example illustrates
the generation of a probability density function, other probability
distribution methods may be used to determine the sequence of the
preemptive recording and/or complete recording. The particular
probability determination that is used may be dependent on design
constraints imposed by the requirements of the system 100.
[0044] An exemplary probability density function derived by
monitoring the track selection habits of the user is illustrated in
FIG. 7. In this example, audio track 1 has the highest probability
of selection. Accordingly, the media system 100 may begin
preemptive recording of a CD with audio track 1. The audio track
having the next highest probability of selection in this example is
audio track 8. Consequently, the media system 100 may continue
preemptive recording of a CD with audio track 8 once the preemptive
recording of audio track 1 is completed. Once audio track 8 has
been preemptively recorded, the preemptive recording process
continues with audio tracks having successively lower selection
probabilities. Audio tracks having lower selection probabilities
are preemptively recorded after audio tracks having higher
selection probabilities until all audio tracks have been
preemptively recorded. A similar process sequence may be followed
for complete recording of the audio tracks to the primary storage
device 160.
[0045] The media on the primary storage device 160 may be stored
using one or more lossless or lossy compression formats. Lossy
compression formats may be used in those instances in which the
number of media files per storage unit on the primary storage
device 160 (i.e., audio files/megabyte) is to be maximized. In
these instances, lossy compression formats, such as the MP3 format,
may be used. Encoding of the audio file to the appropriate format
may be executed by, for example, processor 102 during the recording
process as each audio track is transferred to the primary storage
device 160. Alternatively, each audio track may be recorded to a
corresponding media file in a lossless compression format and
subsequently encoded to a lossy format to reduce the amount of
storage space utilized by the file. The particular lossy and/or
lossless compression format that is to be used by the media system
100 to record audio tracks from the secondary storage device 165
may be selected by the user through the user interface 147.
[0046] The audio subsystem 145 shown in FIG. 1 also may include
components that are suitable for playing back audio files that have
been stored using one or more compression formats. In the exemplary
audio subsystem 145, audio may be played from the primary storage
device 160. It will be recognized, however, that other system
designs may use the secondary storage device 165 as the principal
playback device.
[0047] While the foregoing processing sequences have included
preemptive recording of audio track files, it will be recognized
that such sequences may likewise be adapted to preemptively record
and playback other media files, such as DVD video and its
corresponding audio. When applied to DVD video, predetermined
portions of various video chapters of the DVD may be preemptively
recorded in the manner described above.
[0048] While various embodiments of the invention have been
described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the
art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible
within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is
not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and
their equivalents.
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