U.S. patent application number 14/082351 was filed with the patent office on 2018-11-29 for method and apparatus for sharing internet assets or content urls via a second display device.
This patent application is currently assigned to Sony Network Entertainment International LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC. Invention is credited to Charles McCoy, Ling Jun Wong, True Xiong.
Application Number | 20180343504 14/082351 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 53174656 |
Filed Date | 2018-11-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180343504 |
Kind Code |
A9 |
McCoy; Charles ; et
al. |
November 29, 2018 |
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SHARING INTERNET ASSETS OR CONTENT URLS
VIA A SECOND DISPLAY DEVICE
Abstract
A user can share Internet assets or content URLs via a second
display device with other Internet content service users. Thus, the
other users will be able to view the same content on their own
internet protocol televisions (IPTV), as first display devices,
without the need to search for the content in the content providing
service. When the shared content is URLs, the recipient can even
preview the content from the URL on the second display device
before sending it to the recipient's internet protocol television
(IPTV).
Inventors: |
McCoy; Charles; (Coronado,
CA) ; Wong; Ling Jun; (Escondido, CA) ; Xiong;
True; (San Diego, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC |
San Mateo |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Sony Network Entertainment
International LLC
Los Angeles
CA
Sony Corporation
Tokyo
|
Prior
Publication: |
|
Document Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20150143442 A1 |
May 21, 2015 |
|
|
Family ID: |
53174656 |
Appl. No.: |
14/082351 |
Filed: |
November 18, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
13327155 |
Dec 15, 2011 |
8589986 |
|
|
14082351 |
|
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|
|
61441852 |
Feb 11, 2011 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N 21/462 20130101;
H04N 21/435 20130101; H04N 21/4122 20130101; H04N 21/8586 20130101;
H04N 21/6175 20130101; H04N 21/4788 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04N 21/61 20060101
H04N021/61; H04N 21/41 20060101 H04N021/41; H04N 21/435 20060101
H04N021/435; H04N 21/462 20060101 H04N021/462; H04N 21/858 20060101
H04N021/858 |
Claims
1-14. (canceled)
15. A control display device for a content providing system having
one or more IPTVs (internet protocol TVs) as first display devices,
the control display device comprising: a storing device storing a
list of recipients for sharing contents, the recipients being
associated with the content providing system; a content browsing
device browsing contents in the content providing system; a sending
device sending a share request to a server and sending therewith at
least one recipient from the list of recipients for sharing
contents; a receiving device receiving notification from the server
that content is available for sharing; and a forwarding device
forwarding the content to one of the first display devices for
displaying content.
16. The control display device according to claim 15, wherein the
content to be shared includes (a) internet content having content
URL's and (b) content only available to IPTV devices using IPTV
protocol.
17. The control display device according to claim 15, wherein when
content to be shared are internet content URLs, the control display
device of the recipients are capable of previewing the content on
the recipient's control display device before the control display
device of the recipient sends the content to the recipient's first
display device which is independent of the control device.
18. The control display device according to claim 15, wherein when
content to be shared is IPTV content, the control display device of
the recipients are not capable of previewing the content on the
recipient's control display device before the control display
device of the recipient sends the content to the recipients first
display device which is independent of the control display
device.
19. The control display device according to claim 15, wherein the
server device is a content provider server.
20. The control display device according to claim 15, further
comprising a playback device which plays content when the shared
content is a content URL.
21. The control display device according to claim 15, wherein the
control display device being one of a cell phone, laptop computer
and a personal computer.
22-39. (canceled)
Description
CLAIM TO PRIORITY
[0001] This application claims the benefit of previously filed
provisional application Ser. No. 61/441,852, filed on Feb. 11,
2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety
herein.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] This application relates generally to controlling an
Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) using a second device.
Embodiments of the present invention allow a user to share Internet
video linked contents or content URLs via a second display device
with other users or subscribers. Thus, other users or recipients
will be able to view the same content on their own IPTV (Internet
protocol TVs) without the need to search for the contents on the
Internet service itself When content URLs are shared, the recipient
can preview the contents on the second display device before
sending it to his/her own IPTV (first display device).
[0004] 2. Background Discussion
[0005] Internet access through TVs is typically provided by
essentially programming the TV (often referred to as an Internet
Protocol TV, or IPTV) as though it were a computer executing a
browser. Such internet access is thus uncontrolled except as a
firewall or filtering program might block certain sites.
[0006] As understood herein, uncontrolled Internet access may not
be desirable in the context of a TV. A firewall or filtering
program may not always be installed on the TV and even when one is
installed, access remains much more uncontrolled than conventional
TV programming traditionally has expected. Also, a locally
installed filter can be unloaded or defeated by a user.
[0007] Accordingly, uncontrolled Internet access has several
drawbacks. From a viewer's standpoint, exposure to inappropriate
subject matter particularly when young viewers are watching is one
concern; a much lower threshold of quality screening is another.
That is, while many TV shows might not be widely considered as
"quality" shows, nonetheless a TV program is usually much more
selectively screened than, say, an Internet video. The expectations
of TV viewers for such higher level quality screening as a
consequence cannot be met by simply providing unfettered Internet
access through the TV. Furthermore, TV-related entities, from
content providers, manufacturers, and carriers, in most cases
derive no benefit from the extension of TV to the Internet, such as
e.g., might be derived, as understood, herein, by pay-per-view
based on one or more options.
[0008] IPTV is capable of receiving services delivered using the
architecture and networking methods of the Internet Protocol Suite
as well as services delivered using a broadcasting network. MTV
services include, for example, live television, time-shifted
programming, video on demand (VOD), and on-line transactions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] When users browse content on the IPTV (first display
device), frequently users will want to share interesting content
(IPTV and/or Internet) with other users/friends, Current Internet
accessible systems IPTVs do not allow sharing contents among other
IPTV users. Additionally, even if IPTVs allows content sharing, it
is difficult to do it across different platforms, e.g. Blu-ray.RTM.
disk players (BDP) and digital tv's (DTV) because of different
platform software. Thus, it would be an advancement in the ad to
have an easy way to share content so that it is accessible, easy to
share and is uniform for users.
[0010] Sharing content is easy on the internet between personal
computers (PC) since they use the same software platforms. However,
for other platforms, such as Blu-ray.RTM. disc players (BDP) and
digital tv's (DTV), a challenge arises in terms of synchronization
and software uniformity.
[0011] The present invention allows a user to share internet
contents/assets or content URLs via a second display device with
other IPTV users or subscribers. This means that the other users
will be able to view the same content on their own IPTVs without
the need to search for the content in the IPTV content providing
service itself.
[0012] When Internet content URLs are shared between users, the
recipient of the content URL can preview it on the second display
device itself before sending it to the IPTV (first display
device).
[0013] Accordingly, one embodiment of the present invention is
directed to a system ("the system") for sharing content on an
internet protocol TV (IPTV) system. The system includes one or more
first display devices, displaying content. One or more second
display devices (control displaying devices), each of which has a
list of recipients associated with the IPTV system, are used for
sharing the content, The second display devices also are able to
access the Internet, by using a web browser. The system also
includes a server device that has contents for display on the first
display devices and which receives, from the second display
devices, a request to share content and a list of selected
recipients to share the content therewith. Furthermore, the server
device includes a mapping device that is used to map all recipients
in the selected list of recipients with at least one second display
device associated with each selected recipient such that the
content is available to the selected recipients, The server device
may also includes a notifying device that notifies the second
display device of the selected recipients that content is available
for viewing on the recipients first display device.
[0014] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed
to the system described above, wherein when content to be shared
are content URLs, the second display device of the selected
recipients are capable of previewing the content on the recipient's
second display device before the second display device of the
recipient sends the content to the recipient's first display
device.
[0015] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed
to the system described above, wherein the content to be shared
includes internet content and content URL's.
[0016] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed
to the system described above, wherein the server device is a
content provider server for IPTV devices.
[0017] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed
to the system described above, wherein the second display device
includes a selecting device which selects at least one recipient
from the list of recipients.
[0018] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed
to the system described above, wherein the first display device is
an internet protocol television (IPTV).
[0019] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed
to the system described above, wherein the second display device
includes at least one of a cell phone, laptop computer and personal
computer.
[0020] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed
to a control display device for a content providing system having
IPTVs (Internet protocol TVs) as first display devices. The control
display device includes a storing device storing a list of
recipients for sharing contents (the recipients being associated
with the content providing system). The control display device also
includes a web browsing device that browses contents in the content
providing system. Additionally, the control display device includes
a sending device that sends a share request to a server and sends
therewith at least one recipient from the list of recipients for
sharing contents. The control display de ice includes a receiving
device that receives notification from the server that content is
available for sharing and a forwarding device forwarding the
content to one of the first display devices for displaying
content.
[0021] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed
to the control display device, wherein the content to be shared
includes internet content having content URLs and content only
available on IPTV devices using IPTV protocol.
[0022] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed
to the control display device, wherein when content to be shared
are content URLs, the control display device of the recipients are
capable of previewing the content on the recipient's control
display device before the control display device of the recipient
sends the content to the recipient's first display device which is
independent of the control device.
[0023] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed
to the control display device, wherein the server device is a
content provider server.
[0024] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed
to the control display device, that also includes a playback device
which plays back content when the shared content is a content
URL.
[0025] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed
to the control display device, wherein the control display device
being one of a cell phone, laptop computer and a personal
computer.
[0026] In another embodiment of the control display device, when
content to be shared are IPTV content, the control display device
of the recipients are not capable of previewing the content on the
recipient's control display device before sending the content to
the recipient's first display device which is independent of the
control display device.
[0027] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed
to a server for a content providing system. The content providing
system includes interne protocol televisions (IPTVs) as first
display devices and second display devices which designates content
for sharing. The server includes a receiving device that receives,
from one of the second display devices, a request to share content
and a list of recipients to share the content therewith. The
recipients are associated with the content providing system. The
server also includes a mapping device that maps the recipients on
the list with their respective second devices. The server also
includes a notification device to notify the second devices of the
recipients on the list mapped by the mapping device that contents
are available for sharing.
[0028] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed
to the server, wherein the content to be shared includes internet
content having content URL's and content only available to IPTV
devices using IPTV protocol.
[0029] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed
to the server, wherein when content to be shared are content URLs,
the second display device of the recipients are capable of
previewing the content n the recipient's second device before the
second display device of the recipient sends the content to the
recipient's first display device.
[0030] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed
to the server, wherein the server device is a content provider
server.
[0031] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed
to the server, wherein the second display device includes a web
browser and is one of a cell phone, laptop computer and a personal
computer.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0032] To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends,
certain illustrative embodiments of the invention are described
herein in connection with the following description and the annexed
drawings. These embodiments are indicative, however, of but a few
of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be
employed and the present invention is intended to include all such
aspects and their equivalents. Other advantages, embodiments and
novel features of the invention may become apparent from the
following description of the invention when considered in
conjunction with the drawings. The following description, given by
way of example, but not intended to limit the invention solely to
the specific embodiments described, may best be understood in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0033] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of one embodiment of the
present invention.
[0034] FIGS. 2a and 2b show a series of steps according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0035] FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of
the present invention.
[0036] FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of processing steps according to
an embodiment of the present invention.
[0037] FIG. 5 is a flow chart according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0038] FIG. 6 is a flow chart of steps according to an embodiment
of the present invention.
[0039] FIG. 7 is a flow chart of steps according to an embodiment
of the present invention.
[0040] FIG. 8 is a flow chart of steps according to an embodiment
of the present invention.
[0041] FIG. 9 is a diagram of various components of an embodiment
of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0042] It is noted that in this disclosure and particularly in the
claims and/or paragraphs, terms such as "comprises," "comprised,"
"comprising," and the like can have the meaning attributed, to it
in U.S. patent law; that is, they can mean "includes," "included,"
"including," "including, but not limited to" and the like, and
allow for elements not explicitly recited. Terms such as
"consisting essentially of" and "consists essentially of" have the
meaning ascribed to them in U.S. patent law; that is, they allow
for elements not explicitly recited, but exclude elements that are
found in the prior art or that affect a basic or novel
characteristic of the invention. These and other embodiments are
disclosed or are apparent from and encompassed by, the following
description. As used in this application, the terms "component" and
"system" are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either
hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or
software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not
limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, an
object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a
computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a
server and the server can be a component. One or more components
may reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a
component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed
between two or more computers.
[0043] Furthermore, the detailed description describes various
embodiments of the present invention for illustration purposes and
embodiments of the present invention include the methods described
and may be implemented using one or more apparatus, such as
processing apparatus coupled to electronic media. Embodiments of
the present invention may be stored on an electronic media
(electronic memory, RAM, ROM, EEPROM) or programmed as computer
code (e.g., source code, object code or any suitable programming
language) to be executed by one or more processors operating in
conjunction with one or more electronic storage media.
[0044] Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented
using one or more processing devices, or processing facilities, or
processing modules. The processing devices, or facilities or
modules, may be coupled such that portions of the processing and/or
data manipulation may be performed at one or more processing
devices, facilities or modules and shared or transmitted between a
plurality of processing devices, facilities or modules.
[0045] An IPTV device may be used to control home appliances
through IPTV. These home appliances include, for example, video
players, game players, home theater systems, digital video
recorders, air conditioners, and etc. Household electrical
appliances and audio-visual apparatuses, such as video cassette
recorders (VCRs), televisions, air conditioners, and lighting
apparatuses, may be furnished with remote controls. These remote
controls each have operation units and functions specific to each
apparatus. In order to control home appliances, a dedicated remote
control may be placed in a vicinity of an associated home
appliance. IPTV provides the ability to integrate different
functions or different applications into a single control device to
control multiple appliances. This single control device may be a
smart phone, a digital personal assistant, a personal computer, lap
top computer, tablet, or other device with adequate processing
and/or storage capabilities. The single control device may transmit
control signals through a public network or Internet or other
network of operatively coupled computers, or processing devices or
modules to an IPTV device, which uses the control command to
control home appliances.
[0046] An IPTV device can access a vast pool of contents provided
by numerous content providers. The IPTV device may also be used to
control further distribution of content that has been provided by a
third party to the IPTV device so that unauthorized access is
prevented. Typically, IPTV is controlled by a single input device
and has a single display device. As a shared device that is viewed
by several users it is helpful to permit this sharing without
excessively raising hardware costs.
[0047] Accordingly, a method is provided to enable a user browsing
content on a second device to have their selection played by a
first device. The user can then continue to browse the content on
any number of second devices without interrupting the content that
is playing on the first device. The first device may be an IPTV.
The second device may be another electronic device. The method
include an architecture design and implementation that allows a
user to navigate, browse, and search content on a second device
that may be a consumer electronic device such as a Sony
Ericsson.RTM. smart phone, VAIO.RTM. PC, VAIO.RTM. laptop,
MYLO.RTM., personal computer, or other apparatus with sufficient
processing and storage capability, or any device with a web
browser. Concurrently, while a user is using the first device,
another user can perform these activities on the second device and
send a media selection to the first device of the user's choice for
playback.
[0048] A second device may act as a visual aid to the IPTV, but
does not require additional investments by the user because it
makes use of a device (such as a cellphone, laptop, etc) which most
users would typically already have in their possession. The second
device executes a program that allows the second device to act as
the visual aid. It is a low cost solution which opens up a huge
window of business and technical opportunities. It is a favorable
complement to the IPTV because the device has strengths in data
entry, processing power and user experience in content management.
Thus, users will be able to use their personal devices, such as a
cellphone, to browse content in their own language, perform data
entry, search for content, manage their content, perform
transactions and personalize their experience without disturbing
the big screen of a first device. Users only send the content for
playback on the IPTV when they are ready to watch it; and playback
of proprietary content does not occur on the non-authentic device
so security risks are minimized. The program may be written in
HTML, which can be loaded by any device with a browser, hence not
limited to only a small set of compatible devices.
[0049] An IPTV system typically includes an IPTV device being and
IPTV client and including an IPTV client processor controlling a
video display to present content thereon. The system also includes
a second device including a control processor and a management
server communicating with the IPTV client over the Internet. The
management server and IPTV client communicate with at least one
content server such that the content server provides audio video
content to the IPTV client for presentation of the content on the
video display of the IPTV client. The system further includes a
proxy server communicating with the management server and the
second device. The IPTV client sends login information to the
management server which returns to the IPTV client an IPTV session
token that may subsequently be presented by the IPTV client to a
the content server to obtain content from the content server, The
management server receives and stores a local IP address of the
IPTV client. Responsive to the second device sending a request to
the proxy server for an executable utility, the proxy server
returns the utility to the second device.
[0050] Further, the second device, executing the utility, prompts a
user to input to the second device login information. The proxy
server, responsive to reception of correct login information from
the second device, returns the local IP address of the IPTV client
to the second device, The second device uses the local IPTV address
to access the IPTV client directly to request information about the
IPTV client, which information is returned from the IPTV client to
the second device such that the local address of the IPTV client
need not be globally addressable. Also the second device sends the
information about the IPTV client to the proxy server, requesting a
list of services available to the IPTV client from one or more
content servers. The proxy server relays the request for a list of
services to the management server, which returns the list to the
proxy server, with the proxy server in turn sending the list to the
second device for presentation of information on the video
display.
[0051] Responsive to a user selection of an element on the list,
the second device sends a request for a software asset
corresponding to the element to the proxy server. The proxy server
requests a service login of the content server providing the asset,
and the content server provides to the proxy server a list of
assets or categories or services which relays the list to the
second device, which is presented on the video display of the
second device so that the user can navigate to enter a selection.
Responsive to the selection the second device sends a command to
the IPTV client to play the selection.
[0052] Embodiments include the IPTV client requests of the
management server information about the selection received from the
second device. The information is returned from the management
server to the IPTV client to enable the MTV client to play content
associated therewith. If desired, the proxy server can request of
the content server a list of options, and the list is returned to
the proxy server. Asset information may be requested by the IPTV
client and returned thereto by the content server. Also, a service
login received from the second device may be sent by the IPTV
client to the content server and a service token returned to the
IPTV client in response. When a list of contents is sent to the
second device, URL of contents may be removed from the list. The
second device requests a content using a unique identifier of the
content, the proxy server or the management server may use the
unique identifier of the content to locate a corresponding URL of
the content. in this way, the second device may not obtain the URL
of a content so that unauthorized distributions of content are
effectively prevented.
[0053] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a
consumer electronics device (CE) may act as a second device, which
includes a housing holding a display, a network interface, and a
processor controlling the display and communicating with the
Internet through the network interface. An input device
communicates with the processor. The processor executing logic
includes sending login information to a proxy server, and receiving
from the proxy server, responsive to reception thereby of correct
login information, a local IP address of an IPTV client, The
processor uses the local IPTV address to access the IPTV client
directly to request information about the IPTV client, sending the
information about the IPTV client to the proxy server. Responsive
to sending the information about the IPTV client to the proxy
server, the processor receives content information, presenting it
on the display from which a user can select a selected content. The
processor commands the IPTV client to play the selected
content.
[0054] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a proxy
server assembly includes at least one processor and at least one
network interface communicating with the processor to establish
communication between the processor and a wide area network.
[0055] According to an embodiment of the present invention, at
least one computer readable storage medium is accessible to the
processor and bears logic causing the processor to receive login
information from a second device. Responsive to a determination
that the login information is correct, the server sends to the
second device a local IP address of an IPTV client associated with
the login information. The server receives from the second device
information about the IPTV client requesting a list of services
available to the IPTV client from at least one content server and
sends a request for the list of services to a management server.
The proxy server receives from the management server the list and
sends it to the second device for presentation of information on a
video display thereof. The proxy server then receives from the
second device a request for a software asset and responsive to the
request for the software asset, requests a service login of the
content server. The proxy server receives back from the content
server a list of assets or categories or services and sends the
list to the second device. In this way, the list can be presented
on a video display of the second device so that a user can navigate
to enter a selection to command the IPTV client to play the
selection.
[0056] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a first
device is connected with a plurality of electronic devices. A
second device may transmit control commands to the first device
using a communication network or interact to control the plurality
of electronic devices.
[0057] Referring to FIG. 1, an IPTV system may include a first
device such as a client consumer electronics device 12, a second
device such as another consumer electronics device 38, an
electronic device 29 connected with the first device, a management
server 30, a proxy server 34, and a content server 32. Each of the
above devices and servers may have one or both a wired
communication interface and a wireless communication interface.
[0058] The client consumer electronics device (CE) 12 such as a TV,
game player, video disk player, camera, digital clock radio, mobile
telephone, personal digital assistant, laptop computer, etc,
includes a portable lightweight plastic housing 14 bearing a
digital processor 16. The processor 16 can control a visual display
18 and an audible display 20 such as one or more speakers. The
client consumer electronics device has a unique identifier that,
without other means, is able to identify the client consumer
electronics device within the wry system. The unique identifier may
be assigned by a manufacturer or assigned by the management server
when the client consumer electronics device is registered in the
IPTV system.
[0059] To undertake present principles, the processor 16 may access
one or more computer readable storage media 22 such as but not
limited to RAM-based storage (e.g., a chip implementing dynamic
random access memory (DRAM) or flash memory or disk based-storage.
Software code implementing present logic executable by the CE
device 12 may also be stored on one of the memories shown to
undertake present principles.
[0060] The processor 16 can receive user input signals from various
input devices including a remote control device 24, a point and
click device such as a mouse, a keypad, etc. A TV tuner 26 may be
provided in some implementations particularly when the CE device is
embodied by a TV to receive TV signals from a source such as a
set-top box, satellite receiver, cable head end, terrestrial TV
signal antenna, etc. Signals from the tuner 26 are sent to the
processor 16 for presentation on the display 18 and speakers
20.
[0061] As shown in FIG. 1, a network interface 28 such as a wired
or wireless modem or wireless telephony transceiver communicates
with the processor 16 to provide connectivity to a wide area
network such as the Internet. Double arrows in FIG. 1 indicate
network communication between components over wired and/or wireless
links. In this way, the client device 12 can communicate with a
management server 30 on the Internet and with one or more content
servers 32, also on the Internet and communicating with the
management server 30.
[0062] If desired, each content server 32 may be associated with a
respective proxy server 34 which interfaces the content server 32
with the device 12. The servers 30, 32, 34 have respective
processors 30a, 32a, 34a accessing respective nontransitory
computer readable storage media 30b, 32b, 34b which may be, without
limitation, disk-based and/or solid state storage. The servers
communicate with a wide area network such as the Internet via
respective network interfaces 30c, 32c, and 34c, It is to be
understood in view of disclosure below that the CE device 12
particularly when implemented by a non-PC device such as a TV or
game console or camera can communicate only with the management
server 30 and with content servers 32 that appear on a service list
provided to the processor 16 by the management server 30, with the
service list not being modifiable by the processor 16.
[0063] The electronic device 29 is connected with the first device
12 using a cable such as a 1394 cable or a HDMI cable or using a
wireless communication interface such as infrared signals, The
electronic device 29 may be a digital video recorder, a Blu-ray
player, a game player, an audio amplifier, or an air
conditioner.
[0064] A second device 36 may be another consumer electronics
device. The second device 36 may be another TV, game player, video
disk player, camera, digital clock radio, mobile telephone,
personal digital assistant, laptop computer, etc. The second device
36 with a housing 38 bears a digital processor 40 controlling a
visual display 42 and an audible display 44 such as one or more
speakers.
[0065] To undertake present principles, the second or control
processor 40 may access one or more computer readable storage media
46 such as but not limited to RAM-based storage (,g., a chip
implementing dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or flash memory or
disk-based-storage. Software code implementing present logic
executable by the second or control device 36 may also be stored on
one of the memories shown to undertake present principles. Further,
the second or control processor 40 can receive user input signals
from various input devices 48 including a point and click device
such as a mouse, a keypad, etc. A network interface 50 such as a
wired or wireless modem or wireless telephony transceiver
communicates with the processor 40 to provide connectivity to a
wide area network such as the Internet,
[0066] FIGS. 2a and 2b (generally FIG. 2) show an example
embodiment of present principles for enabling a user to use a
second device 36 to browse assets and select le to have a first
device 12 such as a main IPTV client play the content. FIG. 2
assumes that the user has already created an account with the
management server 30 and has affiliated the main IPTV device with
that account. In general, a user loads the second application,
which may be a web application in the second device and logs into
their user account, which may be the same account used for device
registration. Once logged in, a list of compatible IPTV devices is
presented.
[0067] After the user selects a device, a list of services that the
device is entitled to is provided. The user browses the services
and their content, in his/her preferred language, on the second
device as though it is an actual IPTV device such as the first
device, Similar transactions, like video rentals or home shopping
purchases, can also be made on the second device, Standard IPTV
system interaction with service providers occurs on the proxy
server, hence creating a firewall between the second device and
content providers. Additional navigation features, like
hyper-linked text which will open a new window and the management
of premium services from a single location, provide better user
experience in this IPTV system.
[0068] When a piece of content is selected, it may be sent to the
IPTV for playback in the form of a reference id which is used by
the IPTV to retrieve playback information. By eliminating the
presence of the content URL on the second device, the risk of
leaking major proprietary information which could result in huge
losses is reduced. During the time of playback, the user can
continue to browse for other content and queue it for future
playback. The IPTV needs to be addressable by the second device to
perform playback, which is the case when both devices are on the
same local network. The user can also switch devices and resume
playback on a different device such as the electronic device 19 in
FIG. 1 by going to the recently viewed list, and selecting the last
video played after switching control to that device.
[0069] A detailed description of each state in FIG. 2 is provided
as follows.
[0070] At state 52 a user turns on the first device 12, hereafter
referred to as the "IPTV client" for convenience. At state 54 the
IPTV client sends login information including, e.g., user name and
password to the management server 30, which at state 56 returns to
the IPTV client an IPTV session token that may subsequently be
presented by the IPTV client device to a participating content
server 32 to obtain content from that server. Also, the management
server 30 stores the local IP address of the IPTV client device 12.
Alternatively, in another embodiment, the management server 30 does
not return a token in response to receiving login information.
Subsequently, no token is required to be presented by the IPTV
client device to the participating content server 32 to obtain,
content.
[0071] At state 58, the user instantiates an IPTV client control
utility on the second device 36. The utility executed on the second
device 36, at state 60, sends a request to the proxy server 34,
which returns (62) a response in a suitable language, such as
hypertext markup language (HTML) with JavaScript for the second
device 36 to execute in accordance with description below. This
JavaScript.RTM. makes asynchronous JavaScript.RTM. and extended
markup language (XML) (AJAX) calls to the proxy server and to the
IPTV client to obtain information to control the IPTV client. In
another embodiment, step 60 may not be necessary where other client
application implementations are used, such as one where the client
application is not downloaded each time it is used. It should also
be noted that other technologies (e.g. C, C++, Perl.RTM., and
Flash.RTM.) can be used for the implementation of the client
application and that neither HTML nor JavaScript.RTM. are
required.
[0072] With more specificity, at state 64 using the
JavaScript.RTM., or alternatively, another method of implementing
the client application, received from the proxy server 34 the
second device 36 prompts the user to input to the second device 36
the user account information, such as account login information,
including, e.g., the same user name and password that the IPTV
client provided to the management server 30 at 54. Thus, the
servers 30, 32, 34 communicate necessary account information
between the as needed to realize present principles.
[0073] At state 66 the proxy server 34, responsive to a correct
user name and password from the second device 36, returns
information about all IPTV clients 12 that are affiliated with the
user account associated with the user name and password, including
their local IP addresses which were stored by the management server
30 after login at 54 (and subsequently provided to the proxy server
34).
[0074] When the user inputs to the second device 36 at state 68 a
selected IPTV client device (in this example, the IPTV client
device 12) to use with the second device, the second device 36,
using the local IP address returned at state 66, accesses the IPTV
client device 12 directly. The second device 36 requests
information about the IPTV client device 12 at state 70, including
language information, rating information, digital rights management
(DRM) information, etc. as desired, which information is returned
from the IPTV client device 12 to the second device 36 at state 72.
Since the second device 36 knows the IP address of the IPTV client
device 12 and consequently communicates directly with the IPTV
client device 12, the second device 36 communicates using a local
web address of the IPTV client device 12 that need not be globally
addressable, and may so communicate as long as the second device 36
and IPTV client device 12 are on the same local network.
[0075] At state 74 the second device 36 sends the client
information received at state 72 to the proxy server 34, requesting
a list of services available to the IPTV client device 12 from one
or more of the content servers 32. The proxy server 34 relays the
request for a list of services at state 76 to the management server
30, which returns the available services at state 78 to the proxy
server 34. The proxy server 34 in turn sends the services list to
the second device 36 at state 80 for presentation of available
services on, e.g., the second device display 42.
[0076] State 62 indicates that a user can input (using, e.g., the
second device input device 48) a selection of a service on the list
that was returned to the second device at state 80. In response,
the second device 36, at state 84, sends a request for a list of
content and categories to the proxy server 34 along with a service
session token that the second device may have received from the
content server 32 via the management server 30.
[0077] Responsive to the request, at state 86 the proxy server logs
into the service of the content server 32 providing the selected
service. At state 88 the content server 32 provides to the proxy
server 34 service session token for the particular content server
34. State 90 indicates that if desired the proxy server 34 may also
request a list of content and categories of the content server 32
and the list is returned at state 92 in, e.g., extended markup
language (XML) format to the proxy server 34, which relays the
assets, categories, services, etc. available for selection to the
second device 36 at state 94. When the list of assets or the list
of options is provided to the second device, the URL associated
with each asset or options are removed. A reference ID is added to
the list for each asset and options. The second device requests a
particular asset or option by using the reference ID. In this way,
the second device may not obtain any URL of the assets or
options.
[0078] The content available for selection is presented on the
second device display 42 so that the user can navigate (96) the
display to enter (98) a selection. Responsive to the selection the
second device 36 at state 98 sends a command to the IPTV client 12
to play the selection. At state 100 the IPTV client device 12 then
requests service information of the management server 30
information about the service the selected asset is in, logging in
to the service if required. The requested information is returned
from the management server 30 to the IPTV client 12 at state 102,
and when the IPTV client 12 receives the asset information it plays
the asset at state 116. If the IPTV client is already playing
content the new content commanded to be played by the second device
is placed in a queue in the IPTV client and played when the current
content completes.
[0079] Furthermore, the second device may command the IPTV client
to play content by sending to the IPTV client over the home network
commands coded as if they were sent from an infrared remote control
(IR RC), specifically for example the commands may be in Sony
Infrared Remote Control System (SIRCS) protocol. The second device
may transmit command signals to the IPTV client to control the
electronic device 29.
[0080] As shown in FIG. 2, if desired, temporally between states
102 and 116 a series of messages may be exchanged between the IPTV
client 12 and the content server 32. For example, a request for
content information may be made (104) by the IPTV client 12 and
returned (106) by the content server 32. The above-described
logging into the service may be relayed by the IPTV client 12 to
the content server 32 at state 108 and a service session token
returned to the IPTV client at state 110 along with the
before-mentioned asset information. Also, a request of content
information may be made (112) and a playlist returned to (114) the
IPTV client device 12.
[0081] The software (e.g., JavaScript.RTM./HTML) that is downloaded
at state 62 can be made available to all electronic vendors who
wish their users to be able to navigate, browse, and search IPTV
content on a second device. In an embodiment in which HTML is used,
the software can be used on any client device with a web
browser.
[0082] The following situations illustrate some scenarios where the
second device complements the IPTV's shortcomings, hence providing
better user experience for the IPTV user. For example, a group of
friends is watching video clips on an IPTV, Each of them are
browsing content on their own second display and queuing up
selections. In another example, someone is looking for content on a
particular subject. They are able to quickly type in search terms
using their second device even when those terms contain characters
not supported by their IPTV. In another example, a man is watching
the end of a ball game on the IPTV while his wife uses a second
display to select a movie for them to watch when the game ends. In
another example, a user may be away from an IPTV, but the user may
use a smart phone as the second device to browse contents and
select a preferable content to be played on the IPTV.
[0083] In the above-identified situations, using a second device
can provide many benefits, such as [0084] Browsing in own language
without disturbing the big screen [0085] Ease of data entry in a
language not supported by the IPTV [0086] On-device service
affiliation for premium services like Netflix [0087] Cross-device
playback and resume from a recently viewed list [0088] Social
sharing of content to enhance content proliferation [0089]
Management of subscription-based services from a single location
[0090] Browsing and queue management when away from the IPTV device
or when not in proximity to the IPTV device [0091] One-click
Customer service without the need of entering personal or device
information [0092] Quick access to relevant device specifications
and manuals [0093] Hyper-linked text in forms directs users to
informational sites [0094] Content Queue across devices [0095]
Advertisement revenue through Second display usage
[0096] The second device provides an enhanced user experience of
the IPTV without adding to the hardware costs of the unit. It makes
data entry easy and allows users to browse content on the side. It
is also a global solution which connects various IPTVs together in
a cohesive manner through its potential of initiating playback
across devices. it also provides the highest level of customer
service to users through its one-click customer service feature,
where users do not even need to provide any device information
which can be difficult to retrieve in the event of a device
breakdown.
[0097] FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation 300 of an embodiment
in which the present invention finds ready application. First a
user turns on an IPTV client. The IPTV logs into a management
server so that the management server knows which IPTV device is in
communication. The user does not have to interact or provide any
information as part of this device interaction. The management
server starts the session. Then the user turns on the second
display. In an embodiment in which the second display does not have
the second display application, the second display requests the
second display web application (app) from the proxy server and the
second display web application is loaded onto the second display.
In another embodiment, the second display application is installed
on the second display. Then the user logs into the user account. An
authentication request is sent from the second display to the proxy
server. The proxy server verifies credentials with the management
server, and then the management server confirms credentials with
the proxy server. So that authentication is completed.
[0098] Then the user browses an Internet video link (IVL). After
that, the device data is requested from the second display and then
the requested device data is sent from he proxy server to the
second display device. Thus, the second display device can be used
to display content even when the IPTV device is not available. The
use of the second display device to display content depends on the
display capabilities and display functions of the second display
device. The second display sends a request using second display
protocol to the proxy server, and then the proxy server requests to
service provider, and the service provider responds. The proxy
server responds using a second display protocol to the second
display with the associated URL replaced with playlist ID.
[0099] After the user selects playback, the second display device
attempts to send the playlist ID to the IPTV client device. When
the IPTV client device is reachable, the playlist ID is received.
Then the playlist ID is sent from the IPTV client to the proxy
server, and playlist data is returned from the proxy server to the
IPTV client. The IPTV client requests a content URL with playlist
data of the service provider, and then the service provider returns
the content URL for playback to the IPTV client device. When the
IPTV client device is not reachable, the playlist ID is not
received and the second display device notifies the user that the
IPTV client device is not reachable. The second display device
stores the Play list ID for a later attempt at sending to the IPTV
client device.
[0100] In another embodiment, the second display device may inform
a server of the playlist ID and when the IPTV device is connected
to the server, may receive the request even when the IPTV device
and the second display device are on separate local networks and
cannot address each other. In this case, the IPTV device may still
not be reachable, as in a case where the IPTV device may not be
connected to a power supply, and the request is queued at the
server to be sent at a later time when the IPTV device is
reachable.
[0101] FIG. 4 shows a flow chart 400 of processing steps according
to the embodiment of FIG. 3.
[0102] The process begins in step 402 in which the user turns on
IPTV client device. After the IPTV device is registered with the
management server, or authenticated with the management server, as
shown in step 404, the management server starts the session in step
406. Then in step 408 the user turns on the second display, and,
when necessary, requests for second display web application to a
proxy server, as shown in step 410, The request for the second
display application is optional and is used only when desired. When
requested, the web application is loaded onto second display in
step 412. In step 414 the user logs into the account, which is the
account the IPTV is registered. In step 416 authentication request
is sent from the second display to the proxy server. In step 418
the proxy server verifies credentials with the management server,
and then in step 420 the management server confirms credentials
with the proxy server. In step 422, authentication is completed, It
is an embodiment of the present invention that the server in steps
418 and 420 may be in the same server. Alternatively, there may be
more than two servers splitting the server tasks.
[0103] In step 424 the user browses the Internet video link (IVL)
and the user is presented with a list of IPTV devices. In step 426
the device data is requested by the second display device and then
in step 428 the requested device data is sent by the proxy server
to the second display device, in step 430 the second display sends
a request using a second display protocol to proxy server, and then
in step 432 the proxy server requests from proxy server and the
service provider responds, as shown in step 434. In step 436, the
second display device receives categories, options and a content
list from the proxy server. Alternatively, the proxy server may
send content to the second display device with the associated URL
replaced with playlist ID. Alternatively, the service provider may
permit, in some cases that the URL is sent to the second display
device. For example, the second display may have a secure
application, and the service provider may allow a second display
with a secure application to receive the URL. Thus, the content URL
may be transmitted to the IPTV device for playback, rather than
having the IPTV device retrieve the data from the server.
[0104] In step 438 the user selects playback and then in step 440
the playlist ID is sent from the second display device to the IPTV
client device. If the IPTV client does not answer or does not
acknowledge the request to play the content, or is unable to play
the content at the time, such as when the IPTV client device may be
on and reachable, but a viewer has enacted a "do not disturb" mode,
the second display device informs the user that the IPTV client
device is unreachable (not available to play the content at this
time) and queues the request to be repeated at a later time when
the IPTV client device is reachable.
[0105] In step 442 the playlist ID is sent from IPTV client to
proxy server, and returned from proxy server to IPTV client in step
444, In step 446 IPTV client requests content URL, with playlist
data to service provider, and then in step 448 the service provider
returns content URL for playback to the IPTV client device.
Alternatively, the proxy server may store the URL content and thus,
return the URL content to the IPTV client device without the need
to request the content at the URL associated with the playlist data
from the service provider. Thus, when the proxy server stores the
URL, step 446 is not used, rather, once the IPTV client device
obtains the URL, the IPTV client device can start playback.
[0106] Referring back to FIG. 1, when Internet content users browse
content on their interne protocol televisions (IPTV) 12, as first
display devices, there often is a urge to share content with other
users/friends. The content to be shared may be content that is
publically available on the internet through a URL or may be
content that is only available to IPTV devices 12 through the use
of the IPTV protocol. Current Internet content providing systems on
internet protocol televisions (IPTV) 12 do not allow sharing of
content. Additionally, even if internet protocol TV's (IPTV) 12
allow this, there is a problem to do so across different platforms
such as Blu-ray.RTM. disc players (BDP) 29 and digital tv's 29
(DTV) due to the different platform software.
[0107] While sharing content is easy on the internet between
personal computers, it becomes a challenge with other platforms due
to the terms of synchronization and software uniformity. The
present invention allows a user to share contents/assets or content
URLs via a second display device (control display device) 36 with
other users or subscribers to the content providing service. This
means that the other users will be able to view the same content on
their own internet protocol television (IPTV) 12 without the need
for searching for the content in the content providing service
itself When internet content URLs are shared, the recipient can
preview, on the second display device 36 itself, the content
accessed from the URL, before sending it to the interact protocol
television (IPTV) 12 as the first display device. However, when the
content being shared is IPTV content, it can only be viewed by an
IPTV device. Therefore, the second display device 36 is not capable
of previewing the content, since certain authentications are only
performed in the IPTV system, which are not performed for interact
content URLs. Thus, there will be content only available in the
IPTV system that is not generally available.
[0108] In order to share content, the user should have already
established a list of other users (friends list) using respective
second display devices 36. This is done using the normal add other
users/friends mechanism on the second display device 36, such as
typically used among social networking sites. The user can select
to share the content with some or all the other users on the
list.
[0109] The indication of shared content is received by modules that
control the first display devices. The modules can be hardware or
software. The modules can be provided in one second display device
that controls all first display devices. Alternatively, the modules
can be in multiple second display devices, where each second
display device controls one or more first display devices.
Furthermore, the modules can be built into the first display
devices, with or without the use of second display devices, to
control other first display devices.
[0110] A proxy server 34 or optional server coordinates
communication between the first and second display devices and the
server 30. The proxy server 34 can provide a list of devices that
the content can be shared with through a list of devices associated
with user/recipient account. Alternatively, the module controlling
the sharing can locate the first and second display devices to
share the content with through device discovery such that the proxy
server is not needed. Thus, the second display device can get
information about devices it can share content with through device
discovery.
[0111] It should be noted that the target of the sharing is a user
account, not a specific device. Thus, any device that is associated
with that user account can be notified of the shared content
choice. The notified device can play the shared content if it is
content that the device is capable of playing. Therefore, a second
display device may be associated with more than one first display
device.
[0112] For a typical case, a user's second display device 36 is
used to browse content choices. It sends commands to the user's
first display device 12 to play content. The user's second display
device sends information about a content selection to share along
with information about the recipient to the IPTV system server
(management server 30 or proxy server 34). The IPTV system server
notifies the recipient's second display device of the shared
content choice. The recipient's second display device is then used
to tell the recipient's first display device to play the shared
content.
[0113] Other embodiments include (a) having the functionality (i.e.
browse, content selection, etc) of the user's second display device
built into the user's first display device, (b) having the
functionality (i.e. notification receipt, etc.) of the recipient's
second display device built into the recipient's first display
device, (c) having the user's first display device communicate its
shared content choice directly to the recipient's second display
device, (d) the user's second display device gets information about
devices to share content with from the IPTV system server, (e) the
user's second display device gets information about devices to
share content with through device discovery, (f) the target of
sharing is a user account not a device, (g) the second display
device is associated with more than one first display device and
(h) the shared content is found on the internet instead of the IPTV
system.
[0114] In the preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 5, (and
referring to components in FIG. 1) the second display device (36)
controls the first display device (12). The user first browses
content, as shown in step S1 on the content provider's website
using the second display device (36) using a content browser Of web
browser. Alternatively, the user can browse the content using the
user's IPTV device (12) rather than the second display device (36).
The user then decides which content of storage (32b) on a content
server (32) to share, as shown in step 52 with another user or
users (recipient(s)). A content sharing request is then sent by the
user to a management server (30) or proxy server (34) with a
selected list of other users/friends IDs, as shown in step SI The
server (30, 34) performs the necessary mapping so that the content
is available to the selected recipient(s), as shown in step S4. The
server (30, 34) then sends a notification to the recipient(s) via
the recipient's second display device, as shown step 55 (i.e. sent
to second display devices (36) via proxy server (34)). The
notification can be a device built into the first display device
(i.e. sent to second display device 36 via first display device
12). Alternatively, the notification module can be operatively
coupled to the first display device. Alternatively, the server 30
sends the notification directly to the recipients IPTV device (12).
Furthermore, if the notification device is built into the user's
first display device, the user's first display device sends the
notification directly to the recipient's IPTV device (12). The
recipient then can elect to receive the content, as shown in step
56.
[0115] The recipient can then play back the content on a compatible
internet protocol TV (IPTV) (12) of his/her choice, as shown in
step S7. When internet content URLs are shared, the recipient is
able to preview the content from that URL on the recipient's second
display device (36) before sending it to the recipient's internet
protocol television (IPTV) (12).
[0116] In another embodiment, the content to be shared may be
stored on the second display device itself rather than the content
providing server (32), This occurs when the second display device
contains a camera that is used to capture the contents that is to
be shared or when the second display device contains a memory card
reader and a memory card with the contents to be shared is inserted
into the memory card reader. Thus, the second display device (36)
acts as the server providing the content (32) as well as providing
the list of selected recipients to share the content on multiple
IPTV devices (first display device). However, even in this
embodiment, the second display device sends the contents sharing
request to the controlling server and not the content itself. The
content is transmitted from the server/device hosting the content
directly to the IPTV devices playing the content. The second
display device may communicate the content to be shared directly to
the IPTV device. This occurs when the second display device is also
being used to control each of the first display devices as well as
being used to share content. Thus, the second display device
communicates with the IPTV devices directly and/or communicates
with the IPTV devices through a content providing
server/controlling server,
[0117] FIG. 6 is a flow chart of steps 600 according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0118] The steps 600 as shown in FIG. 6 may be stored on an
electronic storage medium, such as a non-transitory
computer-readable medium, such as RAM, ROM, EEPROM, or other medium
that may be accessed by a processing device, The process begins
with start step 602. A first display device, such as an IPTV device
displays content, such as television programs, or Internet content,
or other data, as shown in step 604. A second display device, which
may be a control device, such as a mobile phone, personal digital
assistant (PDA) device, or other processing device, which is
typically a portable device shares content and may also browse a
network, such as the Internet, as shown in step 606. When the
second device is used to browse the Internet, the second device has
a web browser application.
[0119] As shown in step 608, a server device, which is operatively
coupled to the first display device and second display device,
receives content that is to be shared as well as a list of
recipients that can receive the shared content.
[0120] As shown in step 610, the server device maps recipients with
a second display device so that content is available to the
selected recipients. Step 612 shows that the server device notifies
the second display device of the selected recipients that content
is available. The content can then be displayed to the selected
recipients.
[0121] Step 620 shows that the process ends.
[0122] FIG. 7 is a flow chart of steps 700 according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0123] The steps 700 as shown in FIG. 7 may be stored on an
electronic storage medium, such as a non-transitory
computer-readable medium, such as RAM, ROM, EEPROM, or other medium
that may be accessed by a processing device. The process begins
with start step 702. in step 704, a list of recipients for sharing
content is stored in a memory location. This memory location may be
at a portable device or at a server location. Step 706 shows that a
user browses content, This browsing is typically done via a
network, such as the Internet, using a portable device that has a
web browsing application.
[0124] Step 708 shows that a share request and a selected recipient
is sent from a portable device to a server device. The selected
recipient is selected from a list of recipients.
[0125] The portable device then receives notification from the
server that content is available for sharing, as shown step 710.
Step 712 shows that the content to be shared is forwarded to a
display device, such as an IPTV device. Step 714 shows that the
IPTV device displays the shared content.
[0126] End step 720 shows that the process ends.
[0127] FIG. 8 is a flow chart of steps 800 according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0128] The steps 800 as shown in FIG. 8 may be stored on an
electronic storage medium, such as a non-transitory
computer-readable medium, such as RAM, ROM, EEPROM, or other medium
that may be accessed by a processing device. The process begins
with start step 802.
[0129] In step 804 a server device receives content to be shared
and a list of recipients. This is transmitted from a display
device. Step 806 shows that recipients are mapped with an
associated device. in step 810, the associated devices of the
recipients are notified that content is available for sharing. In
step 812, the content is previewed on a device. if the previewed
content is not desired, or accepted, as shown in step 814, line 816
shows that the content is not provided to a display device. When
the previewed content is accepted, line 820 shows that the content
is provided to a display device, such as an IPTV device, for
display, as shown in step 822,
[0130] End step 824 shows that the process ends.
[0131] Like all other assets in the Internet content providing
service compatible with a second display device, recommended assets
can also be managed on the second display device and put into
favorite lists or user created content services.
[0132] FIG. 9 shows a diagram of various components of an
embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, FIG. 9 shows a
network environment 900 adapted to support various embodiments of
the present invention. The system 900 shown in FIG. 9 includes a
network 908, first display devices, or modules 902(a) . . . (n)
(where "n" is any suitable number), content server 913, IPTV system
server 906 and one or more second display devices, or modules
904(a) . . . (n) (where "n" is any suitable number). A module, as
used herein, is for example, an apparatus and/or a processor
coupled to a memory that may be used to process instructions or a
module may be instructions or a series of instructions stored on a
non-transitory computer readable, or an electronic storage medium
storing program code, or a memory unit storing instructions that is
coupled to an associated or dedicated or remote or available
processing unit for execution of the instructions, the module may
be a plugin unit, stand alone set of instructions, or program code
or may be an integral part of a larger component. Each module may
be stored in a separate memory or a common computer memory.
[0133] Network 908 is, for example, any combination of linked
computers, or processing devices, adapted to transfer and process
data. The network 908 may be private Internet Protocol (IP)
networks, as well as public IP networks, such as the Internet that
can utilize World Wide Web (www) browsing functionality. An example
of a wired network is a network that uses communication busses and
MODEMS, or DSL lines, or a local area network (LAN) or a wide area
network (WAN) to transmit and receive data between terminals. An
example of a wireless network is a wireless LAN. Global System for
Mobile Communication (GSM) is another example of a wireless
network. The GSM network is divided into three major systems which
are the switching system, the base station system, and the
operation and support system (GSM). Also, IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) is a
commonly used wireless network in computer systems that enable
connection to the Internet or other machines that have Wi-Fi
functionality. Wi-Fi networks broadcast radio waves that can be
picked up by Wi-Fi receivers that are attached to different
computers.
[0134] First display devices 902(a) . . . (n) (where "n" is any
suitable number) (generally referred to as 902) are coupled to
network 908 via an associated bi-directional communication medium
903(a) . . . (n), which maybe for example a serial bus such as IEEE
1394, or other wire or wireless transmission medium. Display
devices 902 may be IPTV devices, communication appliances, or user
locations, or subscriber devices, or client terminals that are used
to display content. Display devices 902 typically include a CPU
923, web browser 925 and display module 927. The display module 927
may be, for example, a display screen, or LCD, or plasma screen to
display content.
[0135] Content server 913 is a data storage and processing device
with suitable memory and speed. The server 913 includes a CPU
(central processing unit) 915, supporting circuitry, hard drives
I/O ports and memory. The server 913 also has a web browser 917
that is adapted to search and/or browse the Internet or another
network and may be a program such as Internet Explorer.TM.. The
server 913 is, for example, a webserver that communicates with the
network 908 via an acceptable language, such as HTML and serves the
content to be shared. The content server 913 typically stores
content that is to be displayed on one or more of the display
devices 902. The content server 913 is operatively coupled to
network 908 via bi-directional communication medium 919, which may
be a wired or wireless connection
[0136] Server apparatus 906, which may also be referred to as an
IPTV system server, is a data storage and processing device with
suitable memory and speed. The server 906 includes a CPU (central
processing unit), supporting circuitry, hard drives 1/0 ports and
memory, The server 906 may also be a webserver.
[0137] As shown in FIG. 9, server 906 includes CPU 909 and memory
911 and is operatively coupled to network 908 via bi-directional
communication means 907. The bi-directional communication means 907
is, for example, a serial bus such as IEEE 1394, or other wired or
wireless transmission medium,
[0138] Server CPU 909 is a processing unit, or module that has
suitable memory and processing speed to perform the desired
function. This may include, for example, 2 GB RAM, 2.4 GHz
frequency and 160 GB hard drive. CPU 909 is operatively coupled to
memory module 911, which includes a contents module 916, a mapping
module 926, a notification module 936 and a receiving module
946.
[0139] The contents module 916 is an electronic memory or storage
medium that stores content, such as audio data, video data, image
data, links and other desired information that may be obtained,
stored and/or transmitted in an electronic format, The content
stored in contents module 916 may also include content URLs
(uniform resource locators), Internet content having URLs, content
that is available to IPTV devices using IPTV protocol and other
content available either utilizing a network, such as an IPTV
network, Internet or other series of operatively coupled processing
devices. The memory module or facility 916 may be a non-transitory
computer-readable medium.
[0140] Mapping module 926 is an electronic memory or storage medium
that stores data used for mapping recipients in a selected list of
recipients with at least one first display device (902) and/or
second display device 904 associated with each selected recipient
such that the content is available to the selected recipients, This
may be achieved using the user account data as described
herein.
[0141] In an embodiment of the present invention, the server 906
can communicate with the first display device 902 and the second
display device 904. In this embodiment, the notification module
936, which is an electronic storage medium, such as a
non-transitory electronic storage medium that stores data in an
electronic format, presents a notification to the user. The
notification module 936 is used to provide notification of the
first display device 902 and/or the second display device 904 of
the selected recipients that content is available far viewing on
the recipient's display device (902/904). The notification module
936 may be in communication, via network 908, with other components
of system 900.
[0142] Receiving module 946 is an electronic storage medium, such
as a non-transitory electronic storage medium that stores data in
an electronic format. The receiving module 946 is used to store a
request to share content and a list of selected recipients to share
the content therewith.
[0143] Display devices 904(a) . . . (n) (where "n" is any suitable
number) (generally referred to as 904 herein) are coupled to
network 908 via an associated bi-directional communication medium
905(e) . . . (n), which may be for example a serial bus such as
IEEE 1394, or other wired or wireless transmission medium. Display
devices 904 may be communication appliances, or user locations, or
subscriber devices, or client terminals. For example, devices 904
may be computers, or other processing devices such as a desktop
computer, laptop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA),
cellphone, wireless handheld device and the like.
[0144] Display device 904 includes a display screen 984, which may
be a plasma screen, LCD or other suitable display device. The
display device 904 also includes recipients module 914, shared
contents module 924, selecting module 934, web browser 944,
transmitting module 954, receiving module 964, forwarding module
974, notification module 975 and playback module 994.
[0145] Recipients module 914 is an electronic storage medium, such
as a non-transitory electronic storage medium that stores data in
an electronic format. The data includes recipients' electronic
addresses that can receive content. Shared contents module 924 is
an is en electronic storage medium, such as a non-transitory
electronic storage medium that stores data in an electronic format
that stores content that is, or may be, shared between one or more
devices, such as devices 902 and 904.
[0146] In an embodiment of the present invention, when content to
be shared includes IPTV content, the second display device of the
recipient may not be capable of previewing the content before the
second display device of the recipient sends the content to the
recipient's first display device. The first display device may be
independent of the second display device.
[0147] Selecting module 934 is an electronic storage medium, such
as a non-transitory electronic storage medium that stores data in
an electronic format related to selecting desired recipients that
may receive content from device 904. The web browser 944 is adapted
to search and/or browse the Internet or another network and may be
a program such as Internet Explorer.TM..
[0148] Transmitting module 954 is a transmitter or an I/O port that
is used to transmit or provide electronic signal to another
destination, typically via network 908 via transmission medium 905.
Receiver module 964 is used to receive data, content or other
information at device 904. Forwarding module 974 is used to forward
information from device 904 to another device or module in system
900. Typically this forwarding module 974 is a cache memory that
collects data, content and the like for subsequent
re-transmission.
[0149] Notification module 975 is an electronic storage medium,
such as a non-transitory electronic storage medium that stores data
in an electronic format related to other devices, or destinations
that the device 904 may forward content to. This provides a
receiving device with an indication that content will be
transmitted there.
[0150] In one embodiment of the present invention, when content to
be shared includes internet content URLs, a second display device
904 of the selected recipient is notified that content is available
and the second display device 904 is capable of previewing the
content on the recipient's second display device. This preview may
occur before the second display device 904 of the recipient sends
the content to the recipients first display device 902.
[0151] Playback module 994 is a module that, when actuated, enables
playback of content on display screen 984.
[0152] As shown in FIG. 9, a second device (i.e., 904(a)) may be
used to browse content choices. The second device (904(a)) sends
command to an IPTV device (i.e. 902(a)) for that device (902(a)) to
play content. The second device (904(a)) also sends information
about a content selection to share along with information about the
recipient device (e.g., 904(b)) to server 906. The server 906
notifies the recipient 904(b) of the shared content choice The
recipient device 904(b) may then be used to inform another display
device (e.g., 902(b)) to play the shared content. Thus another
display device 902(b) can display the content.
[0153] Yet another embodiment of the present invention illustrated
in FIG. 9 is that the functionality of a particular display device
(e.g., 904(a)) is built into a selected IPTV device (e.g., 902(a))
that is operatively coupled to a display device 904(b). In this
embodiment device 904(a) is not necessary since the functionality
of the device 904(a) is built into device 902(a).
[0154] Yet another embodiment of the present invention illustrated
in FIG. 9 is that that the functionality of a particular display
device (e.g., 904(b)) is built into a particular IPTV device (e.g.,
902(b)), wherein the particular display device 904(b) is
operatively coupled to the particular IPTV device 902(b). Similar
to the above-describe embodiment, in this embodiment device 904(b)
is not necessary since the functionality of the device 904(b) is
built into device 902(b).
[0155] Yet another embodiment of the present invention illustrated
in FIG. 9 is that an IPTV device (902(a)) communicates its shared
content choice with a desired display device (904(b)) and does not
utilize IPTV system server 906.
[0156] Yet another embodiment of the present invention illustrated
in FIG. 9 is that a display device 904(a) obtains information about
other devices that display device 904(a) can share information with
from IPTV system server 906.
[0157] Yet another embodiment of the present invention illustrated
in FIG. 9 is that a display device 904(a) obtains information about
other devices that the display device 904(a) can share information
or content or otherwise communicate with via a device discover
process, such as an API (application programming interface), or
"ping" or other mechanism to determine or identify devices
available for communication.
[0158] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed
to another device that has been identified as available for
communication, (the "target" device) may be a user account rather
than the display device (i.e., device 904). Any device that is
associated with the user account can be notified of the shared
content choice and can play or display the content, provided the
target device has the necessary functionality. This embodiment may
be implemented where the target device of the sharing is another
device. Also, the target device and display device(s) may be
associated with the same user and/or same user account.
[0159] Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed
to a display device 904(a), being associated with more than one
IPTV devices 902(a), 902(b).
[0160] Yet another embodiment is directed to a device that
indicates sharing content indicates a content selection that was
obtained via the Internet, rather than the IPTV system.
[0161] Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented
using one or more processing devices, or processing modules, The
processing devices, or modules, may be coupled such that portions
of the processing and/or data manipulation may be performed at one
or more processing devices and shared or transmitted between a
plurality of processing devices.
[0162] Indeed, the present invention may be implemented in a
distributed or "cloud" computing environment in which shared
resources, software and information are provided to computers and
other devices over a network, which may be, for example, the
Internet. "Cloud computing" typically involves delivering hosted
services over the Internet. A cloud service typically has three
distinct characteristics that differentiate it from traditional
hosting. One characteristic is that it is usually sold on demand,
typically by the minute or the hour secondly, it is elastic--a user
can have as much or as little of a service as they want at any
given time; and thirdly, the service is usually fully managed by
the provider (the consumer, or end user needs nothing but a
personal computer and Internet access). Innovations in
virtualization and distributed computing, as well as improved
access to high-speed Internet have facilitated utilization of cloud
computing. The cloud can be private or public. A public cloud
typically sells services to anyone on the Internet. A private cloud
is a typically a proprietary network or a data center that supplies
hosted services to a limited number of people. When a service
provider uses public cloud resources to create their private cloud,
the result is called a virtual private cloud. Private or public,
the goal of cloud computing is to provide easy, scalable access to
computing.
[0163] "Distributed computing", or "distributed systems" relate to
a system of multiple autonomous computers or processing devices or
facilities that communicate through a network. The computers
interact with each other in order to achieve a particular goal. A
computer program that runs in a distributed system is typically
referred to as a "distributed program" and "distributed
programming" is the process of writing such programs. Distributed
computing also refers to the use of distributed systems to solve
computational problems. Typically, in distributed computing, a
problem is divided into multiple tasks, each of which is solved by
one or more computers.
[0164] Indeed, as shown herein, specifically in FIG. 9, the
processing of servers 906 and 913 may be distributed between a
plurality of server devices that may be remotely located. The
results of the processing may be propagated throughout the system
900 via network 908, such that the data may be received and/or
further processed and/or manipulated by the other devices/modules
of system 900.
[0165] In the present invention, the sharing mechanism is platform
independent. The notification of receipt of a shared asset goes to
the user, via the user's second display device, instead of the
platform. Using the second display device infrastructure, the user
can choose any internet protocol TV (IPTV) associated with his/her
content providing service account for playback. The internet
protocol TV (IPTV) needs only to support generic second display
device compatibility playback of contents. The internet protocol TV
(IPTV) does not need to have any knowledge of social networking,
which otherwise would require a significant software code change in
the internet protocol television (IPTV) platform. In addition, when
the user adds a new device as the second display device, the new
device automatically inherits the recommendations of the second
display device.
[0166] It will he appreciated from the above that the invention may
be implemented as computer software, which may be supplied on a
storage medium or via a transmission medium such as a local-area
network or a wide-area network, such as the Internet. It is to be
further understood that, because some of the constituent system
components and method steps depicted in the accompanying Figures
can be implemented in software, the actual connections between the
systems components (or the process steps) may differ depending upon
the manner in which the present invention is programmed. Given the
teachings of the present invention provided herein, one of ordinary
skill in the related art will be able to contemplate these and
similar implementations or configurations of the present
invention.
[0167] It is to be understood that the present invention can be
implemented in various forms of hardware, software, firmware,
special purpose processes, or a combination thereof. In one
embodiment, the present invention can be implemented in software as
an application program tangible embodied on a computer readable
program storage device. The application program can be uploaded to,
and executed by, a machine comprising any suitable
architecture.
[0168] The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative
only, as the invention may be modified and practiced in different
but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having
the benefit of the teachings herein. Furthermore, no limitations
are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown.
Although illustrative embodiments of the invention have been
described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying
drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited
to those precise embodiments, and that various changes and
modifications can be effected therein by one skilled in the
art.
* * * * *