Interactive user content delivered across multiple user devices

Abstract

Techniques are provided for initiating a content download that include receiving, by one or more processors of the mobile computing device, an indication of a selection made by a user of the mobile computing device and associated with third party content provided by a nearby media player device; identifying, by the one or more processors of the mobile computing device, an indication of downloadable content associated with the third party content displayed by the media player device; and downloading, by the one or more processors of the mobile computing device, the downloadable content to a memory of the mobile computing device without further input from the user in response to receiving an indication that the user has selected an icon.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to content provided via media player devices, and more particularly to interactive content provided via media player devices as well as other user devices. [Background technology]

[0002] The background discussion provided herein is intended to generally present the context of the present disclosure. The work of the presently named inventors, to the extent described in this Background section, is not admitted, either explicitly or implicitly, as prior art to the present disclosure, as are aspects of the present discussion that may not, in some cases, qualify as prior art at the time of filing.

[0003] Today, a variety of electronic devices are capable of presenting interactive content, but some such devices are only limited in the interactivity they can provide to a user: for example, a television set has a limited set of commands it can receive from a remote control unit, whereas a smartphone can run a variety of software applications to provide a rich, interactive experience.

[0004] Examples of such interactive content include links to software that can be downloaded to a smartphone. For example, a digital media player, such as a connected television (CTV) device, can display streaming content from certain content providers (e.g., video streaming services), as well as third-party content, including instructions for software that can be run on the smartphone. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In one embodiment, a method for initiating download of content implemented in a mobile device is provided, the method including the steps of receiving, by one or more processors of the mobile computing device, an indication of a selection made by a user of the mobile computing device and associated with third-party content provided by a nearby media player device; identifying, by the one or more processors of the mobile computing device, an indication of downloadable content associated with the third-party content displayed by the media player device; and downloading, by the one or more processors of the mobile computing device, the downloadable content to a memory of the mobile computing device in response to receiving the indication of the selection, without further input from the user. The method achieves the technical effect of providing content to a user's mobile computing device without further input from the user. In particular, in the conventional known method, the user needs to actively seek the downloadable content on his / her mobile computing device in response to receiving the third-party content provided by the media player device, which is time consuming on the user's side and resource intensive on the mobile computing device's side. The method of the present disclosure enables the user to make a selection associated with the third-party content provided by the media player device. The selection can be made when the third party content is provided by the media player device, following which the content is downloaded to the mobile computing device, without requiring the user to search for and actively download the content.Thus, a simpler and more efficient means is provided for providing content to user devices that is responsive to third party content provided by the media player device, requires little user input (thus providing a better user experience) and incurs little computational overhead.

[0006] In another embodiment, a method of initiating download of content implemented in a server is provided, the method including the steps of receiving, by one or more processors of the server, an indication from the media player device of a selection made by a user and associated with third-party content displayed by the media player device, identifying, by one or more processors of the server, a mobile computing device associated with the user and proximate to the media player device, identifying, by one or more processors of the server, downloadable content associated with the third-party content provided by the media player device, transmitting, by one or more processors of the server, an indication of the downloadable content associated with the third-party content provided by the media player device to the mobile computing device, and receiving, by one or more processors of the server, an indication that the mobile computing device has downloaded the downloadable content. Thus, the server-implemented method enables a user to download downloadable content to a mobile computing device in response to receiving third-party content provided by the media player device without requiring the user to actively search for and download the content. This is accomplished by the server providing an indication of downloadable content to the mobile computing device, whereby the mobile computing device can automatically download the content based on the indication and without further input from a user of the mobile computing device. Thus, this method also achieves the technical effect of providing a simpler and more efficient means for providing content to a user device in response to third party content provided by a media player device.

[0007] In yet another embodiment, a system for initiating content downloads is provided, the system comprising one or more processors and a memory storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to receive an indication of a selection made by a user of a mobile computing device and associated with third party content provided by a nearby media player device; identify an indication of downloadable content associated with the third party content displayed by the media player device; and, in response to receiving an indication that the user has selected an icon, downloading the downloadable content to a memory of the mobile computing device without further input from the user.

[0008] Also disclosed are one or more computer-readable mediums (optionally non-transitory) bearing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, perform one or more of the methods disclosed herein. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system that implements techniques of this disclosure for providing interactive content via multiple user devices. [Figure 2A] 1 is a diagram of an example user interface display associated with the techniques of this disclosure for providing interactive content via multiple user devices. [Figure 2B] 1 is a diagram of an example user interface display associated with the techniques of this disclosure for providing interactive content via multiple user devices. [Figure 2C]1 is a diagram of an example user interface display associated with the techniques of this disclosure for providing interactive content via multiple user devices. [Figure 2D] 1 is a diagram of an example user interface display associated with the techniques of this disclosure for providing interactive content via multiple user devices. [Figure 2E] 1 is a diagram of an example user interface display associated with the techniques of this disclosure for providing interactive content via multiple user devices. [Figure 2F] 1 is a diagram of an example user interface display associated with the techniques of this disclosure for providing interactive content via multiple user devices. [Diagram 3] 1 is a flow diagram of an example method for providing interactive content across multiple user devices implemented via a media player device. [Figure 4] 1 is a flow diagram of an example method for providing interactive content via multiple user devices implemented via a server device. [Diagram 5] 1 is a flow diagram of an example method for providing interactive content via multiple user devices implemented via a server device. [Figure 6] 1 is a flow diagram of an example method for providing interactive content across multiple user devices implemented via a mobile computing device. [Figure 7] 1 is a flow diagram of an example method for providing interactive content across multiple user devices implemented via a mobile computing device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] overview The present disclosure provides techniques for providing interactive third-party content via a media player device (such as a CTV device) that includes a selectable icon or button that, when selected by a user, leads to an action or activity on the user's mobile device, such as clicking a link, downloading an application or other content item, visiting an online store or completing a purchase directly, viewing / viewing the third-party content, etc. These techniques provide improved usability and enable a more efficient way of providing content to a mobile device in response to third-party content provided via the media player device. The improved efficiency is achieved by background processing that automatically triggers an action on the user's mobile device in response to a user making a selection via the media player device. A user can make a selection associated with third-party content provided by the media player device, thereby automatically triggering an action on the user device (without further action from the user).

[0011] Interactive third-party content may include direct response advertising, which is a form of advertising where the advertiser pays for a specific, measurable action or activity, rather than for impressions or views (i.e., proxies). For example, the specific, measurable action or activity may be clicking on a link, purchasing or downloading an application or other content item. It is difficult to measure interaction with such content when the advertisement is served through a CTV device, because CTV devices typically do not include a web browser or a mobile "app store" and cannot direct a user to a web browser to complete an action, such as clicking on a link or purchasing or downloading an application or other content item. The system of the present disclosure eliminates the need for the CTV device to support a web browser or provide similar functionality, while supporting a quantitative assessment of how users interact with third-party content presented by a CTV device by automatically directing the third-party content or further content related to the third-party content presented by the CTV device to another platform. Moreover, the techniques of the present disclosure eliminate the need for the CTV device to support a web browser or provide similar functionality by leveraging this functionality of the user's mobile device. The techniques allow for an association to be created between a user's mobile device and a CTV device that provides third-party content to the user. The association between the mobile device and the media player device allows for automatic leveraging of the functionality of the mobile device in response to user interaction with the CTV device, thereby enabling the user to further interact with additional content via their mobile device, something that cannot be achieved with the limited functionality of the CTV device.

[0012] Furthermore, the techniques of the present disclosure allow the system to automatically identify related events that occur on different unrelated platforms. For example, if a user interacts with a third-party content via a CTV device and then further interacts with this or related third-party content via a mobile device by activating a link contained in the third-party content, installing an application, etc., the system can automatically determine that these events are related, for example, by comparing the amount of time that elapses between the two interactions, or by comparing identifiers or keys associated with the versions of the third-party content displayed via the CTV device and the smartphone. Optionally, the user indicates his or her preferences to the system to coordinate the selection of and interaction with third-party content between the CTV device and the mobile device by operating some controls and / or installing some applications.

[0013] In one example, when a user selects an icon that is part of an advertisement for a mobile device application via a media player device (e.g., using a remote control associated with the media player device), the media player device identifies the mobile computing device associated with the user, sends an indication to the user's mobile computing device that the icon was selected, and causes the mobile computing device to automatically download the application. In another example, when a user selects an icon that is part of an advertisement on a media player device (e.g., using a remote control associated with the media player device), the media player device identifies the mobile computing device associated with the user, and sends the mobile computing device a unique, user-specific link to the content associated with the advertisement. In yet another example, if a mobile device user who is viewing an advertisement on a media player device has a content viewing application open on their mobile computing device, the media player device can send an indication of which advertisement is being displayed to the user's mobile computing device, which in turn may identify related content to provide to the user via the content viewing application.

[0014] In various implementations or scenarios, the mobile device can receive a copy of the third-party content that the user selected via the media player device, or content related to the third-party content that the user selected via the media player device. For example, the content that the server provides to the mobile device can be an enlarged version of an advertisement displayed via the media player device.

[0015] Depending on the implementation or scenario, the media player device can send an indication directly to the user's mobile computing device over a short-range communication link, such as a wireless personal area network (WPAN) link or an infrared data association (IrDA) link, or a wireless local area network (WLAN), or indirectly via a server. In the latter case, the media player device can notify a remote server that the user's mobile computing device is in the vicinity of the media player device (e.g., within a certain geofence of the media player device), and the remote server can send a corresponding notification to the user's mobile device.

[0016] Example System 1 is a block diagram of a system 100, according to some examples provided herein. The high-level architecture illustrated in FIG. 1 can include both hardware and software applications, as well as various data communication channels for communicating data between the various hardware and software components, as described below.

[0017] The system 100 may include a media player device 102 (e.g., a connected or “smart” television (TV) device, etc.), a remote control device 103 associated with the media player device 102, a server 104, and mobile computing devices 106 (e.g., smartphones, tablets, smart watches, laptop computers, other personal computers, etc.) located near the media player device 102 and configured to communicate with each other via a network 108, which may include, for example, a local wireless network.

[0018] The media player device 102 may include a user interface 110 (e.g., a display screen) configured to provide content and information to a user and / or receive input from a user, one or more processors 112, and memory 114 (e.g., volatile memory, non-volatile memory). The memory 114 may be accessible by the one or more processors 112 (e.g., via a memory controller). The one or more processors 112 may interact with the memory 114, for example, to obtain computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 114. The computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 114 may cause the one or more processors 112 to execute one or more applications, including a media player application 115. Furthermore, in some examples, the computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 114 may include instructions for performing any of the steps of a method 300, which is described in more detail below with respect to FIG. 3.

[0019] Executing the media player application 115 may include requesting and / or receiving primary and third party content from the server 104 (or, in some examples, multiple servers) and providing the primary and third party content to a user via the user interface 110. For example, the primary media content may include streaming content, such as streamed TV programs and / or other video content, or streamed music and / or other audio content, and in some examples, gaming content. The third party content may include, for example, informational content, advertising content, and the like. Moreover, executing the media player application 115 may include providing interactive third party content, i.e., third party content selectable by a user of the media player device 102, or third party content including portions selectable by a user of the media player device 102. In some examples, executing the media player application 115 may include providing items of third party content including selectable icons, buttons, or other control elements via which a user can indicate a selection associated with a particular item of third party content. In some examples, executing the media player application 115 may include receiving an indication of a selection by a user of the media player device 102 to be associated with third-party content, for example via the user interface 110 of the media player device 102 (e.g., via tactile / touch input, via voice commands, etc.), via a separate remote control device 103, or via the mobile computing device 106.

[0020] Upon receiving an indication by a user of the media player device 102 of a user selection associated with a particular item of third-party content, the media player application 115 may transmit the indication of the user selection associated with the particular item of third-party content to the server 104. The indication of the user selection transmitted by the media player application 115 to the server 104 may include an identification of the particular item of third-party content selected by the user, as well as an identification of the user or the mobile computing device 106 associated with the user.

[0021] For example, in some examples, executing the media player application 115 may require the user to sign in, and the user who selected the item of third-party content may be identified based on identifying the username or other identifying information (e.g., login credentials) of the signed-in user at the time of selection of the item of third-party content. Moreover, in some examples, executing the media player application 115 may include identifying the mobile computing device 106 of the user who selected the item of third-party content based on the mobile computing device 106. For example, executing the media player application 115 may include identifying the mobile computing device 106 from which the selection of the item of third-party content was received (i.e., the mobile computing device 106 via which the media player device 102 received a signal indicating the selection of the item of third-party content). As another example, executing the media player application 115 may include identifying the mobile computing device 106 in proximity to the media player device 102 at the time of selection of the item of third-party content. For example, the media player application 115 may determine that the mobile computing device 106 is near the media player device 102 based on the media player device 102 receiving a short-range signal (e.g., a Bluetooth™ signal) from the mobile computing device.

[0022] Additionally, in some examples, upon receiving an indication by a user of the media player device 102 of a user selection associated with a particular item of third-party content, the media player application 115 can transmit the indication of the user selection associated with the particular item of third-party content to the server 104, and the media player device 102 can then receive from the server 104 the content associated with the third-party content based on the user selection associated with the particular item of third-party content. For example, the related content may be application content accessible from the media player application 115 or by other applications of the media player device 102, such as an indication of a subscription to a television streaming channel, or an item of primary content including a movie, television program, or other audio or video content.

[0023] Furthermore, the media player application 115 (or more generally, the media player device 102) can indicate to the server 104 which primary content the media player device 102 displayed when the user made a selection of the third-party content. In this manner, the server 104 can properly attribute user interactions via the mobile device 106 to the third-party content. The server 104 can, for example, determine when the user selected the third-party content at time t 1 An event E may be logged that corresponds to clicking on or interacting with the third-party content C displayed via the user interface of the media player device 102 at time t 1 At a relatively distant time t 2If the user further interacts with related content C' via the mobile device 106 later (e.g., one hour later), the server can still store an indication that the mobile device 106 received content C' in response to the user interacting with content C via the media player device 102.

[0024] Turning now to the server 104, the server 104 may include one or more processors 122 and a memory 124 (e.g., volatile memory, non-volatile memory). The memory 124 may be accessible by the one or more processors 122 (e.g., via a memory controller). The one or more processors 118 may interact with the memory 124, for example, to obtain computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 124. The computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 124 may cause the one or more processors 122 to execute one or more applications, including a content application 125. Furthermore, in some examples, the computer-readable instructions stored in the memory 124 may include instructions for performing any of the steps of a method 400, which is described in more detail below with respect to FIG. 4, and / or a method 500, which is described in more detail below with respect to FIG. 5.

[0025] For example, executing the content application 125 may include receiving a request for primary and / or third party content from the media player device 102 and providing the primary and / or third party content to the media player device 102 in response to such request, etc. For example, the content application 125 may access a primary media content database 126 and / or a third party content database 128 and provide content from the databases 126, 128 to the media player device 102. In addition, executing the content application 125 may include receiving from the media player device 102 an indication of a selection made by a user associated with the third party content provided by the media player device 102. Moreover, executing the content application 125 may include receiving from the media player device 102 an indication of a user selection associated with the third party content provided by the media player device, as well as an identification of the user who made such selection associated with the third party content. In some examples, executing the content application 125 may include identifying individual mobile computing devices 106 associated with each user that makes a selection associated with third-party content provided by the media player device 102.

[0026] For example, in some examples, the server 104 may receive an indication from the media player device 102 of an identity of an individual mobile computing device 106 associated with a user making such a selection associated with the third-party content provided by the media player device 102. Moreover, in some examples, the content application 125 may determine the identity of the mobile computing device 106 associated with the identified user based on, for example, a username or other identity (e.g., login credentials) of a user who is signed in to the media player application 121 of the media player device 102 at the time of the selection of the item of third-party content. That is, the username or other identity of a signed in user of the media player application 121 may correspond to a particular mobile computing device 106 or may correspond to an application installed on a particular mobile computing device 106. In some examples, the content application 125 may access a user identity database 130, which may indicate, for example, usernames or other login credentials associated with various users and the identity of their individual mobile computing devices 106. Additionally, a particular user may utilize common login credentials for the media player application 121 and applications installed on the mobile computing device 106 .

[0027] Additionally, in some examples, the content application 125 may determine an identity of a mobile computing device 106 associated with an identified user based on receiving (e.g., from the media player device 102) an indication of a location associated with the media player device 102 and receiving (e.g., from the mobile computing device 106) an indication of a location associated with the mobile computing device 106. That is, the content application 125 may determine that the mobile computing device 106 is associated with an identified user who made a selection to be associated with third party content provided by the media player device 102 based on the distance between the respective locations of the media player device 102 and the mobile computing device 106, i.e., the distance being less than a threshold distance, indicating proximity of the media player device and the mobile computing device 106.

[0028] Moreover, executing the content application 125 may include identifying content associated with the selected third-party content provided by the media player device 102. For example, the content application 125 may access a related content database 132 that may store indications of content associated with the third-party content provided by the media player device 102 and / or of content associated with a particular selection a user may make with respect to the third-party content provided by the media player device 102. Executing the content application 125 may include identifying an item of related content (e.g., stored in the related content database 132) associated with a particular selection a user may make with respect to the third-party content provided by the media player device 102. That is, in some examples, a particular item of third-party content provided by the media player device 102 may correspond to an individual item of related content. Moreover, in some examples, a particular selection a user may make with respect to the third-party content provided by the media player device 102 may correspond to an individual item of related content. In some examples, the indications of related content stored in the related content database 132 may include indications of mobile device applications and / or particular items of application content that are accessible by a particular mobile device application and that are associated with individual items of third party content provided by the media player device 102. In some examples, the mobile device applications may be mobile-only applications, i.e., applications that can only be downloaded and executed on the mobile computing device 106 and not the media player device 102, or applications that are actually used only by the mobile computing device 106 and not the media player device 102.Similarly, in some examples, an item of application content accessible by a mobile device application may be an item of application content for a mobile-only application and may be accessed only by the mobile-only application and not the application of the media player device 102. Moreover, in some examples, the indications of related content stored in the related content database 132 may include indications of items of web content that are associated with individual items of third-party content provided by the media player device 102.

[0029] Executing the content application 125 may include providing an indication of the identified related content (and / or the related content itself) to the identified mobile computing device 106. That is, in some examples, the content application 125 may send an indication of the identified related content, such as an indication of an application, an indication of an item of application content, an indication of an item of web content, etc., to the mobile computing device 106. In some examples, the content application 125 may generate a unique, user-specific way of accessing the identified related content, such as a unique, user-specific URL for accessing the item of web content, and may send the unique, user-specific way of accessing the identified related content to the mobile computing device 106. Additionally, in some examples, the content application 125 may send downloadable related content (e.g., a downloadable application, a downloadable item of application content, a downloadable item of web content, etc.) to the mobile computing device 106. Executing the content application 125 may also include receiving an indication from the mobile computing device 106 that the related content has been downloaded and / or accessed by a user of the mobile computing device 106. In some examples, the indication that the related content has been downloaded and / or accessed by a user of the mobile computing device 106 may further include other characteristics of downloading or accessing the related content by the mobile computing device.For example, the content application 125 may receive an indication of the time that the mobile computing device 106 downloaded or accessed the related content, or the length of time that the mobile computing device accessed the related content. As another example, the content application 125 may receive an indication of any other actions that the mobile computing device 106 took in connection with the related content, such as whether a user logged into a downloaded application or logged into a website related to the related content, or whether a user made a purchase via the related content, etc.

[0030] Additionally, in some examples, content application 125 may identify content associated with the selected third-party content accessible by media player application 115 or other applications on media player device 102 and transmit such associated content to the media player device in response to receiving an indication that a user has made a selection to be associated with the third-party content. For example, content application 125 may identify an indication of a subscription to a television streaming channel or an item of primary content including a movie, television program, or other audio or video content that is associated with the selected third-party content and may transmit an indication of the associated content or item of the associated content to media player device 102.

[0031] Turning now to the mobile computing device 106, the mobile computing device 106 may include a user interface 116, one or more processors 118, and memory 120 (e.g., volatile memory, non-volatile memory). The memory 120 may be accessible by the one or more processors 118 (e.g., via a memory controller). The one or more processors 118 may interact with the memory 120, for example, to obtain computer readable instructions stored in the memory 120. The computer readable instructions stored in the memory 120 may cause the one or more processors 118 to execute one or more applications, including a mobile device application 121. Furthermore, in some examples, the computer readable instructions stored in the memory 120 may include instructions for performing any of the steps of a method 600, described in more detail below with respect to FIG. 6, and / or a method 700, described in more detail below with respect to FIG. 7.

[0032] Executing the mobile device application 121 may, in some examples, include enabling a user to access provided content via the mobile device application 121 based on the user signing in to the mobile device application 121 or providing login credentials or other user identification information to the mobile device application 121, which in turn may provide the login credentials or other user identification information to the server 104. Additionally, in some examples, executing the mobile device application 121 may include providing additional information to the server 104, such as, for example, an indication of the location of the mobile computing device 106.

[0033] In some examples, executing the mobile device application 121 may include receiving user input or selections associated with primary or third party content provided by the media player device 102, and the mobile device application 121 may send an indication of such selection directly to the media player device 102 or to the server 104, which may then send an indication of such selection to the media player device 102. That is, in some examples, a user may control the media player device 102 via the user interface 116 of the mobile computing device 106.

[0034] In addition, executing the mobile device application 121 may include receiving an indication (e.g., from the media player device 102 or from the server 104) that a user of the mobile computing device 106 has made a selection associated with third-party content provided by the nearby media player device 102. Furthermore, executing the mobile device application 121 may include receiving an indication from the server 104 of content associated with third-party content provided by the nearby media player device 102. The associated content may include an item of web content, an item of application content, and / or a mobile device application that can access the item of application content. In some examples, the mobile device application may be a mobile-only application, i.e., an application that can be downloaded and executed only on the mobile computing device 106 and not the media player device 102. Similarly, in some examples, an item of application content accessible by the mobile device application may be an item of application content for a mobile-only application and may be accessible only by the mobile-only application of the mobile computing device 106 and not by an application of the media player device 102.

[0035] In some examples, the mobile device application 121 may receive instructions or other information from the server 104 associated with accessing the related content, based thereon, the mobile device application 121 may request the server 104, or another server, to download or access the related content. Moreover, in some examples, the mobile device application 121 may receive the related content itself from the server 104. In any case, the mobile device application 121 may download or access the identified related content in response to receiving an indication that the user of the mobile computing device 106 has made a selection associated with the third-party content with which the content is associated. In some examples, the mobile device application 121 may determine whether another mobile device application is needed to access the associated content, and may initiate a download of the other mobile device application in response to receiving an indication that the user of the mobile computing device 106 has made a selection associated with the third-party content with which the content is associated.

[0036] Additionally, in some examples, the mobile device application 121 may determine whether a mobile device application used to access the related content is currently running or currently open on the mobile computing device 106. The mobile device application used to access the related content may automatically (i.e., without further action from the user of the mobile computing device 106) access (e.g., open, activate, start, and / or begin playing, etc.) the related content in response to receiving an indication that a user of the mobile computing device 106 has made a selection associated with the third-party content with which the content is associated, and in response to the mobile device application used to access the related content being currently running or currently open when the user makes the selection. For example, if the related content is video content played by a video player mobile device application, the video player mobile device application may begin playing the video content based on the user's selection and based on the fact that the video player mobile device application is running and / or open when the selection is made.

[0037] In particular, the mobile device application 121 may download the identified related content to the memory of the mobile computing device 106 and / or access the identified related content without further input from a user of the mobile computing device 106. Moreover, in some examples, the mobile device application 121 may download the identified related content to the memory of the mobile computing device 106 and / or access the identified related content without input provided via the mobile computing device 106 at any point in the process, i.e., when a user of the mobile computing device 106 makes a selection associated with third party content provided by the media player device 102 via a separate remote control device 103 or via a user interface of the media player device 102.

[0038] Further, in some examples, upon downloading, accessing, or receiving the related content, the mobile device application 121 may send an indication, for example, to the server 104 or to another server. In some examples, the indication that the related content has been downloaded, accessed, or received by the mobile computing device 106 may include other characteristics of the download or access of the related content by the mobile computing device. For example, the mobile device application 121 may send an indication of the time that the mobile computing device 106 downloaded or accessed the related content, or an indication of the amount of time that the mobile computing device accessed the related content. As another example, the mobile device application 121 may send an indication of any other actions that the mobile computing device 106 took in connection with the related content, such as whether the user logged in to a downloaded action or logged in to a website related to the related content, or whether the user made a purchase via the related content, etc.

[0039] Example User Interface Display 2A-2F are diagrams of example user interface displays associated with the techniques of this disclosure for providing interactive content via multiple user devices.

[0040] For example, as shown in FIG. 2A, the media player application 115 of the media player device 102 can provide third party content 202 via the user interface 110 of the media player device 102. In the example of FIG. 2A, the third party content 202 may include an advertisement for a mobile device application. The third party content 202 can include various selectable portions or icons 204A and 204B. The selectable icon 204A is associated with installing a mobile device application via the mobile computing device 106 associated with the user, while the selectable icon 204B is associated with skipping the third party content 202. Although two such icons 204A and 204B are shown in FIG. 2A, in other examples, more or fewer selectable icons may be associated with the third party content 202.

[0041] 2B, in response to a user selecting the selectable icon 204A, the media player application 115 may, in some examples, provide a confirmation window 206 including the user's login credentials for the signed-in account (e.g., "rachelgreen@gmail.com") and a confirmation of the mobile computing device 106 associated with the user (e.g., "Rachel's Pixel 4"). The confirmation window 206 may include a further selectable icon 204C associated with a confirmation that the mobile device application should be downloaded and installed on the mobile computing device 106 associated with the user. When the user selects the selectable icon 204C, the media player application 115 of the media player device 102 may send an indication of the selection (as well as an indication of the user's identity and / or the identity of the user's mobile computing device 106) to the server 104, which in turn may send the mobile device application, or an indication identifying the mobile device application, to the mobile computing device 106 associated with the user. In some examples, the mobile computing device 106 may download and / or install a mobile device application without further input from a user. That is, in some examples, the mobile computing device 106 may download and / or install a mobile device application transmitted and / or identified by the server 104 without any user input provided via the mobile computing device 106 itself (i.e., based solely on user input provided via the media player device 102).

[0042] 2C illustrates another example of a media player application 115 of a media player device 102 providing third party content 202 via a user interface 110 of the media player device 102. In the example of FIG. 2C, the third party content 202 includes an advertisement for a pizza delivery order available for use in a pizza delivery mobile application. The third party content 202 may include various selectable portions or icons 204D and 204B. Selectable icon 204D ("Submit Order") is associated with providing application content associated with the order to a pizza delivery mobile application installed on a mobile computing device 106 associated with the user and / or downloading the pizza delivery mobile application to the mobile computing device 106 and installing the pizza delivery mobile application on the mobile computing device 106 if the pizza delivery mobile application is not already installed. As discussed above, selectable icon 204B is associated with skipping the third party content 202. When the user selects the selectable icon 204D, the media player application 115 of the media player device 102 may send an indication of the selection (as well as an indication of the user's identity and / or the identity of the user's mobile computing device 106) to the server 104, which in turn may send the application content associated with the order to a pizza delivery mobile application installed on the mobile computing device 106 associated with the user. For example, as shown in FIG. 2C, the mobile computing device 106 may display a notification 208 via the user interface 116 upon receiving the application content associated with the order.

[0043] 2D illustrates another example of a media player application 115 of a media player device 102 providing third party content 202 via a user interface 110 of the media player device 102. In the example of FIG. 2D, the third party content 202 includes an advertisement for an update for a mobile gaming application. The third party content 202 may include a selectable icon 204E. The selectable icon 204E ("Send Link") is associated with providing application content associated with an update to a mobile gaming application installed on a mobile computing device 106 associated with the user and / or downloading the mobile gaming application to the mobile computing device 106 and installing the mobile gaming application on the mobile computing device 106 if the mobile gaming application is not already installed. When a user selects a selectable icon 204E, the media player application 115 of the media player device 102 may send an indication of the selection (as well as an indication of the user's identity and / or the identity of the user's mobile computing device 106) to the server 104, which in turn may send application content associated with the update to the mobile gaming application installed on the mobile computing device 106 associated with the user. For example, as shown in FIG. 2D, the mobile computing device 106 may display a notification 208 via the user interface 116 upon receiving the application content associated with the update. In some examples, the mobile computing device 106 may download and / or install the update to the mobile gaming application without further input from the user.That is, in some examples, the mobile computing device 106 may download and / or install updates to a mobile gaming application transmitted by the server 104 without any user input being provided via the mobile computing device 106 itself (i.e., based solely on user input provided via the media player device 102) or without any additional user input being provided via the mobile computing device 106 (in examples where the user makes a selection related to the media player device 102 via the mobile computing device 106).

[0044] FIG. 2E illustrates another example of a media player application 115 of a media player device 102 providing third-party content 202 via a user interface 110 of the media player device 102. In the example of FIG. 2E, the third-party content 202 includes advertisements and / or information about a subscription television streaming channel or service. The third-party content 202 may include a selectable icon 204F. The selectable icon 204F ("Subscribe Now") is associated with application content for activating a subscription to a television streaming channel or server via the media player application 115 or another application of the media player device 102. When a user selects the selectable icon 204F, the media player application 115 of the media player device 102 may send an indication of the selection to the server 104, which in turn may send application content associated with the subscription to the media player application 115 or another application of the media player device 102.

[0045] FIG. 2F illustrates another example of a media player application 115 of a media player device 102 providing third party content 202 via a user interface 110 of the media player device 102. In the example of FIG. 2F, the third party content 202 includes advertisements and / or information about a movie or a streaming television program (i.e., primary content). The third party content 202 may include a selectable icon 204G. The selectable icon 204F ("Purchase or Rent") is associated with application content for streaming the primary content via the media player application 115 or another application of the media player device 102. When a user selects the selectable icon 204G, the media player application 115 of the media player device 102 may send an indication of the selection to the server 104, which in turn may send application content associated with streaming the primary content to the media player application 115 or another application of the media player device 102.

[0046] Exemplary Methods in a Media Player Device 3 is a flow diagram of an example method 300 that may be used in the system 100 of FIG. 1 in accordance with some examples provided herein. One or more steps of the method 300 may be implemented as a set of instructions stored in a computer-readable memory (e.g., memory 114 of the media player device 102) and executable on one or more processors (e.g., processor 112 of the media player device 102). At block 302, primary media content may be provided. At block 304, third-party content may be provided. At block 306, a determination may be made that a user has made a selection associated with third-party content. At block 308, an indication that a user has made a selection associated with third-party content may be sent to a server.

[0047] Example method on server 4 is a flow diagram of an example method 400 that may be used in the system 100 of FIG. 1 in accordance with some examples provided herein. One or more steps of the method 400 may be implemented as a set of instructions stored in a computer-readable memory (e.g., memory 124) and executable on one or more processors (e.g., processor 122). At block 402, an indication may be received that a user of a mobile computing device has made a selection associated with third-party content displayed by a nearby media player device. At block 404, a mobile computing device associated with the user may be identified. At block 406, application content associated with the third-party content displayed by the media player device may be identified. At block 408, an indication of the identified application content and / or an indication of an application associated with the identified application content may be sent to the mobile computing device. At block 410, an indication may be received that the mobile computing device has downloaded the identified application content and / or an application associated with the identified application content.

[0048] 5 is a flow diagram of an example method 500 that may be used in the system 100 of FIG. 1 in accordance with some examples provided herein. One or more steps of the method 500 may be implemented as a set of instructions stored in a computer-readable memory (e.g., memory 124) and executable on one or more processors (e.g., processor 122). At block 502, an indication may be received that a user of a mobile computing device has made a selection associated with third-party content displayed by a nearby media player device. At block 504, a mobile computing device associated with the user may be identified. At block 506, content associated with the third-party content displayed by the media player device may be identified. At block 508, an indication of a unique, user-specific link associated with the identified content may be sent to the mobile computing device. At block 510, an indication may be received that a user of the mobile computing device has selected the unique, user-specific link.

[0049] Exemplary Methods in a Mobile Device 6 is a flow diagram of an example method 600 that may be used in the system 100 of FIG. 1 in accordance with some examples provided herein. One or more steps of the method 600 may be implemented as a set of instructions stored in a computer-readable memory (e.g., the memory 120 of the mobile computing device 106) and executable on one or more processors (e.g., the processor 118 of the mobile computing device 106). At block 602, an indication may be received that a user of the mobile computing device has made a selection associated with third-party content provided by the media player device. At block 604, an indication of downloadable content associated with the third-party content provided by the media player device may be identified. At block 606, in response to receiving an indication that a user of the mobile device has made a selection associated with third-party content provided by the media player device, and without further input from the user, the identified downloadable content associated with the third-party content provided by the media player device may be downloaded to the memory of the mobile computing device.

[0050] 7 is a flow diagram of an example method 700 that may be used in the system 100 of FIG. 1 in accordance with some examples provided herein. One or more steps of the method 700 may be implemented as a set of instructions stored in a computer-readable memory (e.g., the memory 120 of the mobile computing device 106) and executable on one or more processors (e.g., the processor 118 of the mobile computing device 106). At block 702, an indication may be received that a user of the mobile computing device has made a selection associated with third-party content provided by the media player device. At block 704, an indication of application content associated with the third-party content provided by the media player device may be identified. At block 706, a determination may be made as to whether an application associated with the identified application content is one or more of currently installed or open on the mobile computing device. At block 708, in response to receiving an indication that a user of the mobile device has made a selection associated with third party content provided by the media player device, and in response to determining that an application associated with the identified application content is currently installed or open on the mobile computing device, and without further input from the user, the identified application content associated with the third party content provided by the media player device may be provided by the application.

[0051] Further considerations The following further considerations apply to the foregoing discussion. Throughout this specification, multiple instances may implement components, operations, or structures described as a single instance. Although individual operations of one or more methods are illustrated and described as separate operations, one or more of the individual operations may be performed simultaneously, and there is no requirement that the operations be performed in the order shown. Structures and functionality presented as separate components in an example configuration may be implemented as a combined structure or component. Similarly, structures and functionality presented as a single component may be implemented as separate components. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements are within the scope of the subject matter of this disclosure.

[0052] In addition, some embodiments are described herein as including logic or some components, modules, or mechanisms. A module can constitute either a software module (e.g., code stored in a machine-readable medium) or a hardware module. A hardware module is a tangible unit that can perform some operations and can be configured or configured in some manner. In an example embodiment, one or more computer systems (e.g., standalone, client or server computer systems), or one or more hardware modules of a computer system (e.g., a processor, or a group of processors) may be configured as a hardware module that operates by software (e.g., an application or application portion) to perform some operations as described herein.

[0053] A hardware module may include dedicated circuitry or logic that is permanently configured to perform certain operations (e.g., as a special purpose processor such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)). A hardware module may also include programmable logic or circuitry that is temporarily configured by software to perform certain operations (e.g., as included within a general purpose processor or other programmable processor). It should be appreciated that the decision to implement a hardware module in dedicated, permanently configured circuitry or in temporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured by software) may depend on cost and time considerations.

[0054] Thus, the term hardware should be understood to encompass tangible entities, such as entities that are physically constructed and permanently configured (e.g., hardwired) or temporarily configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in some manner or to perform some operations described herein. When considering an embodiment in which hardware modules are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed), each of the hardware modules need not be configured or instantiated at one moment in time. For example, if the hardware modules include a general-purpose processor that is configured using software, the general-purpose processor may be configured as individual different hardware modules at different times. Accordingly, the software may configure the processor, for example, to configure a particular hardware module at one moment and a different hardware module at a different moment.

[0055] Hardware and software modules can provide information to and receive information from other hardware and / or software modules. Thus, the described hardware modules can be considered to be communicatively coupled. When multiple such hardware or software modules are present simultaneously, communication can be achieved through signal transmission (e.g., over appropriate circuits and buses) connecting the hardware or software modules. In embodiments in which multiple hardware modules or software are configured or instantiated at different times, communication between such hardware or software modules may be achieved, for example, through storage and retrieval of information in memory structures to which the multiple hardware or software modules have access. For example, one hardware or software module can perform an operation and store the output of that operation in a communicatively coupled memory device. Then at a later time, additional hardware or software modules can access the memory device to retrieve and process the stored output. Hardware and software modules may also initiate communication with input or output devices and act on resources (e.g., collecting information).

[0056] Various operations of the example methods described herein may be performed, at least in part, by one or more processors that are temporarily or permanently configured (e.g., by software) to perform the associated operations. Whether temporarily or permanently configured, such processors may constitute processor-implemented modules that operate to perform one or more operations or functions. Modules referred to herein may, in some example embodiments, include processor-implemented modules.

[0057] Similarly, the methods or routines described herein may be at least partially processor-implemented. For example, at least some of the operations of the methods may be performed by one or more processors or processor-implemented hardware modules. Some implementations of the operations may be distributed among one or more processors and may be spread across several machines rather than just being present in a single machine. In some example embodiments, one or more processors may be located in a single location (e.g., in a residential environment, an office environment, or as a server farm), while in other embodiments, the processors may be distributed across several locations.

[0058] The one or more processors may also operate to support performance of associated operations within a "cloud computing" environment or as SaaS. For example, as indicated above, at least some of the operations may be performed by a group of computers (as examples of machines that include a processor), and such operations may be accessible over a network (e.g., the Internet) and via one or more appropriate interfaces (e.g., APIs).

[0059] Some implementations of the operations may be distributed among one or more processors and may be spread across several machines rather than just being present in a single machine. In some example embodiments, one or more processors or processor-implemented modules may be located in a single geographic location (e.g., in a residential environment, an office environment, or as a server farm). In other example embodiments, one or more processors or processor-implemented modules may be distributed across several geographic locations.

[0060] Some portions of this specification are presented in terms of algorithms or symbolic representations of operations on data stored in a machine memory (e.g., a computer memory) as bits or binary digital signals. Such algorithms or symbolic representations are examples of techniques used by those skilled in the data processing arts to convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. As used herein, an "algorithm" or "routine" is a self-consistent sequence of operations or similar processes leading to a desired result. In this context, algorithms, routines, and operations involve physical manipulations of physical quantities. Typically, but not necessarily, such quantities may take the form of electrical, magnetic, or optical signals capable of being stored, accessed, transferred, combined, compared, or otherwise manipulated by a machine. It is sometimes convenient, primarily for reasons of common usage, to refer to such signals using terms such as "data," "contents," "bits," "values," "elements," "symbols," "characters," "terms," ​​"numbers," "numeric values," and the like. However, these terms are merely convenient labels and should be associated with the appropriate physical quantities.

[0061] Unless specifically stated otherwise, discussions herein using words such as "processing," "computing," "calculating," "determining," "presenting," "displaying," and the like may refer to a machine (e.g., a computer) action or process of manipulating or transforming data represented as physical (e.g., electrical, magnetic, or optical) quantities in one or more memories (e.g., volatile memory, non-volatile memory, or a combination thereof), registers, or other machine components that receive, store, transmit, or display information.

[0062] As used herein, the reference to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

[0063] Some embodiments may be described using the terms "coupled" and "connected," along with their derivatives. For example, some embodiments may be described using the term "coupled" to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical contact or electrical contact. However, the term "coupled" also means that two or more elements are not in direct contact with each other, but still co-operate or interact with each other. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

[0064] As used herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," "including," "has," "having," or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exhaustive inclusion. For example, a process, method, article, or apparatus that includes a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements and may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Furthermore, unless expressly stated to the contrary, "or" refers to an inclusive "or" and not an exclusive "or." For example, a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true (or exists) and B is false (or does not exist), A is false (or does not exist) and B is true (or exists), and A and B are true (or exists).

[0065] In addition, the use of "a" or "an" is employed to describe elements and components of the embodiments herein. This is merely for convenience and to give a general sense of the description. The description should be read to include one or at least one, and the singular also includes the plural, unless it is clear that this is not meant.

[0066] After reading this disclosure, those skilled in the art will appreciate that still additional and alternative structural and functional designs may be realized through the principles disclosed herein. Thus, while specific embodiments and applications have been illustrated and described, it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments are not limited to the precise construction and components disclosed herein. Various modifications, changes and variations apparent to those skilled in the art may be made to the arrangement, operation and details of the methods and apparatus disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope as defined by the appended claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0067] 100 Systems 102 Media Player Devices 103 Remote Control Devices 104 Server 106 Mobile Computing Devices 108 Network 110 User Interface 112 processors 114 Memory 115 Media Player Applications 118 processors 121 Mobile Device Applications 122 processors 124 Memory 125 Content Applications 126 Primary Media Content Database 128 additional content databases 130 User Identification Information Database 132 Related Content Database 202 Third Party Content 204A Selectable Icons 204B Selectable Icons 204C Selectable Icons 204D Selectable Icons 204E Selectable Icons 204F Selectable Icons 204G Selectable Icons 206 Confirmation Window 208 Notification 300 ways 400 ways 500 ways 600 ways 700 methods

Claims

1. 1. A method for initiating a download of content implemented in a mobile computing device associated with a user, the method comprising: receiving, by one or more processors of the mobile computing device, an indication of the third party content selected by the user via a media player device displaying the third party content along with primary content, the media player device being proximate to the mobile computing device and separate from the mobile computing device; identifying, by the one or more processors of the mobile computing device, downloadable content associated with the selected third party content to be displayed by the media player device; in response to receiving the indication, downloading, by the one or more processors of the mobile computing device without further input from the user, the downloadable content to a memory of the mobile computing device; A method comprising: receiving, by the one or more processors of the mobile computing device, from a server, the indication of the downloadable content associated with the third-party content displayed by the media player device. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein downloading the downloadable content to the memory of the mobile computing device comprises downloading a mobile-only application to the memory of the mobile computing device.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein downloading the downloadable content to the memory of the mobile computing device comprises downloading a content item accessible by a mobile device application to the memory of the mobile computing device.

5. determining, by the one or more processors of the mobile computing device, that the mobile device application is one or more of running or open on the mobile computing device, wherein downloading the content item accessible by the mobile device application to the memory of the mobile computing device is based on one or more of the mobile device application being running or open on the mobile computing device.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

6. transmitting, by the one or more processors of the mobile computing device, an indication to a server that the mobile computing device has downloaded the downloadable content. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

7. 1. A method for initiating a download of content, implemented in a server, the method comprising: receiving, by one or more processors of the server, from a media player device, an indication of a user selection associated with third-party content to be displayed by the media player device; identifying, by the one or more processors of the server, a mobile computing device in the vicinity of the media player device that is associated with the user, the mobile computing device being separate from the media player device; identifying, by the one or more processors of the server, downloadable content associated with the third party content provided by the media player device; transmitting, by the one or more processors of the server, an indication of downloadable content associated with the third party content provided by the media player device to the mobile computing device; receiving, by the one or more processors of the server, an indication that the mobile computing device has downloaded the downloadable content; A method comprising:

8. transmitting, by the one or more processors of the server, to the mobile computing device, the downloadable content associated with the third party content provided by the media player device.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

9. 10. The method of claim 8, wherein transmitting the downloadable content to the mobile computing device comprises transmitting a downloadable mobile-only application to the mobile computing device.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein transmitting the downloadable content to the mobile computing device comprises transmitting a content item to the mobile computing device that is accessible by a mobile device application.

11. 1. A system for initiating a download of content, the system comprising: one or more processors of a mobile computing device; and a memory storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors of the mobile computing device, cause the one or more processors of the mobile computing device to: receiving an indication of a selection made by a user of the mobile computing device, the selection being associated with third party content provided by a media player device, the media player device being proximate to and separate from the mobile computing device; identifying an indication of downloadable content associated with the third party content displayed by the media player device; in response to receiving the indication of the selection, downloading the downloadable content to a memory of the mobile computing device without further input from the user; A system that allows the following to be performed:

12. The computer readable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors of the mobile computing device, cause the one or more processors of the mobile computing device to: receiving, from a server, the indication of the downloadable content associated with the third-party content displayed by the media player device; The system of claim 11 , further comprising:

13. 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors of the mobile computing device, include instructions that cause the one or more processors of the mobile computing device to download the downloadable content to the memory of the mobile computing device and cause the one or more processors to download mobile-only applications to the memory of the mobile computing device.

14. 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer-readable instructions include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors of the mobile computing device, cause the one or more processors of the mobile computing device to download the downloadable content to the memory of the mobile computing device and cause the one or more processors to download content items accessible by mobile device applications to the memory of the mobile computing device.

15. The computer readable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors of the mobile computing device, cause the one or more processors of the mobile computing device to: determining whether the mobile device application is one or more of running or open on the mobile computing device, and downloading the content item accessible by the mobile device application to the memory of the mobile computing device is based on the mobile device application being one or more of running or open on the mobile computing device. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

16. The computer readable instructions, when executed by the one or more processors of the mobile computing device, cause the one or more processors of the mobile computing device to: sending an indication to a server that the mobile computing device has downloaded the downloadable content. The system of claim 11 , further comprising:

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