Cloud Hold Music Delivery via Intermediary Server
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current client-side solutions for playing music during a call hold are complex, costly, and limited by platform restrictions, especially on mobile devices, and face challenges with music rights acquisition, making it difficult to provide seamless entertainment during communication sessions.
Innovation Solution
A cloud-based content delivery system streams media to client devices on hold, allowing the client device initiating the hold to manage other calls while providing entertainment to those on hold, using unique identifiers to manage hold states and content delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If client-side solutions are used to stream media to callers on hold, then music can be played during hold, but device complexity and infrastructure cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a server as an intermediary component that handles media streaming to callers on hold. The server receives media requests from the initiating client, retrieves appropriate hold music, and streams it directly to the held caller's device. This intermediary architecture eliminates the need for complex client-side media streaming capabilities while maintaining the desired functionality.
2Adaptability or versatility
If client-side media streaming is implemented, then entertainment can be provided during hold, but platform limitations prevent implementation on mobile devices
Solution Approach 1:
The server acts as a capability-providing intermediary that handles all media streaming operations. Mobile devices and other clients with limited capabilities can place callers on hold with entertainment because the server, not the client, performs the media streaming. This resolves the platform limitation issue by centralizing complex functionality on the server side.
Solution Approach 2:
The server provides universal media streaming capability to all types of clients regardless of their individual capabilities. Whether the initiating device is a desktop, mobile phone, or other platform, the server handles the media delivery uniformly, making the hold entertainment feature universally applicable across all device types.
3Reliability
If music rights are acquired for client-side streaming, then licensed music can be played, but variety is limited and rollout time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The server serves as a centralized licensing and music management intermediary. It maintains relationships with music rights holders and manages licensed music catalogs centrally. When a hold is initiated, the server selects and streams appropriate licensed music without requiring the client device to have any music rights or storage. This enables rapid deployment of diverse music selections while maintaining licensing compliance.
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media for delivering content to a client device placed on hold. A communication system establishes a communication session between a client device placed on an initial hold and a content delivery service, during which the client device placed on the initial hold may place a subsequent hold, resulting in multiple concurrent holds. The communication system allocates a unique identifier to the subsequent hold and updates records associated with the initial and subsequent holds to include an indication that the client device that ends the hold should be placed on hold. The communication system terminates the communication session between the client device placed on the initial hold and the content delivery service and returns the unique identifier allocated to the subsequent hold to the client device that initiated the subsequent hold.