Multi-part Display Interface for Seamless Media Browsing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable media devices face challenges in allowing users to easily navigate and view streamed multimedia content without losing their place or missing ongoing content, particularly when switching between full-screen viewing and browsing multiple media streams on touch screen interfaces.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a multi-part display interface on mobile touch screen devices that allows users to enlarge a secondary portion of the screen for browsing, pausing the current media stream and caching content for resumption when returning to it, ensuring seamless navigation and viewing across orientations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If users enlarge the secondary portion of the screen for browsing additional content, then the ability to view multiple media streams is improved, but the currently selected media stream becomes obscured or no longer visible
Solution Approach 1:
The display interface is divided into multiple independent portions: a first portion displaying the currently selected media stream and a second portion providing graphical representations of other available content. This segmentation allows both portions to function simultaneously without interfering with each other, resolving the contradiction between browsing capability and stream visibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a spatial dimension by displaying multiple media stream representations simultaneously on the touch screen. Users can interact with both the current stream and other available content in the same visual space, enabling multi-stream browsing without losing visibility of the selected stream.
2Ease of operation
If users navigate through available multimedia content using the touch screen display, then browsing capability is improved, but playback of the currently selected media stream may be interrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The system receives and stores subsequent content associated with the currently selected media stream in advance while the user browses other content. This preliminary action ensures that when the user returns to the selected stream, playback can resume without interruption, maintaining reliability while enabling easy browsing.
Solution Approach 2:
The touch screen display acts as an intermediary between the user and the media streams. It provides a graphical user interface that allows users to navigate and select content while the system independently manages playback continuity through content caching and resumption capabilities.
3Ease of operation
If the display interface shows both current stream and available content simultaneously, then user navigation is improved, but the screen real estate for the current stream is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The display is segmented into distinct functional zones: the first portion dedicated to the currently selected media stream and the second portion for graphical representations of other content. This segmentation allows optimal allocation of screen real estate based on user needs while maintaining navigation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The display interface dynamically adjusts its configuration based on user interactions. The system can modify the relative sizes and positions of the first and second portions to balance between stream visibility and browsing capability, making the interface adaptable to different usage scenarios.
Data Source
AI summary
A method may include receiving and outputting a selected multimedia stream at a mobile device. It is determined that a user wishes to browse other available multimedia streams. The selected multimedia stream is paused while the user browses the other available multimedia streams. The selected multimedia stream is cached while the user browses the other available multimedia streams. It is determined that the user has finished browsing the other available multimedia streams. The cached multimedia stream is output.