Digital Media Controller Power Conservation via Intermediary Streaming
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing UPnP and similar networked systems face limitations when a digital media controller streams media to a digital media renderer, including power conservation issues, media encoding mismatches, and digital rights management restrictions, especially when interacting with remote media servers.
Innovation Solution
A digital media controller requests resource identifiers from a remote media server and passes them to a digital media renderer, allowing the renderer to access and play back media directly while providing control commands, and informing the controller about available applications for playback, enabling power conservation and handling encoded and protected media.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the digital media controller enters a dormant state to conserve power, then power consumption is reduced, but media transfer is interrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the media streaming function into two separate devices: the digital media controller (DMC) that handles control functions and can enter dormant state, and the media server that maintains continuous connection to the media renderer. This segmentation allows the DMC to save power while the media server ensures uninterrupted media transfer.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a media server as an intermediary component between the digital media controller and the media renderer. This intermediary maintains the persistent connection and handles media streaming, allowing the controller to be dormant without affecting media transfer continuity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the digital media controller receives media from a remote service, then media can be accessed from external sources, but media encoding may not match the renderer's requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by having the media renderer directly access media from remote services using encoding formats optimized for the renderer itself, rather than relying on the controller to re-encode or adapt media. Each component is optimized for its specific function, with the renderer handling encoding compatibility locally.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the digital media controller receives media from a remote service, then media can be accessed from external sources, but digital rights management may restrict access
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the media server as an intermediary that handles digital rights management authorization. The media server receives media from remote services, verifies licensing and access rights, and then streams the media to the renderer. This intermediary approach allows the controller to remain flexible in selecting media sources while maintaining secure access control.
Data Source
AI summary
A remote media server provides a resource identifier to a digital media controller. A digital media controller passes this resource identifier to a digital media renderer. The digital media renderer launches an application that processes the resource identifier to access the remote media server and play back the media. Playback is responsive to controls from the digital media controller. The digital media renderer can play back media identified by the digital media controller, but that is encoded and protected in a manner specific to the digital media renderer. The digital media controller can shut down or become dormant to save battery power without affecting playback by the digital media renderer. By providing the information about available applications from the digital media renderer to the digital media controller, the digital media controller can reliably send resource identifiers for which applications are available the digital media renderer.