Context-Based Error Indication for Media Playback Failures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Media players often fail to provide users with clear indications when they are unable to play requested media, leading to a lack of information about the playback failure.
Innovation Solution
A method for media players to detect playback failures and output context-based error indications, such as images or audio, specific to the type of media being played, which can be stored internally or downloaded from an external source, allowing users to select preferred error indications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If the media player provides no error indication when playback fails, then the device complexity is reduced, but the loss of information increases as users receive no feedback about playback failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses visual copies (images) and auditory copies (sounds) to represent error states. Instead of displaying generic text error messages, the system plays visual and auditory content that replicates the actual media failure scenario, allowing users to understand errors through familiar media formats without requiring complex error coding systems
Solution Approach 2:
The error indication system serves multiple functions: it informs users of playback failures, communicates the type of media that failed, and provides contextual information about the error nature—all through a single unified mechanism of playing back pre-recorded error media clips rather than requiring separate indication systems for each error type
2Loss of information
If the media player provides generic error messages, then the device complexity is reduced, but the loss of information increases as specific media-type error details are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by tailoring the error indication to the specific type of media that failed. Different media types (video, audio, different formats) have their own specific error clips that provide customized feedback appropriate to that media category, rather than using a single generic error message for all failures
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-recording and storing multiple error indication clips corresponding to different media types and error scenarios before actual playback occurs. This allows the system to immediately play back appropriate error content without needing to generate or analyze error details in real-time, reducing processing complexity while maintaining information richness
3Loss of information
If the media player stores multiple error indications for different media types, then the loss of information is reduced, but the device complexity increases due to larger memory requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses disposable-like error indication clips that are pre-recorded and stored in compressed formats. These are simple media files that can be efficiently stored and quickly played back without requiring complex error analysis or generation, providing rich error information at minimal storage cost
Data Source
AI summary
A media player may occasionally be unable to play or continue to play a particular item of media. When that occurs, the media player outputs an error indication that is related to the type of media that the problem media item is representative of. For example, if the problem item is a movie, then the media player may display an error indication having the appearance of broken movie film. If the problem media item is music, then the media player may display an error indication having the appearance of a broken compact disc (“CD”). Thus whatever the type of media that is not playing, the media player outputs an error indication that is appropriate for that type of media. The error indications output by the player are therefore context-based or media-appropriate.