Media Playback Navigation Regulators for Precise Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current digital media players face challenges in accurately navigating playback to specific positions within long media files, especially on smartphones with smaller screens, due to imprecise fast-forward and progress control mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A media playback system with a hierarchy of navigation regulators and interactive visual time marks that allow users to accurately adjust the playback position using navigation progress indicators within active zones, which reset to reference points, and display visual time marks corresponding to media time marks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If fast forward button is pressed and held down to accelerate playback, then playback speed increases, but navigation precision decreases causing significant content to be skipped
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the navigation function into two separate controls: a fast forward button for speed adjustment and a progress control for precise position selection. This segmentation allows each control to specialize - the fast forward button provides quick speed changes while the progress control enables accurate positioning, resolving the contradiction between speed and precision by assigning them to different functional elements.
2Ease of operation
If sliding control is adjusted slightly on a long media file, then playback position changes, but the change causes a significant time jump due to the length of media
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the one-dimensional sliding control into a two-dimensional interface by adding visual time marks that display absolute time positions. This dimensional enhancement allows users to navigate not only by relative slider position but also by referencing specific time markers, providing both ease of operation through the slider and precision through the time mark references.
3Adaptability or versatility
If progress control is used to navigate to desired position, then playback position can be adjusted, but accuracy is insufficient for long media files on small screens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces visual time marks as an intermediary element between the sliding control and the playback position. These time marks serve as reference points that mediate the navigation process, allowing users to accurately identify and select specific positions in long media files by referencing the time markers rather than relying solely on the abstract slider position.
4Volume of moving object
If smartphone screen size is reduced, then device portability improves, but navigation control precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent compensates for the reduced screen size by adding a temporal dimension through visual time marks. Instead of relying solely on spatial resolution of the slider, the interface provides absolute time position references that allow precise navigation even on small screens. This dimensional addition maintains positioning accuracy despite the constraint of reduced physical screen area.
Data Source
AI summary
A media playback system provides accurate navigation of playback of a digital media. The system includes a media player operating on a media playback device. The media is played back by the media player. The system provides a set of navigator controls with increasing granularities. The set of controls includes a set of navigation regulators. The navigation regulators support finer navigation of the playback of the digital media. Each control in the set is adapted to move the current playback position of the media to a position corresponding to an interactive visual time mark when the interactive visual time mark is operated on.