Personalized Media Player with Intermittent Link Buffering

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Solution Overview

Problem

Traditional broadcast mediums like television, radio, and satellite radio lack user customization and interactivity, requiring users to manually acquire and program their own content, and are prone to interruptions due to signal losses.

Innovation Solution

A digital media content reception and playback device that receives content over intermittent connections, filters out errors, and organizes content into customizable playlists based on user preferences, using a content management system to provide tailored programming and manage inventory dynamically.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If traditional broadcast mediums are used for content delivery, then real-time playback is achieved, but user customization and interactivity are lost

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser customizationVSAvoidmanual content programming

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-records broadcast content locally before it is needed for playback. This allows the device to have content available for immediate playback without requiring real-time signal reception, thereby enabling user customization and manual programming features that were previously unavailable in traditional broadcast systems.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

A content management system acts as an intermediary between the user and the broadcast content. This system handles content acquisition, storage, and playback management, freeing the user from manual programming tasks while still providing customization capabilities through the interface.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Adaptability or versatility

If content is received over intermittent connections, then portability is improved, but signal loss and playback interruptions occur

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveportabilityVSAvoidplayback continuity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The device continuously pre-records broadcast content in the background, building up a local content library. This ensures that when the device is portable and disconnected from broadcast signals, sufficient content is already stored locally to maintain uninterrupted playback, thus resolving the reliability issue while preserving portability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Adaptability or versatility

If manual content acquisition is required, then content selection freedom is improved, but time and effort investment increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent selection freedomVSAvoidcontent programming time

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The content management system automatically performs content acquisition, organization, and playback management without requiring manual user intervention. The system serves itself by monitoring broadcast signals, recording content according to user preferences, and managing the content library, thereby eliminating the time and effort previously required for manual content programming while preserving content selection freedom through configurable preferences.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS8443007B1Systems and devices for personalized rendering of digital media content

Publication Date: 2013.05.14 SLACKER

AI summary

Systems and methods are disclosed for providing devices capable of the reception and playback of one or more crafted media channels transmitted over an intermittent connection. The one or more channels may be customized by the end user to bias the programming towards individual tastes or moods. The channels may be delivered over an intermittent, unidirectional link, for example a Satellite Radio receiver in a home or car. Content may also be delivered over an intermittent, bidirectional link, for example to a portable media player via a wireless 802.11 or other networked connection.