Mirrored Playback Queues for Cross-Household Remote Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing media playback systems lack the ability for users to remotely control and synchronize playback queues across multiple devices, limiting the flexibility and collaboration in audio experiences.
Innovation Solution
A media playback system that allows a first playback device to mirror the playback queue of a second playback device, enabling remote control and synchronization of playback queues across households, with the first device's playback queue being controlled by the second device's queue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a media playback system allows remote control of playback queues across multiple devices, then the flexibility and collaboration in audio experiences is improved, but the device complexity and network synchronization requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements queue mirroring where a first playback device creates a copy of the playback queue from a second playback device. The mirrored queue maintains synchronization with the source queue, allowing remote control capabilities while managing complexity through standardized copying mechanisms rather than complex real-time coordination protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces a control application as an intermediary layer between users and playback devices. This mediator handles the complexity of queue synchronization and device coordination, allowing users to control playback queues remotely without directly managing the underlying network synchronization complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If playback queues are synchronized across households, then the ability to act as a remote DJ is enabled, but the network communication overhead and synchronization latency increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of maintaining real-time synchronized playback across networks, the system copies the playback queue structure and metadata from the source device to the remote device. This allows the remote device to play back the same queue contents locally, eliminating synchronization latency while maintaining the remote DJ capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent separates the queue management function from the playback execution function. The source device manages the master queue, while remote devices receive and execute local copies of the queue. This segmentation allows independent operation of each device while maintaining queue consistency, reducing network overhead and latency.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments disclosed herein involve a first playback device, associated with a first household, where the first playback device is configured to mirror a playback queue that is associated with a second playback device, where the second playback device is associated with a second household. For instance, a device associated with the first household, such as a controller, may send a command to the first playback device to mirror the playback queue associated with the second playback device. Based on the received command, the first playback device may mirror the playback queue that is associated with the second playback device such that contents of a playback queue that is associated with the first playback device are the same as contents of the playback queue that is associated with the second playback device.