Parental Control Synchronization for Mobile Media Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile media devices often lack the capability to enforce parental control settings from local media devices, leading to unauthorized access to restricted media content, as they do not receive or recognize the parental control settings in effect at the local media device.
Innovation Solution
Establishing a communication link between the mobile media device and the local media device to receive parental control settings and rating information, comparing this information with the content received, and preventing unauthorized access by methods such as preventing storage, ending communication, scrambling, or interfering with the content, ensuring that only content compliant with the parental control settings is presented.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If parental control settings are enforced only at the local media device, then the local media device can restrict access to inappropriate content, but the mobile media device cannot enforce these settings and may present restricted content
Solution Approach 1:
The system establishes a feedback loop where the mobile media device communicates with the local media device to retrieve parental control settings and content rating information. The mobile device receives feedback about what content is restricted and adjusts its behavior accordingly, preventing presentation of inappropriate content while maintaining the ability to share content across devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary communication mechanism between the local media device and mobile media device. This intermediary channel allows the transmission of parental control settings and rating information from the local device to the mobile device, enabling the mobile device to enforce restrictions without being the original source of the content.
2Ease of operation
If the mobile media device has its own parental control settings, then it can independently restrict content, but it cannot enforce the more restrictive settings from the local media device
Solution Approach 1:
The system makes parental control settings dynamic rather than static. The mobile media device does not rely on fixed, pre-configured settings but instead dynamically retrieves and applies parental control settings from the local media device. This allows the settings to adapt and ensure that the most restrictive controls are always enforced, regardless of which device is presenting the content.
3Device complexity
If parental control settings are stored only at the local media device, then the settings can be managed centrally, but the mobile media device cannot access or enforce these settings
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal parental control system where settings stored at the local media device can be accessed and enforced by multiple devices, including mobile media devices. The system allows the parental control settings to serve multiple functions: managing content at the local device, transmitting restrictions to mobile devices, and enabling centralized control while distributing enforcement across multiple devices.
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems and methods are operable to enforce parental controls at a mobile media device. An exemplary embodiment establishes a communication link between the mobile media device and a local media device, receives parental control setting information from the local media device at the mobile media device, receives at least one media content event and rating information associated with the received media content event at the mobile media device, compares at the mobile media device the rating information associated with the received at least one media content event with the parental control setting information received from the local media device, and prevents presentation of the at least one media content event by the mobile media device if the rating information associated with the received media content event violates the parental control setting information.