Playback Queue Control via Mobile Playlist
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing digital audio systems lack seamless integration and control for accessing and playing digital media across multiple zones in a home environment, limiting the flexibility and convenience of media playback.
Innovation Solution
A network media system that allows a mobile device to establish a connected state with zone players, enabling synchronized playback and control of media queues across multiple zones, with features like automatic reconnection and private queue management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a mobile device is used to control media playback across multiple zones, then the ease of operation and flexibility are improved, but the device complexity and synchronization requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a queue identifier as an intermediary element that mediates between the mobile device and multiple zone players. The queue identifier allows the mobile device to control playback across zones without directly managing complex synchronization protocols, simplifying the user interface while maintaining system coordination through backend queue management.
Solution Approach 2:
The playback queue system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it stores media items, tracks playback state, enables cross-zone synchronization, and provides a control interface. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require separate systems into a single unified mechanism, reducing overall system complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If media playback is synchronized across multiple zones, then the adaptability and user experience are improved, but the loss of time for establishment and maintenance of synchronization increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-establishes playback queues and assigns queue identifiers before actual playback begins. When a user wants to play media across multiple zones, the queue structure is already in place, allowing immediate playback without real-time synchronization negotiation. This preliminary setup eliminates delays during actual playback initiation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses queue identifiers as simplified copies or representations of complex playback state information. Instead of transmitting and synchronizing entire playback state data structures across zones in real-time, the system uses lightweight queue identifier copies that reference pre-synchronized queue definitions, dramatically reducing synchronization time.
3Ease of operation
If control is extended from mobile device to zone players, then the ease of operation is improved, but the reliability of connection and control is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The queue identifier acts as a stable intermediary reference that persists independent of temporary connection states. When the mobile device reconnects to the network, it can retrieve the existing queue identifier and resume control without needing to re-establish the entire playback context, maintaining reliability while enabling convenient remote control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically manages queue state synchronization and connection re-establishment without requiring user intervention. When connections are lost or re-established, the backend systems self-service by maintaining queue definitions and automatically re-synchronizing state, allowing the mobile device to simply present the queue identifier to resume control.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments provided herein involve connected states between a mobile device and one or more zones in a network media system and different interactions between the mobile device and the network media system involving the connected states. The connected states may be established between the mobile device and the one or more zones such that further actions taken on media items identified in the playlist on the mobile device may also be taken on corresponding media items in a playback queue associated with the one or more zones. The interface on the mobile device may display various graphical representations to indicate the different interactions involving the connected states, including when a connected state is established, when a connected state is lost, and when a reconnected state is reestablished. The interface may further provide selectable icons to allow a user to navigate among the different media playback options involving the connected states.