Prioritized Display Device Selection for Mobile Media

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Solution Overview

Problem

Users of mobile computing devices face difficulty in determining the most suitable display device for media files, especially when content has high resolution or long duration, as existing systems do not provide a prioritized list of connected devices based on relevant characteristics.

Innovation Solution

A method and apparatus that determine the characteristics of media files and connected display devices, creating a prioritized list for selection by the user based on criteria such as resolution, battery power, and user preferences, using protocols like UPnP to discover and control connected devices.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If the user manually evaluates each connected display device to determine the most suitable one for media playback, then the user can make an informed decision based on device characteristics, but the process becomes time-consuming and complex

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveease of device selectionVSAvoidtime for device evaluation
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by automatically discovering connected display devices, obtaining their characteristics (resolution, battery status, device type), and generating a prioritized list before the user needs to make a selection. This pre-processing eliminates the need for users to manually evaluate each device, directly resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and time consumption.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system serves itself by automatically gathering device information, comparing characteristics against media file requirements, and ranking devices without user intervention. The mobile device autonomously performs the evaluation work that would otherwise require user time and effort, improving ease of operation while minimizing time loss.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Loss of information

If the system provides detailed information about all connected display devices, then the user can make an informed selection, but the information presentation becomes complex and difficult to navigate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecompleteness of device informationVSAvoidcomplexity of information presentation
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the comprehensive device information into two distinct parts: a prioritized ranked list showing devices in order of suitability, and detailed characteristic information available upon request. This segmentation allows the interface to remain simple while preserving complete information, resolving the contradiction between information completeness and presentation complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of presenting all device information uniformly and requiring users to find the most suitable device, the system inverts the approach by pre-processing the information and presenting devices already sorted by suitability. The complexity of information processing is moved from the user side to the system side, simplifying the user interface while maintaining information completeness.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Data Source

PatentUS8078230B2Method and apparatus for providing a prioritized list of display devices for display of a media file
Publication Date: 2011.12.13 GOOGLE TECHNOLOGY HOLDINGS LLC
  • US8078230B2 patent drawing
  • US8078230B2 patent drawing
  • US8078230B2 patent drawing

AI summary

A method and apparatus are disclosed for providing a prioritized list of display devices for display of a media file, the prioritized list being provided on a mobile computing device, the display devices being connected to the mobile computing device in a network. The method may include determining characteristics of the media file, discovering by the mobile computing device the display devices connected to the mobile computing device, discovering by the mobile computing device display characteristics of the display devices, creating the prioritized list of display devices by comparing the characteristics of the media file to the display characteristics of the display devices, and providing the prioritized list of the display devices on the mobile computing device for selection by a user.