Private Queue Indicator for Media Playback Continuity
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 user's ability to effortlessly transition media playback between devices and zones.
Innovation Solution
A network media system that allows a mobile device to establish a connected state with zone players, enabling synchronized playback, control, and queuing of media items 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 establishes a connected state with zone players for synchronized playback across multiple zones, then media playback continuity and user control capability are improved, but system complexity and authentication management burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by establishing authentication credentials and private queue associations before media playback begins. When a mobile device connects to a zone player, the system proactively checks for existing credentials and private queue associations, and pre-configures the connected state parameters accordingly. This preliminary setup eliminates the need for complex real-time authentication decisions during playback transitions, maintaining ease of operation while managing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces credential verification and private queue status as intermediary mechanisms between the mobile device and zone player. These intermediaries act as mediators that automatically handle authentication and content protection logic, shielding the user from complex system operations. The intermediary layer checks credentials and private queue associations behind the scenes, allowing seamless playback continuity without exposing users to system complexity.
2Reliability
If credential verification is performed to access private queue information, then content security and private content protection are improved, but access time and user authentication overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs credential verification and private queue status checks as preliminary actions during the initial connected state establishment between mobile device and zone player. By completing authentication and content protection verification before media playback begins, the system ensures content security is maintained while avoiding repeated authentication delays during playback transitions. Users experience minimal access time overhead as credentials are verified upfront rather than during each playback action.
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.