Secondary Device Access for Primary Multimedia Playback Services
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Solution Overview
Problem
Primary multimedia playback devices, such as IPTVs, face challenges in content management due to shared usage, cumbersome data entry, limited memory and processing power, and the difficulty of navigating services without disturbing other users, making it impractical to provide complex remote controllers or effective content management solutions without increasing hardware costs.
Innovation Solution
A secondary device is used to access and utilize services intended for primary multimedia playback devices, allowing users to manage content and interact with remote service providers without interfering with the primary device's playback, by receiving requests, confirming authorization, identifying available services, and providing access to those services through the secondary device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If complex remote controllers are provided for primary devices, then ease of operation improves, but device complexity and hardware costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
A secondary device acts as an intermediary between the user and the primary device. The secondary device handles complex operations such as content management, service access, and data entry, while the primary device focuses on media playback. This mediator approach allows users to access sophisticated features without adding complexity to the primary device itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts content management and service access functions from the primary device and relocates them to a separate secondary device. This separation allows the primary device to remain simple and focused on its core function of media playback, while the secondary device handles the complex operations that would otherwise require a complex remote controller.
2Adaptability or versatility
If more services are provided on primary devices, then adaptability improves, but device complexity and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The secondary device is designed as a universal platform that can access and manage multiple services for different primary devices. A single secondary device can interact with multiple primary devices and service providers, providing multi-functionality without requiring each primary device to be individually complex.
Solution Approach 2:
The secondary device serves as an intermediary that manages the complexity of service access. It handles authentication, service selection, and communication with service providers, allowing primary devices to access diverse services without needing to incorporate complex service management capabilities themselves.
3Ease of operation
If content management features are added to primary devices, then ease of operation improves, but processing power and memory requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Content management features are extracted from the primary device and implemented on the secondary device. The secondary device handles tasks such as content selection, service access, and data entry, eliminating the need for the primary device to have substantial processing power or memory dedicated to these functions.
Data Source
AI summary
Some embodiments provide methods of providing access to services comprise: receiving, from over a distributed network, a request from a secondary device to access an account; confirming authorization to access the account; identifying one or more primary devices registered with and corresponding to the account in response to confirming authorization to access to the account, where the one or more primary devices are multimedia playback devices; receiving, from the secondary device, a selection of a first primary device of the one or more primary devices, where the first primary device is separate and distinct from the secondary device; identifying services available to the first primary device and configured to be utilized through the first primary device; and providing access, through the secondary device, to the identified services.