Set-Top Box Playback Resume via Mobile Position Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current multimedia entertainment systems do not allow users to resume playback of video or audio content from the exact point where it was interrupted, leading to missed portions of live broadcasts or recorded media when users exit a vehicle or mobile entertainment system.
Innovation Solution
A set-top box system that communicates with a mobile entertainment system to record and store media identification and position information, allowing it to reconnect to the exact point in a broadcast or recorded media content via a wireless network, using a processor and programming to parse and play back the content from a display or audio receiver.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a user interrupts playback of live broadcast or recorded media on a mobile entertainment system, then the user can exit the vehicle to complete other tasks, but the user cannot resume playback from the exact point of interruption and misses the missed portion
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by capturing and storing playback state information (including position data) before the user interrupts playback. This allows the system to have the resume capability ready in advance, so when the user returns, the exact playback point is already identified and stored, enabling seamless resumption without missing any content.
2Reliability
If the system stores playback state information including position data, then the user can resume from the exact point of interruption, but the system complexity increases due to additional tracking and communication mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the playback state information into distinct components: position data, content identification, and device information. This segmentation allows each component to be handled independently through specific communication protocols between the mobile entertainment system, portable device, and set-top box, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining reliable playback resumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a portable device (smartphone, tablet, or laptop) as an intermediary that receives playback state information from the mobile entertainment system and forwards it to the set-top box. This intermediary simplifies the communication architecture by providing a standardized interface layer, reducing the complexity of direct communication between the mobile entertainment system and set-top box while ensuring reliable playback resumption.
Data Source
AI summary
A set-top box receives media information including media identification and position information from a portable device in wireless communication with a mobile entertainment system. The media information is parsed, using a local or an internet based search, to locate the media information including the media identification and position information that matches a broadcast program or recorded media content from a network accessible to the mobile entertainment system. Upon locating the media information that matches the broadcast program or recorded media content, the matching broadcast program or recorded media content is downloaded and played on at least one of a display device or an audio receiver accessible to the set-top box or the headend of the IP, cable or satellite network.