Subscriber Equipment Customized Ringback Tone Playback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing telephony services lack customization options for prior-to-answer media playback, relying on standardized ringback and engaged tones, which do not allow called parties to personalize their services for calling parties and incur additional network costs for sound database servers with limited content selection.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method using the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) that allows subscribers to store and play back customized media content from their own equipment, eliminating the need for network-based resources and enabling personalized ringback, engaged, and other tones based on call context, such as caller identity or time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If network-based sound database servers are used to provide customized ringback tones, then customization capability is improved, but network cost and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the sound database functionality from the network infrastructure and relocates it to the user's personal computer. The PC stores and manages the ringback tone database locally, eliminating the need for network-based sound database servers while maintaining full customization capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables the user's PC to serve itself by storing and managing the ringback tone database locally. The PC autonomously selects and plays appropriate ringback tones without requiring network-based database queries, reducing network infrastructure requirements.
2Adaptability or versatility
If network-based sound database servers are deployed, then customized media playback is enabled, but additional network costs are incurred
Solution Approach 1:
The sound database server functionality is extracted from the network and relocated to the user's personal computer. The PC locally stores and manages ringback tone databases, eliminating the need for network-based database servers and associated costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The ringback tone database is copied from potential network storage to the user's local PC storage. This local copy enables the PC to autonomously select and play ringback tones without requiring network-based database queries or additional network resource consumption.
3Device complexity
If standardized ringback tones are used, then network infrastructure is simplified, but service customization is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The user's PC autonomously selects and plays appropriate ringback tones from its local database based on caller information. This self-service capability enables full service personalization without requiring complex network infrastructure or centralized database management.
Data Source
AI summary
This invention provides methods and apparatus for providing customized prior-to-answer and in-call media playback telephony services. The services allow for playback of customized media content to calling parties in the form of customized ringback tones, engaged tones, call holding, call transfer tones and other content such as pre-recorded announcements. The media content for playback is stored in equipment associated with subscribers and playback of the media content is originated from the subscriber equipment. The invention allows subscribers to give their telephony services a personal touch as they can choose different items of media content for playback to different calling parties. As the media content is stored on subscriber equipment local to subscribers, no additional network resources such as data storage and data processing facilities are required.