Touchscreen Media Interface Gestural State Transitions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing touchscreen user interfaces for media presentation lack efficient navigation and space utilization, requiring multiple inputs to switch between viewing states and not allowing users to quickly browse through queues of media.
Innovation Solution
A touchscreen user interface method that includes gestural inputs to transition between mid, fullscreen, and miniplayer states, allowing users to navigate through a queue of videos by swiping to advance or review next and previous videos, with the interface automatically presenting portions of videos or suggested videos, and expanding or shrinking the video player to optimize screen space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the user interface presents multiple video views simultaneously (mid state with previous/next video portions), then the user can quickly browse through media queues, but the screen space for each individual video is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The user interface dynamically transitions between multiple states (mid state, fullscreen state, miniplayer state) based on user gestural inputs. The video player area can expand to fullscreen or shrink to miniplayer, allowing the system to adapt screen space allocation between individual video viewing and queue browsing needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The interface uses vertical space efficiently by presenting video thumbnails and queue information in a compact arrangement below the main video player. The mid state utilizes the full screen height by stacking video portions vertically, allowing multiple videos to be visible without reducing horizontal video quality.
2Ease of operation
If the user interface requires multiple distinct gestural inputs to switch between viewing states, then each gesture can be precisely controlled, but the operation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The same gestural input patterns (swipe up, swipe down, swipe left, swipe right) serve multiple functions across different states. For example, swiping up in mid state advances to next video, while swiping up in miniplayer state expands to fullscreen state. This universal gesture system reduces the need to learn separate controls for each state.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of requiring separate controls to enter and exit each state, the interface uses inverse gestures to toggle between states. The fourth gestural input with opposite character to the third gestural input allows users to return to previous states, creating a reversible and intuitive navigation pattern.
3Illumination intensity
If the video player expands to fullscreen state, then the video quality and viewing experience improve, but the user cannot access the media queue or other interface elements
Solution Approach 1:
The mid state presents portions of previous and next videos along with queue information before the user commits to fullscreen viewing. This preliminary display allows users to preview upcoming content and make informed decisions about whether to expand to fullscreen or continue browsing the queue.
Solution Approach 2:
The miniplayer state nests a small video player within the main interface, allowing the video to continue playing in a compact form while keeping the media queue and other interface elements accessible. This nested structure enables simultaneous video viewing and queue management.
4Loss of information
If the interface presents detailed metadata and suggested videos, then the user can discover more content, but the screen space for video playback is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The interface presents detailed metadata and suggested videos in localized areas (below the video player or in side panels) rather than competing for the main video display space. The mid state utilizes the lower portion of the screen for queue information while maintaining the video player in the upper portion, allowing both functions to coexist with appropriate visual hierarchy.
Data Source
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Figure 2A
AI summary
The subject matter of this specification can be implemented in, among other things, a method that includes providing a mid state, a fullscreen state, and a miniplayer state of a touchscreen user interface for presentation on a touchscreen device. The mid state presents a first video from a queue of videos and portions of a previous video or a next video from the queue of the videos. The fullscreen state expands the first video to fit the touchscreen user interface without presentation of the portions of the previous video or the next video. The miniplayer state shrinks the first video to fit a list of videos for a user account within the touchscreen user interface.