Unified Dynamic Media Playlist Aggregation Across Endpoints

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing techniques fail to seamlessly aggregate media across diverse endpoints such as smartphones, tablets, and IP set-top boxes, leading to inefficiencies in media playback and management.

Innovation Solution

A unified dynamic executable media playlist system that designates a host endpoint to aggregate and manage media playlists across connected devices, embedding control instructions for playback, and allows dynamic updates and storage locally or in cloud storage for execution at different times.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If existing techniques are used to manage media across endpoints, then individual endpoint media management is simple, but media aggregation across diverse endpoints fails to be seamless

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemedia aggregation capabilityVSAvoidplaylist management complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges media playlists from multiple diverse endpoints into a unified media playlist. The playlist manager combines local playlists from different endpoints (smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes) into a single unified playlist that can be executed across the network, enabling seamless media aggregation while managing complexity through centralized coordination.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The unified media playlist serves multiple functions across different endpoint types. It can be executed on any participating endpoint regardless of device diversity, enabling universal media playback and management across smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes, and other endpoints with a single playlist structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Speed

If media is stored locally on each endpoint, then access speed is fast, but seamless aggregation across endpoints cannot be achieved

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemedia access speedVSAvoidcross-endpoint aggregation

Core Design Contradiction:

SpeedVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments media storage and playback functions across multiple endpoints. Each endpoint maintains local media storage for fast access, while the playlist manager coordinates these segmented local playlists into a unified structure, allowing both local speed advantages and cross-endpoint aggregation to coexist.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The playlist manager acts as an intermediary that bridges local media storage on different endpoints. It collects, combines, and coordinates local playlists without requiring centralized media storage, enabling seamless aggregation while preserving the speed benefits of local storage through the intermediary coordination layer.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Adaptability or versatility

If a unified media playlist is generated across endpoints, then seamless media aggregation is achieved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemedia aggregation capabilityVSAvoidplaylist management complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Each endpoint autonomously generates its own local media playlist based on its local storage and user preferences. This self-service approach reduces the complexity burden on the central playlist manager, as each endpoint independently prepares its contribution to the unified playlist, simplifying the overall aggregation process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

Local playlists are generated in advance on each endpoint before the unified playlist creation process. This preliminary action prepares media metadata and playback information ahead of time, reducing the complexity of real-time aggregation and allowing the playlist manager to focus on coordination rather than content generation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

4Ease of operation

If dynamic updates are enabled in the unified playlist, then media management flexibility is improved, but processing overhead increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemedia management flexibilityVSAvoidprocessing overhead

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The unified media playlist is dynamically updated at periodic intervals rather than continuously. The playlist manager periodically refreshes and redistributes the unified playlist to participating endpoints, enabling flexible media management while reducing processing overhead by avoiding constant updates and allowing batch processing at defined intervals.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

Data Source

PatentUS9813462B2Unified dynamic executable media playlists across connected endpoints

Publication Date: 2017.11.07 ITTIAM SYST

AI summary

A system and method for generating a unified dynamic executable media playlist across connected endpoints for media play-out are disclosed. In one embodiment, endpoints are connected via a communication network. Each endpoint includes a media player and streamer module (MPSM). Further, a local media playlist is created, by the MPSM in each of the plurality of endpoints, using media residing in associated endpoints. Furthermore, the local media playlist is sent to one of the plurality of endpoints designated as a host by the MPSM in each of remaining endpoints. In addition, the unified dynamic executable media playlist is generated, by the MPSM in the host, by combining the received local media playlists and the local media playlist residing in the host. Also, the generated unified dynamic executable media playlist is sent, by the MPSM in the host, to each of the remaining endpoints for media play-out.