WO2007042463A1

WO2007042463A1 - Handling media content for an electronic device

Info

Publication number: WO2007042463A1
Application number: PCT/EP2006/067104
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sten MINÖR
Original assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ab
Priority date: 2005-10-12
Filing date: 2006-10-05
Publication date: 2007-04-19
Also published as: CN101366026A; US20070083553A1; EP1952276A1

Abstract

The present invention concerns an electronic device (10) provided for communication with a media content source providing downloadable media content, and provided for handling media content related data, said device (10) comprising: at least one transceiver unit, said transceiver unit being associated with an application for handling said media content and arranged to receive or send media content related meta data comprising at least one list (17) of one or more items of media content related meta data provided as a coded list (17) of items, in which list (17) each item is unambiguously identified by a unique code for later enabling locating a media content source providing downloadable media content corresponding to said list (17) by means of said unique code(s). The invention also concerns a method and computer program product. The invention provides enabling locating a source providing downloadable or streamable content.

Description

HANDLING MEDIA CONTENT FOR AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of handling media content for an electronic device, and more particularly to an electronic device and method for locating a media content source.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

It is known within the field of computers and wireless communication to transmit different types of media content. The media content can for example be video-files, pictures (still and moving pictures), as well as sound files or any combination thereof. Typically, such media content can be downloaded, or streamed to electronic devices, for instance to communication devices such as mobile phones, or different types of stationary or portable computers.

Because of the ever increasing amount of such available media content, and because a user gets more and more influences related to such media content, for instance on music genres, tunes, artists etc, from an increasing amount of sources, such as friends, TV and radio broadcastings, or the web, the user might have problems with handling, in particular locating a suitable media content source to get access thereof.

For instance, a user after having received influences from a source, such as a friend proposing a recording or music sample he should listen to, finding the original recording for purchasing or listen to a music sample, typically requires quite a lot of manual work, for instance first to locate the artist, music album, tune and finally to locate a source for downloading or streaming to his electronic device to be able to listen to the recording or music sample.

Even though, not explicitly described herein, similar problems of course also exist as regards finding other types of media content. Thus, the present invention is be no means limited to locating recordings or music samples, but is related to locating all types of media content.

Other problems that may exist, is that it is sometimes difficult to compare different sources, for instance as regards finding the best price before downloading or streaming.

Thus, there still exist a number of problems related to locating a source providing media content. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed towards solving the problem of enabling handling of media content, in particular locating a source providing media content, in more particular locating a source providing downloadable or streamable media content.

One object of the present invention is thus to provide enabling locating a source providing downloadable or streamable content.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, this object is achieved by a method for handling media content related data provided for an electronic device, provided for communication with a media content source providing downloadable media content, including the steps of: receiving or having received, media content related meta data in said electronic device, comprising at least one list of one or more items of media content related meta data provided as a coded list of items, in which list each item is unambiguously identified by a unique code, and processing media content related meta data for locating a media content source from which an item of media content corresponding to said unique code may be obtained.

In this way, by defining a list of items, such as tunes, where each item can be unambiguously identified by a unique id, the list of items the invention gives the user the possibility to easily handle the list of items, for instance to share list of items with other users in a network.

A second aspect of the present invention is directed towards a method including the features of the first aspect, wherein the step of processing media content related meta data comprises, based on the reception of the media content related meta data, downloading further meta data automatically or depending on user inputs.

A third aspect of the present invention is directed towards a method including the features of the first or the second aspect, further comprising the step of downloading or streaming, an item of media data identified in the list, wherein the electronic device includes an application unit and the downloading or streaming of an item is initiated by a client application running in the application unit.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is directed towards a method including the features of the first aspect, wherein the item represents a sound file. A fifth aspect of the present invention is directed towards a method including the features of any one of the previous aspects, wherein the item represents an image file.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is directed towards a method including the features of any one of the previous aspects, wherein the list includes at least a first item of media content related meta data referring to a first item of media content having a first content type and a second item of media content related meta data referring to a second item of media content having a second content type, different from the first content type.

A seventh aspect of the present invention is directed towards a method including the features of the sixth aspect, wherein the first content type is sound and the second content type is video.

An eighth aspect of the present invention is directed towards a method including the features of any one of the previous aspects, wherein meta data is stored before processing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device, which enables locating a source for providing media content.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, this object is achieved by an electronic device provided for communication with a media content source providing downloadable media content, and provided for handling media content related data, said device comprising : at least one transceiver unit, arranged to receive or send media content related meta data comprising at least one list of one or more items of media content related meta data provided as a coded list of items, in which list each item is unambiguously identified by a unique code, said transceiver unit being associated with an application unit for handling said media content

A tenth aspect of the present invention is directed towards an electronic device including the features of the ninth aspect, further comprising the application unit for handling said list.

An eleventh aspect of the present invention is directed towards an electronic device including the features of the tenth aspect, wherein said application unit is arranged to automatically connect to a media content provider in order to download further meta data such as title, artist, genre composer etc, and/or to download, or stream media content samples.

A twelfth aspect of the present invention is directed towards an electronic device including the features of the tenth aspect, wherein said application unit is arranged to connect to a media content provider depending on user inputs in order to download further meta data such as title, artist, genre composer etc, and/or to download, or stream media content samples.

According to a thirteenth aspect, the application unit comprises a music client.

According to a fourteenth aspect, the device includes a data presentation unit for presenting at least part of said list to a user.

According to another aspect, the device is a computer.

According to another aspect, the device is a portable communication device.

According to another aspect, the device is a cellular phone.

Yet another object is to provide a program product, which enables locating a source for providing media content.

According to another aspect of the invention this object is achieved by a computer program product comprising a computer readable medium, having thereon: computer program code, to make a computer or an electronic device execute, when said program is loaded in the computer or the electronic device: receive media content related meta data in said electronic device, said meta data comprising at least one list of one or more items of media content related meta data provided as a coded list of items, in which list each item is unambiguously identified by a unique code, and processing media content related meta for later enabling locating a media content source from which an item of media content corresponding to said unique code may be obtained.

The invention has the following advantages. Because meta data for instance in the form of a play list is checked instead of performing a complete downloading of media content, less system resources are used than when downloading media content, which typically requires decoding or streaming. This can be crucial for a memory consuming application. Also, a user does not have to spend much time on finding a suitable source for downloading media content, as well as being able to check price for downloading before doing so.

The invention also includes a method for automatic sharing of said list of media content related meta data, and purchase thereof.

It should be emphasized that the term "comprises/comprising" when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described in more detail in relation to the enclosed drawings, in which: fig. 1 shows an electronic device in the form of a cellular phone, fig. 2 shows the phone in fig. 1 connected to a media content provider in the form of a server via a cellular network, fig. 3 shows a block schematic of the parts relevant to the invention in the interior of the phone in fig. 1, fig. 4 shows a flow chart of a method according to an embodiment of the invention, performed in the phone, fig. 5 shows a play list with a number of tunes, each having a unique identity for later identification thereof, fig. 6 shows a flow chart of a performing a method according to an embodiment of the invention in the, and fig. 7 shows a CD Rom on which program code for executing the method according to the invention, for instance in the media content provider, is provided.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

An electronic device 10 according to the invention is shown in fig. 1. In the preferred embodiment, the electronic device is 10 a cellular phone having a display 14 and a keypad 16 including a number of keys. Apart from making and receiving telephone calls, the keypad 16 is used for selecting applications and entering information related thereto, for instance to order downloading of media content and responding to prompts, and the display 14 is used for displaying information related to applications and prompts to a user of the phone. The cellular phone 10 is provided for communication with other electronic devices, for instance other cellular phones belonging to other users via a network, or via an alternative communication route, such as IR or Bluetooth communication typically provided for shorter communication routes, say within a few meters of distance. The phone 10 is provided for handling or manipulating a list 17 of media content related meta data (schematically shown only in this figure), in which list 17, meta data related to media content can be unambiguously related to specific media content.

The list 17 itself does not contain any music contents, but is just a list of references to the media content, for instance tunes. Preferably, the list 17 of meta data comprises one or more items related to media content and is provided as a coded list of items, hereinafter referred to as a "play list", that are unambiguously identified by a unique code or identity (identity, in short referred to as "id" in the following). By means of the unique code or id, it is possible to later on enable locating a media content source for transmission of desired media content according to the play list, or defining a play list that can be communicated to another user. Thus, media content, for instance tunes, can be streamed or downloaded to the phone from any available music store, or streaming server. Of course, provided the phone supports the music format available. The list may include data identifying a format of the content. If not, the device 10 may be configured to automatically download a driver, a CODEC or other software or code that may enable the device 10 to play/display the content. It is also possible to transmit the play list 17 to another phone, possibly supporting another music format. In this way, media content, such as tunes can be shared between phones with support for different music formats and (Digital Rights Management) DRM schemes. The appearance of the play list 17 and the features thereof will be described in more detail below with reference to Fig. 5.

A cellular phone is just one example of an electronic device in which the invention can be implemented. The invention can for instance also be used in a PDA (personal digital assistant), a palm top computer, a lap top computer and even on a regular stationary computer such as a PC (Personal Computer), including all types of netwrok-enabled media players, such as a wireless or W-LAN enabled media player.

Fig. 2 shows the cellular phone 10 connected to a cellular network 20 via a base station 18 for communication with a media content provider 22, for instance in the form of a server, also connected to the network 20. The network 20 is for instance a GSM-type of network or a GPRS network. It is of course also possible that the network 20 is a WCDMA network. In this embodiment, the media content provider 22 is a server, which can transmit media content as well as meta data related to the media content. Of course, any other suitable source providing media content could be provided instead even if not disclosed in more detail. Thus, the invention is by no means limited to a server operating as a media content provider. Typically, the media content provider 22 is provided to transmit media content (typically stored in the server or accessible from yet another source (not shown)) such as digital media content in the form of music, video clips, images, books, audio books etc to an electronic device, as well as meta data related thereto, on demand, in this case the cellular phone 10.

Of course, the number of electronic devices (for instance cellular phones) 10 that may communicate with the media content provider 22 can be far more than the single one as shown in Fig. 2. It should also be realised that the phone 10 could just as well communicate with another phone, a PDA or a computer via the network 20 (or by means of using IR or the like for shorter distances). The media content provider 22 can be directly connected to the cellular network 20 as shown, or be connected to the same via some other intermediate network (not shown). The network 20, or any further network do of course not have to be a cellular network, but can be some other type of network, such as the Internet, a corporate intranet, a LAN or a wireless LAN. It can also be a so- called PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network). This figure has been enclosed for showing an environment in which the invention can be provided, but is by no means intended to limit the invention to this configuration only. Moreover, it should be realised that the application need not require any cordless communication with other devices, in which case the connection via a network 20 might not be necessary. Thus, alternatively, it might in some applications, be suitable to provide a physical connection such as a cord between two electronic devices 10 instead, to be able to perform the invention. This is however not illustrated in more detail, since it is evident for a person skilled in the art to design based on the described scenario using a network 20 provided for communication.

Fig. 3 shows part of the interior of the cellular phone 10 that is relevant for the present invention. The phone 10 includes a transceiver unit 30 associated with an application for handling media content. The transceiver unit 30 is arranged to receive or transmit (send) media content and/or thereto related meta data, in particular in the form of a list of meta data.

The transceiver unit 30 is connected to an application unit 32 for handling media content and thereto related data, including meta data. To the transceiver unit 30 is also connected a storage 34 in which data may be stored, before being handled by or after being handled by the application unit 32. The storage 34 is optional. To the application unit 32, the presentation unit 14, preferably the conventional display shown in Fig. 1, is typically connected, but may be optional. The transceiver unit 30, the application unit 32 and the storage 34 are typically all controlled by a control unit 36, typically also implemented for controlling other parts of the phone 10, which control unit 36 in turn may also be connected to the keyboard 16 or some other suitable user input device for controlling the electronic device 10 and applications. Of course also some other type and/or number of user input device and/or presentation unit(s) may be provided instead than shown in relation to this embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 4 shows a flow chart of a method according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 5 shows how a play list 17 is arranged in the form of items 60, each having thereto corresponding meta data 62 and id 64. In fig. 5 there is shown three such items 60, where a first item, a sound-file, tunel is represented by unique id data 01 and a name X, a second item, tune2 corresponds to a second sound-file and a third item, tune3 corresponds to a third sound-file, all together making up the play list 17. The meta data (i.e. data about data) may provide additional information about the item of media content referenced by the list item. A single "play list" may include references to various type of media content, where media content may also be termed multimedia content. The data related to the play list could have been placed in the list in several different ways. It could have been received via a WAP or Internet browser, received via e-mail, MMS or EMS, or downloaded or received in some other way, been generated locally in the phone or provided in the phone beforehand, even purchased for instance from a music store. In this figure, meta data such as names 62 have been included, only to give an example of an application, but is optional. Other meta data, music samples etc or no such data at all could have been provided instead. A multimedia file referenced in a play list 17 may be downloaded to the device 10 and/or may be generated by the device 10, for instance using a microphone and/or camera inbuilt in the device 10. In order to ensure that a unique id is used for a media file generated at the device 10, the id may include an electronic serial number, MAC address or other identifier unique to the device 10 as part of the id for the media file.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be explained with reference to fig. 3, 4 and 5. This embodiment is also believed to be the best mode of the invention at the moment. The method of the invention starts by the transceiver unit 30 receiving, or having received, media content related data, step 40 in the form of a play list, for instance according to fig. 5 (block 40). For instance, the play list 17 has been created by another person (a friend for instance) and transmitted via the network 20 by means of SMS, e-mail, MMS or alternatively by means of IR, Bluetooth, W-LAN etc. The media content related data is then handled in the application unit 32 and in the process of handling the media data, the play list 16 comprising different items, for instance tunes, and their unique id :s is processed, step 42. The play list, which has been previously created in another cellular phone or other electronic device, which may be stored in the store 34 (optional), step 44 is then (or may later be) used for locating a source for downloading further meta data, optional, step 46, media content sample (optional), step 47, and finally media content related to the play list 16, step 48. Also this is typically provided by means of the application unit 32 (operating as a client, for instance a music client) ordering the content provider 22 (the source in this embodiment) to download or stream media content (automatically or depending on user inputs) according to the play list 17 (in a way known per se). Of course, it is not necessary for a user to choose to download all items present in the play list 17, but any number of items desired could easily be selected by means of user input from a user input unit 16 such as the keyboard (in a way know per se, typically via the control unit 36). In this way, the user gets access to streaming or downloading the music or could listen to samples from his favourite music store or streaming server by means of processing the play list, or therefrom selected favourites only without having to manually locate each wanted tune.

As an alternative to a user providing another user with the play list 17, a content provider 22 such as a broadcasting server can publish downloadable play lists (which may have to be purchased, but could also be available for free) on the web containing what is broadcasted and what has been broadcasted during a particular period of time, for instance a particular day, week or month. In this case, the play list 17 could also be provided by the user himself as an alternative by means of the application unit 32.

Herein, the term "content provider" is intended to include but is not limited to broadcasting channels, but also individuals, magazines, companies etc. In such cases, the content provider could for instance decide to publish a play list according to almost any preference, for instance related to favourite music of celebrities, recommended listening, examples of different genres etc, that can be downloaded for a user to get access to the media content. Links, or other references may also be provided to other sources for downloading/streaming in case the service provider itself does not provide such a possibility.

When several sources are available, it might also be possible for a user to choose between different alternatives, for instance to be able to select the cheapest one for downloading.

An alternative method according to the invention, in which a user of an electronic device creates his own play list for transmission to another user is shown in fig. 6.

In a first step 50, the application is started. In a second step, step 52 the user may receive a question or get prompted "Generate play list?", for instance displayed on the presentation unit 14 (fig. 1). If he then chooses to generate a play list, the application is run to generate a playlist for instance by identifying a list of items to be included on the play list and obtaining/assigning a unique id to each item on the playlist, step 54. Finally a play list may be transmitted to another user, step 56.

The present invention has been described in relation to an electronic device provided for cordless communication in the form of a cellular phone, in which the parts relevant for the invention has been schematically shown and illustrated only (fig. 3). These and other parts of the invention, like at least part of the application unit, can also be provided in the form of one or more processors with corresponding program memories containing suitable software code. The software for performing the method can also be provided on a computer readable medium like a disc 70 of the CD ROM type as depicted in fig. 7 or on some other type. In this case the software for performing the method when loaded into the phone or a computer will be provided on this disc. The program code can also be downloaded remotely from a server either outside or inside the cellular network or be downloaded via a computer like a PC to which the phone is temporarily connected.

Because data, for instance in the form of a playlist, may be checked instead of performing a complete download of media content less system resources may be used than when downloading media content, which typically requires decoding and/or streaming. Also the time required for finding a suitable source for downloading media content may be reduced, and multiple sources of a media program, such as a song recording, may be compared before downloading the program on the basis of one or more criteria, such as price, reliability, download speed etc.

While embodiments of the invention have been described in connection with the location and downloading of audio programs such as songs and audio samples, embodiments of the invention may be advantageously employed in the process of finding and/or obtaining of other types of media content, such as video clips, pictures, television shows, podcasts, mobile telephone ring tones, skins, visualisations, themes, screensavers and the like. Thus the present invention is in no means limited to locating recordings or music samples, but may advantageously be employed for locating and /or obtaining all types of media content.

The phone in this description uses radio circuits in order to communicate with other devices. These radio circuits have however not been described here since they are not really part of the invention and since this communication is performed in a way already known within the art.

Claims

1. Method for handling media content related data provided for an electronic device, provided for communication with a media content source providing downloadable media content, including the steps of: receiving (40) or having received, media content related meta data in said electronic device, comprising at least one list (17) of one or more items of media content related meta data provided as a coded list (17) of items, in which list (17) each item is unambiguously identified by a unique code, and processing (42) media content related meta data for locating a media content source from which an item of media content corresponding to said unique code may be obtained.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein the step of processing media content related meta data comprises, based on the reception of the media content related meta data, downloading (46) further meta data automatically or depending on user inputs.

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising the step of downloading or streaming, (48), an item of media data identified in the list, wherein the electronic device includes an application unit (32) and the downloading or streaming of an item is initiated by a client application running in the application unit.

4. Method according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the item represents a sound file.

5. Method according to any previous claim, wherein the item represents an image file.

6. Method according to any previous claim, wherein the list includes at least a first item of media content related meta data referring to a first item of media content having a first content type and a second item of media content related meta data referring to a second item of media content having a second content type, different from the first content type.

7. Method according to claim 6, wherein the first content type is sound and the second content type is video.

8. Method according to any previous claim, wherein meta data is stored (44) before processing.

9. Electronic device (10) provided for communication with a media content source providing downloadable media content, and provided for handling media content related data, said device (10) comprising : at least one transceiver unit (30), arranged to receive or send media content related meta data comprising at least one list (17) of one or more items of media content related meta data provided as a coded list (17) of items, in which list (17) each item is unambiguously identified by a unique code, said transceiver unit (30) being associated with an application unit (32) for handling said media content.

10. Electronic device according to claim 9, further comprising the application unit (32) for processing said list (20).

11. Electronic device according to claim 10, wherein said application unit (32) is arranged to automatically connect to a media content provider (22), in order to download further meta data such as title, artist, genre composer etc, and/or to download, or stream media content samples relating to an item of media content in the list.

12. Electronic device according to claim 10, wherein said application unit (32) is arranged to connect to a media content provider (22) depending on user inputs in order to download further meta data such as title, artist, genre composer etc, and/or to download, or stream media content samples.

13. Electronic device according to any of claims 9 - 12, wherein the application unit (32) comprises a music client.

14. Electronic device according to any of claims 9 - 13, further including a data presentation unit (14) for presenting at least part of said list (17) to a user.

15. Electronic device according to any of claims 9 - 14, wherein the electronic device is a computer.

16. Electronic device according to any of claims 9 - 15, wherein the electronic device (10) is a portable communication device.

17. Electronic device according to claim 16, wherein the electronic device (10) is a cellular phone.

18. A computer program product (70) comprising a computer readable medium, having thereon: computer program code, to make a computer or an electronic device execute, when said program is loaded in the computer or the electronic device: receive media content related meta data in said electronic device, said meta data comprising at least one list (17) of one or more items of media content related meta data provided as a coded list (17) of items, in which list (17) each item is unambiguously identified by a unique code, and processing media content related meta for later enabling locating a media content source (22) from which an item of media content corresponding to said unique code may be obtained.

19. A computer program product according to claim 18 further comprising : computer program code to make a computer or an electronic device execute when said program is loaded in the computer or the electronic device: order a transceiver (30) to transmit media content related meta data from said electronic device.