Patent Application
20070088747
This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 94136519, filed on Oct. 19, 2005. All disclosure of the Taiwan application is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for automatically searching multimedia files and the downloading system thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for downloading multimedia files by using a middle server to automatically compare the information tag and the system thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
The conventional method for downloading multimedia files from the network is generally through connection between the computer and the network, the user has to manually search and download the required multimedia information. Various electronic devices are usually operated during the process of obtaining the required multimedia information, which may cause inconvenience to those unfamiliar with either the electronic device interface or the network usage interface. For example, the operations of searching and downloading may be difficult to children or elders.
In the conventional technology, an electronic device does not provide the functions of automatically searching and downloading multimedia files through the network according to the user's requirement besides the operation functions. Generally, the searching, downloading and updating of the multimedia data in the electronic device have to be done manually. Moreover, the electronic device cannot automatically provide the user with up-to-date multimedia information for the user to select the required multimedia file directly.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to provide a method for automatically searching multimedia file, which can search and download related multimedia information directly from the network by comparing the contents of the information tags provided by the electronic device and the network, so as to increase the user's convenience on searching and downloading multimedia file.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a system for automatically downloading multimedia file is provided, which compares the content of the information tag provided by the electronic device using a middle server, so that the electronic device can search and download related multimedia information from the network directly, and the user's convenience on searching and downloading multimedia file is increased.
To achieve the aforementioned and other objectives, the present invention provides a method for automatically searching multimedia file, which includes the following steps of providing an electronic device storing multimedia files and having capability of connecting to a data source; playing the multimedia file according to the user's selection; wherein when playing the multimedia file, the electronic device automatically connects to the data source according to the content of the information tag in the multimedia file to search for multimedia files having the same content as the content of the information tag, and wherein the data source can be a storage medium, e.g. website, flash drive, or storage media for storing multimedia files; and displaying the found multimedia files on the electronic device for the user to select, and automatically downloading the selected multimedia file from the data source into the electronic device.
In an embodiment, the step of searching for multimedia files having the same content as the content of the information tag described above includes the following steps of providing a middle server; transferring the information tag to the middle server, wherein the middle server searches for multimedia files having the same content as the content of the information tag on the network; and sending the list of the found multimedia files to the electronic device. After the foregoing steps, the electronic device displays the list of the found multimedia files for the user for selection, and the electronic device downloads the selected file from the data source into the electronic device.
In an embodiment, the aforementioned information tag is an identification information of a multimedia file, the content thereof includes at least one of the followings: a name of the multimedia file, a player, playing duration and an IP address. Moreover, if the multimedia file is a MP3 music file, the information tag thereof is an ID3 tag. If the multimedia file is a video file, the information tag thereof is a video tag.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a system for automatically downloading multimedia files is provided, which includes an electronic device, a multimedia server and a middle server. The electronic device is used for playing the multimedia file, and has the capability of connecting to the network. The multimedia server is used for providing downloadable multimedia files. The middle server is connected to the electronic device and at least one multimedia server. Wherein, when playing the multimedia file, the electronic device automatically transfers the content of the information tag in the multimedia file to the middle server. The middle server searches in the multimedia server for files having the same content as the content of the information tag and transfers the list of the found files back to the electronic device. When one file is selected from the list of the found files, the electronic device notifies the middle server to download the corresponding multimedia content from the multimedia server.
In an embodiment, the aforementioned information tag is the identification information of a multimedia information, the content thereof includes at least one of followings: a name of the multimedia file, a player, a playing duration, and at least one of the IP addresses. Moreover, if the multimedia file is a MP3 music file, the information tag thereof is an ID3 tag. If the multimedia file is a video file, the information tag thereof is a video tag.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, since the information tag is used as the identification of a multimedia file, and the contents of the information tag provided by the electronic device and the network are compared by the middle server to directly search and download related multimedia information and files from the network into the electronic device without going through the steps of downloading and transferring files through personal computers. Thus, the present invention provides a greater convenience in searching and downloading multimedia files into the electronic device is increased.
In order to make the aforementioned and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention comprehensible, a preferred embodiment accompanied with figures is described in detail below.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
Referring to
The multimedia servers 130, 140, 150, and 160 refer to websites or servers storing multimedia files and multimedia file data source, the names or number of the data sources connected to the electronic device 110 or the middle server 120 is not limited. In the present embodiment, the foregoing information tag is the identification information of multimedia information, which includes the name of the multimedia file, the player, the playing duration, or the IP addresses. Moreover, if the multimedia file is a MP3 music file, the information tag thereof is an ID3 tag. If the multimedia file is a video file, the information tag thereof is a video tag.
In the present embodiment, besides the functions of automatically comparing and downloading multimedia file, the aforementioned middle server 120 also has the functions of setting up a content provider and providing a plurality of connections to the data source 190 (including website, multimedia servers 130, 140, 150, and 160 etc.). Pre-sold points are provided as the method of payment for the file download service, for example, pre-sold points payment method provided for on-line games. When the user uses the electronic device to download multimedia files through the middle server 120, the middle server 120 identifies the user through, e.g. password identification, and charges the user by deducting points directly. The user can browse the required multimedia information directly or set up a particular network address to browse the particular multimedia information on the electronic device 110 and downloads the required multimedia file directly without going through any additional payment procedure. Thus, the present invention provides greater convenience to both the users and the service providers, and effectively reduces the transaction cost.
Next, at step 225, the electronic device 110 is connected to the data source 190 through the middle server 120. The data source 190 may be storage media including multimedia servers 130, 140, 150, and 160, flash drive, website, etc., and the data source 190 stores multimedia files having information tags. The information tags may be used for determining the related information of the multimedia files. Next, at step 235, the multimedia files in the electronic device 110 or in the data source 190 are provided for the user to browse, and the multimedia file required by the user is played. After that, at step 245, when playing the multimedia file, the electronic device 110 transfers the content of the information tag in the multimedia file to the middle server 120. The middle server 120 searches on the network for multimedia files having the same content as the content of the information tag of the multimedia file and the middle server 120 transfers the list of the found multimedia files back to the electronic device 110. When the electronic device 110 receives the list of multimedia files transferred back by the middle server 120, the flow proceeds to step 255. At step 255, the electronic device 110 displays the list of the multimedia files for the user to browse. At step 265, the multimedia file selected by the user is automatically downloaded and stored into the electronic device 210 for the user to use.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, since the information tag is used for automatically identifying and searching for multimedia file, and the contents of the information tags provided by the electronic device and the network are compared by the middle server to automatically download related multimedia information and files from the network without going through the steps of searching for the multimedia file manually, the user's convenience in searching and downloading multimedia files into the electronic device is increased.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 94136519 | Oct 2005 | TW | national |
