Patent Application
20080086687
These and/or other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of certain embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:
The following description is of the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the invention. Reference will be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. It is understood that other embodiments may be used and structural and operational changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
According to one embodiment of the invention, an improved GUI for use with an audio player having a touchscreen or other display is provided. The content that is available for playing is represented by a plurality of thumbnails of jacket cover art, displayed in a matrix. The matrix includes multiple playlists stacked vertically. Each horizontal row corresponds to one playlist, representing for example music album, genre, artist, user favorites, etc.
Because each audio stream (i.e., each song title) within a playlist is represented by jacket cover art, users can readily see the next or previous song within the playlist, thus providing the user with an aesthetically-pleasing, visual overview of the nature of the playlist as the list is browsed.
According to this embodiment, a highlighted cursor or other selection indicator can be moved across the touchscreen and the thumbnails by the user, thus allowing the user to listen to the music (or other audio content) associated with the thumbnail that is selected. As the cursor scrolls between any two given thumbnails, the song/content associated with the first thumbnail crossfades into the song/content associated with the next thumbnail thereby permitting a smooth listening of each content selection that is being browsed. When the cursor is located between two thumbnails, both song tracks are played with their respective volume levels proportionally adjusted based on the proximity of the cursor to a general alignment with each thumbnail. Also, there is an analogous visual adjustment or “crossfading” of the relative display brightness levels associated with the two thumbnails as the cursor moves between them. Moreover, when the cursor is dragged to the edge of the matrix and held in that position for a predetermined amount of time (e.g., 2 seconds), the matrix goes into an automatic scroll mode to reveal additional content as additional playlists or as additional content associated with currently-displayed playlists.
According to this embodiment, no GUI is displayed initially; the screen is blank, or alternatively only a screen saver is shown. When the user touches the touchscreen, the GUI slowly appears or fades in. After another predetermined amount of time (e.g., 5-10 seconds) during which there has been no interaction by a user, the GUI slowly disappears, or fades out, again leaving a blank screen, or alternatively displaying a screensaver.
Some known media players, such as Microsoft Media Center™ or Apple Front Row™, display content in a thumbnail view. However they do not permit users to listen to music as they browse through playlists. The known media player provided under the name iTunes™ by Apple Computers Inc. allows users to listen to their playlists with audio crossfade between different song tracks, but this functionality is available only during content playback, and not during browsing. Also, certain known television and radio systems allow users to listen/view content as the channels are moved up and down. However these experiences are only limited to TV and radio programming. On the other hand, the inventors are aware of no previously-known system that allows users to browse content visually through thumbnails while listening to the content, or to crossfade audio content as they browse through a content list, or to visually see the playlists so that the next and previous songs can all be seen in thumbnail view.
Embodiments of the invention allow users to both browse and listen to large collections of content at the same time, simply by dragging the highlight cursor, or scrolling the entire thumbnail matrix left/right or up/down using slider controls. This helps users find a specific item of content through both visual and auditory cues.
Real-time crossfading provides a seamless transition from one item of content to another, eliminating abrupt content cut-off or switching. This makes the browsing experience more seamless, continuous and comfortable. This also provides users with a new way of experiencing their content collection, by combining browsing with the listening and viewing experiences. As a result, a simple browsing becomes a kind of content-mixing experience.
Embodiments of the invention allow users to visually see their content collections in an overview fashion. Because of the way the content thumbnails or other icons are displayed in a matrix fashion that includes long, multiple thumbnail lists, users can visually see an overview of their list, including the order of upcoming songs and previous songs. As a result, browsing itself becomes a new way of listening and experiencing content, almost as if the user is mixing his/her own content.
Referring now to
The audio player 102 is for playing a plurality of audio streams of data, such as for example, music, audio books, lectures, etc. The audio player 102 is essentially a special-purpose computer that executes a media player program for playing the media streams. The base unit 104 encloses circuitry for use in playing the audio streams. The display 106 is for presenting a graphical user interface (GUI) configured for operating the player 102. The display 106 is a touchscreen display that is responsive to a user input device, such as for example a digital pen, a pointer device or a user's finger (not shown).
The portable storage device 108 contains data for use in generating the plurality of audio streams, such as for example MP3 data files. The storage device 108 is external to the audio player 102 and includes one or more hard disk drives, flash memories or other memory or data storage devices. The portable storage device 108 automatically and wirelessly communicates with the audio player 102 when the storage device 108 is placed upon the horizontal surface 110 of the touchscreen display 106. Power for the storage device 108 is obtained from a replaceable battery or from a rechargeable battery that can obtain its power from the touchscreen 106 or the base unit 104 via inductive coupling. The storage device 108 includes a housing 112 that is in the shape of a stone with smooth surfaces thus providing an aesthetically-pleasing appearance. However other embodiments include housings having other shapes or geometries.
The CPU 202, the ROM 204, and the RAM 208 are interconnected via a bus 210. The bus 210 further connects an input-output device 212 composed of a touchscreen interface, an output device composed of a set of speakers 214 for example, and the storage unit 206 based on a hard disk drive for example.
The ROM 204, RAM 208 and/or the storage unit 206 stores operating software used to enable operation of the audio player 102. The storage unit 206 transfers information with the CPU 202 to store and delete information. A buffer 216 receives and buffers sequential portions of streaming content when received via a network, such as the Internet (not shown) or via other streaming sources. The content is sent to a decoder 218 which decodes, and if necessary decrypts, the content prior to sending it to the one or more speakers 214.
The bus 210 is also connected with a drive 220 as required on which a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory for example is loaded for content data, computer programs or other data read from any of these recording media being installed into the storage unit 206 or for playing via the speakers 214. Wireless transceiver (Rx/Tx) circuitry 222 is also connected to the bus 210 and is used to communicate with a portable storage device, such as the portable storage device 108 of
Although not shown, the portable storage device is also configured as a special purpose computer which has basically a similar configuration as that of the audio player 102 shown in
While
Similarly, if the selection indicator 308 is generally aligned with a second selected thumbnail 310 as shown in
As the selection indicator 308 is moved by the user from the first selected thumbnail 306 to the second selected thumbnail 310 as shown in
The first audio stream is played at a first decibel level and the second audio stream is played at a second decibel level while the audio streams are simultaneously playing. The first and second decibel levels each vary as the selection indicator 308 is moving, so that each decibel level is in proportion to the proximity of the selection indicator 308 to a position of general alignment with one of the two thumbnails 306, 310. Thus for example, when the selection indicator 308 first starts moving away from the first thumbnail 306, it is still closer to being aligned with that thumbnail as compared with an alignment with the second thumbnail 310. Therefore the first decibel level is greater than the second decibel level.
As the selection indicator 308 approaches the midpoint between the thumbnails, the first decibel level reduces and the second decibel level increases until the selection indicator 308 is equidistant between the thumbnails at which point the first and second decibel levels are equal. Then as the selection indicator 308 continues in a direction toward alignment with the second thumbnail 310, the second decibel level becomes greater than the first decibel level, and continues to increase as the selection indicator 308 moves until it is aligned with the second thumbnail 310 at which point only the second audio stream can be heard. Thus as the selection indicator 308 is moved between thumbnails, there is a smooth, continuous crossfading of one audio stream into another thereby providing an aesthetically pleasing listening experience for the user.
Moreover, there is an analogous visual adjustment or “crossfading” of the brightness levels associated with the two thumbnails as the selection indicator 308 moves from one to the other. As previously mentioned, when the selection indicator 308 is generally aligned with the first thumbnail 306 and only the first audio stream is playing, the first thumbnail 306 is displayed at a greater brightness level than the remaining thumbnails 304 in the matrix 312, including the second thumbnail 310. However, as the selection indicator 308 is moved from the first thumbnail 306 to the second thumbnail 310, the greater brightness associated with the first thumbnail 306 begins to fade and the lower brightness associated with the second thumbnail 310 begins to increase. This trend continues until the selection indicator 308 is generally aligned with the second thumbnail 310 at which point it is now displayed at the greater brightness level and the first thumbnail 306 is displayed at the lower brightness level along with the remaining thumbnails 304 in the matrix 312.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the touchscreen is blank when the audio player is playing an audio stream but when the GUI it is not in use for entering user commands. Alternatively rather than blank, the touchscreen can display a screen saver or other images that move according to a predefined, fixed motion pattern. Alternatively if music is being played, the images move synchronously with the music. However, the thumbnails slowly fade into view in response to placement of the user input device on the touchscreen and holding the input device there for a predetermined time period. After another predetermined time period has elapsed during which no user command is entered using the GUI, all thumbnails slowly fade out of view until the screen is blank (or displays a screensaver).
As previously mentioned, the selection indicator 308 shown in
In another embodiment shown in
If the system has more thumbnails than can be simultaneously displayed on one screen, the matrix 506 can be made to scroll in any direction to reveal additional thumbnails for selection. For example, when the selection indicator 508 is moved to the left edge 512 of the matrix 506 and held in that position for a predetermined time, such as for example 3 seconds, then the entire matrix 506 will scroll horizontally from left to right across the touchscreen. Similarly, holding the selection indicator 508 at the right edge 514 of the matrix 506 will cause the matrix 506 to scroll horizontally from right to left, holding the selection indicator 508 at the top edge 516 will cause the matrix 506 to scroll vertically from the top to the bottom of the screen, and holding the selection indicator 508 at the bottom edge 518 will cause the matrix 506 to scroll from the bottom to the top of the screen.
Also shown in
The audio streams corresponding to the thumbnails 504, 510 shown in
The GUI 502 of
Thus disclosed, according to an embodiment of the invention, is an improved graphical user interface (GUI) for use with an audio player (or other device) having a touchscreen or similar display. The content that is available for playing is represented by a plurality of thumbnails, such as for example jacket cover art, displayed in a matrix. The matrix includes multiple playlists stacked vertically. A highlighted cursor or other selection indicator can be moved across the touchscreen and the thumbnails by a user, thus allowing the user to listen to the music or other content associated with the selected thumbnail. As the selection indicator moves between any two given thumbnails, the song or other content associated with the first thumbnail crossfades into the song/content associated with the next thumbnail thereby permitting a smooth listening experience for each content selection that is being browsed.
While the description above refers to particular embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof. The claims are intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the true scope and spirit of the present invention. The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.
