Patent Application
20140207901
The present invention relates to media rendering systems which can be used, for example, in a vehicle or other locations.
Some portable devices like tablet computers such as the iPad (Registered Trademark) or iPhone (Registered Trademark) do not allow third party applications running on these mobile devices to access the content on such devices.
Exemplarily, Apple devices such as the iPad or the iPhone require that such a content has to be transferred from the mobile device to the personal computer using the corresponding program iTunes. Subsequently, one must again use iTunes to retransfer the content out of iTunes to the third party application running on the portable device. Typically, this application program is running in a so-called sandbox environment on the mobile device, which means that the application program running within the sandbox environment cannot access the media item storage of the mobile device, and therefore one has to transfer the content out of iTunes into the sandbox environment, in which the application program is running. A sandbox, as known in the art of computing, is a virtual container, in which non-certified programs or untrusted programs can be safely run. Furthermore, within the context of software development, a sandbox is an online environment in which code or content changes can be tested without affecting the original system.
It becomes clear that this is a complicated procedure, which requires a time-consuming action by the user and also has the disadvantage of having the content twice on the same device subsequent to the back and forth procedure described before.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved concept for media rendering.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, this object is achieved by a media rendering system comprising: a head device and a plurality of client devices connected to the head device, wherein the head device is remotely located from the client devices and is an external device with respect to the client devices, wherein at least one client device comprises a stored media item not accessible by an application program running on the at least client device, wherein the client device is configured to allow an access to the stored media item from an external device, wherein the head device is configured to instruct the at least one client device to access to the stored media item in the at least one client device, wherein the at least one client device is configured to retrieve the stored media item and to transmit the retrieved stored media item to the head device, wherein the head device is configured to receive the media item transmitted from the at least one client device and to transmit the received media item to the plurality of client devices, and wherein the plurality of client devices are configured for rendering the media item transmitted from the head device.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, this object is achieved by a method of rendering media content within a media rendering system comprising a head device and the plurality of client devices connected to the head device, wherein the head device is remotely located from the client device and is an external device with respect to the client devices, wherein at least one client device comprises a stored media item not accessible by an application program running on the client device, comprising: allowing, by the client device, an access to the stored media item from an external device; instructing, by the head device, the at least one client device to access the stored media item in the at least one client device; retrieving, by the at least one client device, the stored media item and transmitting the retrieved stored media item to the head device; receiving, by the head device, the media item transmitted from the at least one client device and transmitting the received media item to the plurality of client devices; and rendering, by the plurality of client devices, the media item transmitted from the head device.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, this object is achieved by a non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon a computer program for performing, when running on a computer or a processor, the method described before.
The present invention provides a way for third party applications running on such devices having sandbox environments to access the content without the disadvantages above. In particular, it is achieved to render the content by a client device due to the fact that media item storages in mobile devices having sandbox environments for third party programs nevertheless are accessible via external terminals or external connectors such as an infotainment system in a car or a docking station. This external connection is utilized by the inventive media rendering system in order to retrieve a media item from a client device via an external head device and to transmit this retrieved media item to the head device. Then, the head device transmits this media item to other client devices and additionally retransmits this media item to the client device, from which the media item originates, but into the sandbox environment of the application program. Then, all client devices can render the media item, and this rendering is preferably performed in a synchronous way as preferred by an infotainment system within a vehicle or at any other location such as at home, etc.
Subsequently, preferred embodiments of the present invention are discussed in the context of the accompanying drawings, in which:
As can be seen from
As illustrated in
The other client device 152 may have the same structure as the at least one client device 150, but can also be structured differently. Typically, the other client device may comprise a processor 157 and a renderer 158 and interface circuits between the connector 162 at the processor 157.
Each of the client devices is preferably battery-operated and preferably a mobile device such as a mobile media player, a tablet computer, a mobile phone, a notebook (laptop) computer, etc. Additionally, the client device can be from the same manufacturer such as Apple or from different manufacturers such as Apple on the one hand and Samsung on the other hand. In view of this, it becomes clear that the present invention allows having a media rendering system consisting of mobile devices of different kinds and manufacturers, such as comprising of tablet computers such as the iPad on the one hand and the Samsung Galaxy on the other hand and consisting of mobile phones such as the iPhone or mobile phones from other manufactures, etc.
Preferably, the head device is not only connected to the client devices via the wired connection but also via a wireless connection such as any known wireless connection as WiFi, a wireless LAN connection, a Bluetooth connection or any other wireless connection protocol.
To this end, the head device not only has the wired interface 102, but also a wireless interface cooperating with a processor 103 of the head device. The head device can have additional components such as a renderer, provided that the head device is also configured for rendering the media item retrieved from the media item storage 151 of the client device 150. As can be seen from
Hence, the present invention makes use of the fact that mobile devices such as iPhone or iPad allow the user to access its content from an external device, like an infotainment system in a vehicle or like a docking station. In the present invention, this external device is the head device 100 as will be described with respect to
As illustrated at 200, the head device is configured to instruct the at least one client device 150 to access to the stored media item 153 in the at least one client device 150. Hence, the head device 100 has received, for example, by a preceding operation, the media content summary of the media item storage 151 of the client device 150 and/or 152 and the user has then selected a certain media item in the media item storage 151 of the at least one client device for rendering/reproduction. When the media item is an audio track, then the rendering is an audio rendering, and when the media item is a video track, then the rendering is a video rendering, and when the media item is only a picture, then the rendering is a picture rendering. Depending on the implementation, the renderers 156, 158 of the client devices and an optional renderer of the head device are in the position to render any such items. Naturally, the present invention is not limited to only two client devices, but the head device can control an arbitrarily selected number of client devices constructed like client device 150.
As illustrated at 210, the at least one client device is configured to retrieve the stored media item 153 from the media item storage 151 preferably via the processor 155 of
As outlined at 212, the head device receives the media item 153 from the at least one client device and transmits this media item back to all client devices 150, 152 of the plurality of client devices.
Then, each of the plurality of client devices renders the media item received from the head device, where this rendering is preferably performed in a synchronized way, i.e. that all client devices located within the car render a media content such as a movie in a synchronized way, i.e. concurrently, so that the viewers of different client devices are not disturbed by other client devices' sound. However, when the users wear headphones, then the disturbance is not so significant and therefore an unsynchronized way of distribution is also sufficient.
As outlined before, the at least one client device 150 in
Furthermore, the head device is connected to the plurality of client devices in a preferred embodiment by a wired connection, wherein the wire of the wired connection is fixed to the connector at a case of the at least one client device.
In a further implementation, the plurality of client devices are battery-operated, and the wired connection is configured to transmit data from and to the head device and to charge the plurality of client devices.
In an embodiment, the wired connection is a USB (USB=Universal Serial Bus) connection. In a preferred embodiment, an additional wireless connection using a wireless communication protocol is provided between the head device and the plurality of client devices, where the head device and the at least one client device are configured to use the wired connection for getting the stored media item from the at least one client device to the head device and to use the wireless connection in getting the media item from the head device to the plurality of client devices.
One protocol for the transmission over the wireless connection is the WiFi protocol for synchronized rendering by the plurality of client devices.
Furthermore, the at least one client device comprises an application specific interface provided by the manufacturer of the client device or comprises open source libraries in order to access the stored media item in response to an instruction received via an interface to an external device from the head device.
Furthermore, in one embodiment the head device is configured to encrypt the received media item and to transmit the received media item to the plurality of client devices in an encrypted form. Furthermore, the head device is then configured to transmit the encrypted media item to the plurality of client devices, wherein each of the client devices is configured to decrypt the encrypted media item and to render the decrypted media item.
Subsequently, a further embodiment of the present invention is discussed. In a car, one or more devices like an iPad, iPhone (for example, illustrated at B and C in
Although some aspects have been described in the context of an apparatus, it is clear that these aspects also represent a description of the corresponding method, where a block or device corresponds to a method step or a feature of a method step. Analogously, aspects described in the context of a method step also represent a description of a corresponding block or item or feature of a corresponding apparatus.
Depending on certain implementation requirements, embodiments of the invention can be implemented in hardware or in software. The implementation can be performed using a digital storage medium, for example a floppy disk, a BD, DVD, a CD, a ROM, a PROM, an EPROM, an EEPROM or a FLASH memory, having electronically readable control signals stored thereon, which cooperate (or are capable of cooperating) with a programmable computer system such that the respective method is performed.
Some embodiments according to the invention comprise a non-transitory data carrier having electronically readable control signals, which are capable of cooperating with a programmable computer system, such that one of the methods described herein is performed.
Generally, embodiments of the present invention can be implemented as a computer program product with a program code, the program code being operative for performing one of the methods when the computer program product runs on a computer. The program code may for example be stored on a machine readable carrier.
Other embodiments comprise the computer program for performing one of the methods described herein, stored on a machine readable carrier.
In other words, an embodiment of the inventive method is, therefore, a computer program having a program code for performing one of the methods described herein, when the computer program runs on a computer.
A further embodiment of the inventive methods is, therefore, a data carrier (or a digital storage medium, or a computer-readable medium) comprising, recorded thereon, the computer program for performing one of the methods described herein.
A further embodiment of the inventive method is, therefore, a data stream or a sequence of signals representing the computer program for performing one of the methods described herein. The data stream or the sequence of signals may for example be configured to be transferred via a data communication connection, for example via the Internet.
A further embodiment comprises a processing means, for example a computer, or a programmable logic device, configured to or adapted to perform one of the methods described herein.
A further embodiment comprises a computer having installed thereon the computer program for performing one of the methods described herein.
In some embodiments, a programmable logic device (for example a field programmable gate array) may be used to perform some or all of the functionalities of the methods described herein. In some embodiments, a field programmable gate array may cooperate with a microprocessor in order to perform one of the methods described herein. Generally, the methods are preferably performed by any hardware apparatus.
The above described embodiments are merely illustrative for the principles of the present invention. It is understood that modifications and variations of the arrangements and the details described herein will be apparent to others skilled in the art. It is the intent, therefore, to be limited only by the scope of the impending patent claims and not by the specific details presented by way of description and explanation of the embodiments herein.
