The present principles relate to multimedia content. In particular, the present principles relate to beacon signals that relay information about content on a second screen while in the vicinity of a first screen, the relayed information dependent on content on the first screen.
Movie theatres have been providing movie entertainment to the general public for many years. Audience members, however, now have other choices of venues for viewing entertainment, such as a home environment. When people do travel to the theaters, they are essentially in a “captive” environment for the duration of the feature movie. Thus, it can be an opportune time to disseminate information relating to multimedia content and the like.
A transmitter or beacon is employed in the vicinity of a screen that is capable of displaying content. The beacon unilaterally transmits information related to content on a second screen. The information is also based on content that is or will be displayed on the first screen. Reception of the transmitted signal can be accomplished via mobile devices such as smartphones, laptops, etc. The transmitted information includes data that can trigger one or more applications residing on the mobile device. This permits the application(s) to accept the data as an input and generate information associated with the display of multimedia content on a second screen. The generation of the second screen information is based upon the received data and the location of the second screen.
In one example, movie goers today have the option of watching movies at public movie theatres or at home using VOD services. However, keeping track of the movies showing in VOD and the theatre can be burdensome. Users need to browse the movie titles in VOD and lookup the titles showing at the theatre. As noted above, some movies are made available in VOD while still showing in theatres, but this information is not readily available. Furthermore, users may like to be informed about products or discounts related to movies they watch at the theatre. When they attend a movie at the movie theater, their mobile devices can receive a signal that triggers a VOD application on their phone. Information regarding multimedia content being shown on another theater screen or even multimedia content being shown in another venue can be generated based upon the received input data.
The aspects, features and advantages of the present principles will be appreciated when considered with reference to the following description of examples and accompanying figures. The following description does not limit the present principles; rather, the scope of the present principles is defined by the appended claims and equivalents.
Mobile device 100 can also contain at least one processor that can be arranged as different processing cores. For ease of illustration, one processor 104 is shown in
Memory 106 can be any type of memory capable of storing information accessible by processor 104 including, but not limited to, a memory card, read only memory (“ROM”), random access memory (“RAM”), as well as other write-capable and read-only memories. Mobile device 100 can include different combinations of the foregoing, whereby different portions of the instructions and data are stored on different types of media.
In another example, memory 106 can be a non-transitory computer readable medium that can include any computer readable media with the exception of a transitory, propagating signal. Examples of non-transitory computer readable media can include one of many physical media such as, for example, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, or semiconductor media. More specific examples of suitable non-transitory computer-readable media include, but are not limited to, a portable universal serial bus (“USB”) drives, an erasable programmable read-only memory, or other storage devices that can be coupled to mobile device 100 directly or indirectly. The non-transitory computer readable media can also include any combination of one or more of the foregoing and/or other devices as well. While only one memory is shown in
Transceiver 102 can include hardware components (e.g., chipsets, controllers, antennas, etc.) and/or software that allow mobile device 100 to transmit and/or receive data. Transceiver 102 can support one or more network interfaces including, but not limited to, Wi-Fi™, worldwide interoperability for microwave access (“WiMAX™”), 3rd generation mobile telecommunications (“3G”), 4th generation mobile telecommunications (“4G”), code division multiple access (“CDMA”), time division multiple access (“TDMA”), global system for mobile communications (“GSM”), Ethernet, special protocols proprietary to one or more companies, and various combinations of the foregoing, for example. Transceiver 102 can also support short range wireless protocols, such as Bluetooth® and/or Bluetooth® Smart and similar.
Application 108 can include software instructions for executing functions on the mobile device 100 and external to the mobile device 100. Examples are described further below. However, it is understood that application 108 can be implemented in the form of hardware and software combined and that the examples herein are merely illustrative. In the software implementation, application 108 can be encoded in any set of software instructions that are executable directly (such as machine code) or indirectly (such as scripts) by processor 104. The computer executable instructions can be stored in any computer language or format, such as in object code or modules of source code.
Transmitter 109 can be an apparatus with circuitry for transmitting a unilateral signal. The architecture of processor 110 and transceiver 112 can be similar to that of processor 104 and transceiver 102 respectively. Transmitter 109 can also be equipped with an antenna 116 to broadcast electromagnetic waves with a specific length and frequency such as, for example, 2.4 GHz radio waves. In one example, the shape and positioning of antenna 116 can be arranged to propagate a transmitted signal with more strength in a certain direction. The broadcasting power of transmitter 109 can be increased accordingly based on a desired range of the transmitter signal. Transmitter 109 can also support different wireless protocols including, but not limited to, Wi-Fi™, WiMAX™, Bluetooth® and/or Bluetooth® Smart.
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The transmitted signal triggers an application 108 residing on the mobile device 100 based on at least one parameter of the detected signal. The parameter can be, for example, coded bits in a header portion of a message encoded in the signal and the like. This triggers or awakens the application 108 to perform and/or provide functions associated with the second multimedia content being displayed or about to be displayed on the second screen. The application 108 can transform the signal into information associated with the displaying or about to be displaying of the second multimedia content on the second screen 206. The transformed information is based on the received signal sent by the transmitter 109 and a location of the second screen. For example, if the second screen is located in the same movie theater complex as the first screen, the application 108, using the information that the second screen is displaying or about to display the original Star Wars movie, search and find information about movie start times for the second screen. The application 108 might then notify a user that they can watch the original Star Wars movie on the second screen after watching the latest Star Wars movie on the first screen. One skilled in the art can appreciate that the location of the second screen can also be a user's home television and the like. Thus, the application 109 can include, but is not limited to, a video on demand service and the like. The application 109 can determine that all of the earlier Star War movies are available for watching from home and notify the user of times and dates when they are available. The application 109 can also store the information in user available listings and the like as described in the next example.
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Advantageously, the above-described devices and methods allow movie information from theatres to be combined with information from VOD services and the like. Furthermore, these techniques allow users to gain access to additional information related to movies being shown at the movie theatre. In this regard, a signal transmitted at theatres can cause a mobile device to activate enhanced features of an application on the mobile device to better inform the user of the mobile device. In turn, movie goers can be provided with a better user experience.
Although the present principles herein have been described with reference to particular examples in particular environments, it is to be understood that these examples are merely illustrative of the present principles. It is therefore to be understood that numerous modifications can be made to the examples and that other arrangements can be devised without departing from the scope of the present principles as defined by the appended claims. As noted above, the systems herein can be modified to operate in various settings, such as airplanes, cars, hospitals, nursing homes, or any other setting that may offer multimedia content services. Furthermore, while particular processes are shown in a specific order in the appended drawings, such processes are not limited to any particular order unless such order is expressly set forth herein. Rather, various steps may be handled in a different order or simultaneously, and steps may be omitted or added.