Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Micorsoft Corpration

Kipley J Olson

Michael John Novak

David M Nadalin

Tedd Dideriksen

Geoffrey Harris

Chris Feller

Kevin P Larkin

Frank G Sanborn

Andrew L Silverman

Dennis A Kiilerich

Phillip Feng Lu

Sohail Baig Mohammed

Adil Ahmed Sherwani

Madhuvan Gupta

Andrew R Cohen

Daniel F Plastina

Alexandre Vicktorovich Grigorovitch

Kirt A Debique

Patrick Nelson

William David Sproule

Krishnamurthy Ganesan

Sumedh N Barde

Myron C Thomas

Jeffrey Richard McKune

Shafiq Rahman

Vlad Sadovsky

Kjersten Hayter

Michael M Tse

Methods and systems for creating and rendering skins are described. In one described embodiment skins can be defined as sets of script files, art files, media files, and text files. These files can be used to create new and different skin appearances, layouts and functionalities. The files are organized for use using a hierarchical tag-based data structure, an example of which is an XML data structure. The data structure is processed to provide an object model. The object model can be a scriptable object model that enables script to execute to provide an interactive, dynamic skin that can respond to internal and external events. In one embodiment, a computer architecture used for rendering the skin includes a layout manager that processes an intermediate representation of the XML data structure to provide the scriptable object model. Various components of the scriptable object model can include a script engine for receiving and executing script, and one or more rendering elements. Each rendering element represents a different skin element and can be individually configured to respond to script via the script engine. The inventive systems and techniques can provide a robust, dynamic skin that can be rendered and re-rendered at runtime. In other embodiments, properties associated with a skin's elements can be synchronized with other skin element properties or state that is associated with a software application. Synchronization can take place through the use of keywords that can be used in connection with the XML data structure. Synchronizations can be one- or two-way synchronizations.

Methods and systems for creating and using skins

A method for managing a group of owned and for-purchase media items in response to a single user action. The method treats the owned media items and the for-purchase media items similarly with respect to the user's interaction with them, facilitating a user paradigm-shift from thinking about two stores of media items to a single store of media items available for use. A media item grouping generic to both types of media items is provided, permitting sharing of media item collections between users having different access rights with respect to the media items.

Like processing of owned and for-purchase media

A request is received to play an audio file. A determination is made regarding whether volume normalization parameters associated with the audio file are stored in a media library. If the volume normalization parameters associated with the audio file are stored in the media library, the volume normalization parameters are retrieved from the media library. If the volume normalization parameters associated with the audio file are not stored in the media library, retrieving the volume normalization parameters from the audio file. The volume normalization parameters are applied while playing the audio file. The volume normalization process can be applied across multiple audio files during playback.

Method and apparatus for audio normalization

A media player for use with any file format is provided. The system receives a file and provides it to a plug-in to generate a corresponding file having a native file format if the file is not already in a native file format. The system stores both the original file and the converted file, or the original file if no converted file is generated. When synchronizing media content to a media device, the system provides the file having a file format corresponding to a file format preferred by the media device.

Media file conversion using plug-ins

A system for providing a firmware upgrade to a portable media device by comparing a version number of the firmware on the portable media device to the version number of an available firmware upgrade. The available firmware upgrade is provided by the manufacturer of the portable media device or some other trusted source and compiled in a firmware database. The firmware database is accessed when the portable media device is connected to the personal computing device. Additionally, a digital signature may be associated with a certified version of the media device firmware and used by a multimedia management application to verify the functionality of the portable media device.

Providing firmware updates to portable media devices

Described herein are one or more implementations for transferring formatted digital media content ('formatted-media-content') from a source device (e.g., a desktop computer) to a target media-playback device (e.g., a MP3 player). The formatted-media-content may need to be converted from a source format to a target format before it is transferred. An implementation seeks permission from a source-format-agent associated with the source format of the formatted-media-content, to perform a format-conversion ('transcoding').

Sanctioned transcoding of digital-media content

A system and methods are described for transcoding media content in the background on a source computer device prior to such time as a target media playback device is connected to the source computer for synchronization of the media content. The system and methods anticipate which media content to background-transcode based on user input rules and media status data that are maintained in a transcode database. Pre-transcoding media content provides advantages that include a significant reduction in the time needed to synchronize media content between a source computer and a target media playback device, and an efficient use of CPU power for transcoding media content at times when the CPU might otherwise stand idle.

Background transcoding

Automatic rules-based synchronization of digital files on a source device and a target device coupled to it. A source computer executes a synchronization engine for managing transfer of files from a source database to a target device coupled to the computer as a function of a defined storage capacity of the device. The synchronization engine is configured to receive user-defined rules for selecting which of the files are to be transferred to the device and assigning priorities to the files. The synchronization engine builds a designated list of the files to be transferred according to the priorities defined by the rules.

Automatic rules-based device synchronization

Methods and systems provide a tool for assisting media players in rendering visualizations and synchronizing those visualizations with audio samples. In one embodiment, visualizations are synchronized with an audio stream using a technique that builds and maintains various data structures. Each data structure can maintain data that is associated with a particular pre-processed audio sample. The maintained data can include a timestamp that is associated with a time when the audio sample is to be rendered. The maintained data can also include various characteristic data that is associated with the audio stream. When a particular audio sample is being rendered, its timestamp is used to locate a data structure having characteristic data. The characteristic data is then used in a visualization rendering process to render a visualization.

Methods and systems for synchronizing visualizations with audio streams

Methods and systems are described that assist media players in rendering visualizations and synchronizing those visualizations with audio samples. In one embodiment, visualizations are synchronized with an audio stream using a technique that builds and maintains various data structures. Each data structure can maintain data that is associated with a particular pre-processed audio sample. The maintained data can include a timestamp that is associated with a time when the audio sample is to be rendered. The maintained data can also include various characteristic data that is associated with the audio stream. When a particular audio sample is being rendered, its timestamp is used to locate a data structure having characteristic data. The characteristic data is then used in a visualization rendering process to render a visualization.

A request is received to play a first audio file and a second audio file. A system identifies a first effective start position and a fade-out position associated with the first audio file. The system also identifies a second effective start position associated with the second audio file. The first audio file is played from the first effective start position. When the fade-out position associated with the first audio file is reached, playback of the first audio file is faded-out while the second audio file is played from the second effective start position.

Method and apparatus for playback of audio files

Methods and systems assist media players in rendering visualizations and synchronizing the visualizations with audio samples. In one example, a system includes one or more audio sources configured to provide audio samples that are to be rendered by a media player. An audio sample pre-processor is communicatively linked with the one or more audio sources and is configured to receive and to pre-process audio samples before the samples are rendered. The pre-processing provides characterizing data associated with each sample and derived from the audio samples. One or more effects are configured to receive the characterizing data and use the characterizing data to render the visualization that is synchronized with an audio sample that is being rendered by the media player.

A system and method for transferring album art from a client computer to a portable media device (PMD). A graphical user-interface allows a user to select a track for transfer to the PMD. A media player application (MPA) verifies that the PMD is capable and authorized to receive album art. The MPA queries the PMD for an album object storing album art for the selected track. If an album object corresponding to the selected track exists, a reference to the selected track is added to the existing album object. If an album object corresponding to the selected track does not exist, the MPA transfers a new album object referencing the selected track and storing album art for the selected track to the PMD. The MPA further connects to a web site authorized to sell an audio CD associated with a track when a buy flag is detected on the PMD.

Album art on devices with rules management

A method of crossfading a plurality of audio files comprising opening a first process, opening a second process hosting an audio renderer in which a first audio file of the plurality of audio files is cross faded with a second audio file of the plurality of audio files.

Crossfade of media playback between different media processes

Methods and systems for creating and rendering skins are described. In one described embodiment, a method of providing a skin model for use in rendering a skin comprises receiving a skin definition file that contains information associated with a skin, and one or more other files that are associated with the skin; providing at least some of the one or more other files directly into computer memory, without the files entering a computer file system; and processing the skin definition file to provide a hierarchical data structure that describes the skin.

Growing community of inventors

Mercer Island, WA, United States of America

Kipley J Olson