Apple Inc.

Nicholas James Paulson

Thomas M Alsina

Lucas Christopher Newman

Augustin Prats

Joakim Linde

Arvind S Shenoy

Szu-Wen Huang

Jason P Ketterman

Andy Belk

Taylor Gerard Carrigan

Gregory R Chapman

Edward T Schmidt

Pierre De Lastic

David P Saracino

Charles Magahern

Steven P Bischoff

David Chance Graham

Bob Bradley

Johannes P Schmidt

Julien Lerouge

David T Wilson

James C Grandy

Kenley Sun

Sagar A Joshi

Haishan Ye

Jeffrey L Robbin

William Martin Bachman

Elbert D Chen

Steve Saro Gedikian

Eric S Lee

Andrew T Belk

Ketankumar B Patel

Nathan De Vries

James David Batson

Elena Leyfman

Cody D Jorgensen

Andrew J Sinesio

Simon Goldrei

Cesar De Camargo Barscevicius

Aurie Bendahan

Marc E Weinberger

Harry Simmonds

Keith G Henrickson

Owen Imholte

Thomas Matthieu Alsina

Techniques for automatically configuring and controlling a digital media device are described. A digital media device can be configured or controlled by a mobile device, e.g., a smart mobile phone. When the digital media device is being configured, the digital media device can broadcast a signal, indicating that the digital media device is requesting configuration information from a mobile device. A mobile device located in proximity of the digital media device, upon detecting the signal, can perform various security checks to determine that the request is legitimate, and then open a communication channel with the digital media device. The mobile device can provide user preferences of the mobile device, as well as credentials for accessing and downloading remote content, to the digital media device through the communication channel. Upon receiving the configuration information, the digital media device can use parameters in the configuration information as its settings.

Controlling a media device using a mobile device

The content items presented to a user account as part of a media station can be recorded in a content history index, which can be requested and presented to the user account. The content history can enable a user to revisit the content items included in the content history and/or provide feedback regarding the content items. The version of the content item returned to the user can be based on the client device used to request the content item. For example, a user that was presented a content item on their mobile device, can later request to revisit the content item on their PC and receive a version of the content item best suited for presentation by the PC, rather than the version presented on the mobile device.

Revisiting content history

Methods and systems provide synchronized sharing of multimedia between multiple devices. The multiple devices may form an ad-hoc network for sharing of multimedia. In an embodiment, group members may have playlist manipulation privileges such as pausing, rewinding, fast forwarding, or adding tracks to the playlist. A system may stream or distribute content according to the shared playlist. Playback may be synchronized for group members so that everyone is exposed to a same part of the content as the same time.

Synchronized playback and control of media

Techniques are disclosed for managing media playback among an ad hoc group of playback devices. Such techniques may involve building a session among the playback devices in which playback devices communicate information regarding their playback capabilities. Based on the playback capabilities of the devices, playback mode may be derived for the session. Playback operations may be synchronized among the devices that are members of the session, in which devices receive identification of asset(s) to be rendered pursuant to the playback operation and timing information of playback of the asset. The devices may stream the playback assets directly from media sources when they are capable of doing so. In this manner, communication resources are conserved.

Encapsulating and synchronizing state interactions between devices

In some implementations, a computing system can reduce startup delays for presenting remote media items. For example, when a user requests media content from a media service, the computing system can include information about the first media item to be played in the initial startup messages to reduce the number of roundtrips needed between client and server devices to present the first media item. A media item can include an introductory asset. The introductory asset can be a portion of the full media item that can be decrypted with a local key or not encrypted at all so that a media client can receive and start presenting the introductory media asset quickly while the full media item is being processed by the media client. In some implementations, the system can remove leading silence from the media item so that the amount of delay perceived by the user is reduced.

Reducing startup delays for presenting remote media items

Methods and systems provide for coordinated control between multiple devices of playback of a media track or playlist. The multiple devices may form an ad-hoc network for sharing control of media. A control device may coordinate control of the playlist and facilitate playback of the media at a playback device. Then when the control device leaves the group, a second device in the group will seamlessly become the control device and control playback and playlist coordination. The playback device may also be the control device. The playback advice may be a network-enabled speaker. Where the playback device is separate from the control device, the playback device may maintain sufficient information to operate without a control device until a new control device is selected.

Coordinated control of media playback

In some implementations, a computing device can transfer a playback queue between the computing device and a playback device. For example, the computing device can detect when the computing device is within a threshold distance of a playback device. The computing device can establish a connection to the playback device and receive state information describing the media playback state of the playback device. The computing device can determine the media playback state of the computing device. The computing device can present graphical user interfaces for initiating a transfer of a playback queue between the computing device and the playback device based on the playback state of the devices. The computing device can initiate a transfer of the playback queue in response to user input to one of the graphical user interfaces or automatically based on the context of the computing device.

Transferring playback queues between devices

In some implementations, a computing system can be configured so that a first user device can delegate a first user's media account credentials to second user device corresponding to a second user. For example, a playback device may be configured with the second user's media account credentials for accessing media items through a network media service. A first user may wish to play media items associated with the first user's media account credentials on the playback device. To do so, the first user device can request a device identifier for the playback device, request and obtain a delegate token for the device identifier from the media service, and provide the delegate token along with media item information to the playback device. The playback device can then use the delegate token to request the media item associated with the first user's media access account.

Credential delegation

Growing community of inventors

San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Nicholas James Paulson