Network interface to content source

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9491409-B2
Application number	US-60962509-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 30, 2009
Priority date	Oct 30, 2009
Publication date	Nov 8, 2016
Grant date	Nov 8, 2016

Abstract

Disclosed are systems and methods in which a media player is connected via an interface device over a network to a source of content. Some conventional media players such as DVD players and televisions are equipped with hardware to render content disposed on and playable from a removable memory device, in particular a SD card. A memory card may be equipped with networking functionality, in particular, WI-FI networking, to enable connectivity over a local area wireless network. The memory card further may be provided with a processor. By providing an interface device that includes a processor, networking functionality, and storage, with suitable software on the storage, the media player may be connected over a network to locally networked or remote content sources. In some embodiments, the interface device also includes its own locally stored content.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
communicating, by an interface device, with a media player via a reader of the media player, the reader configured to removably connect additional memory;
outputting a menu that provides a first option for a first content source corresponding to a local storage of the interface device, and a second option for a second content source that is wirelessly accessible by the interface device; and
controlling whether the first option and the second option of the menu are selectable based on whether content is available from the first content source and the second content source, respectively.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising providing local interface device content stored in the local storage of the interface device to the media player in response to a selection of the first option.

3. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising, in response to a selection of the first option, identifying which content of the first content source is renderable by the media player.

4. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising providing an interface to the second content source, wherein providing the interface to the second content source comprises providing at least one of an interface to locally networked content or an interface to remotely networked content.

5. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising storing local interface device content in the local storage of the interface device.

6. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising storing, in the local storage of the interface device, at least two of: software to provide an interface to locally networked content, software to provide an interface to remotely networked content, or local interface device content.

7. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising outputting an updated menu that provides one or more content items from the first content source or the second content source and indicates which of the one or more content items are renderable by the media player.

8. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising transcoding first content from a first content format into a second content format renderable by the media player.

9. A method comprising:
connecting, by a device, to a memory interface of a media player;
communicating, by the device, with a local storage of the device to make a first determination as to whether first content is available from the local storage;
communicating, by the device, with a network interface of the device to make a second determination as to whether second content is available from a source that is wirelessly accessible via the network interface;
generating, by the device, a menu that provides a first option corresponding to the local storage and a second option corresponding to the source; and
controlling whether the first option and the second option are selectable based on a first result of the first determination and a second result of the second determination.

10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the connecting comprises connecting, by the device, to a secure digital (SD) card reader of the media player.

11. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising:
determining which items among the first content are renderable by the media player; and
determining which items among the second content are renderable by the media player.

12. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the communicating with the network interface of the device to make the second determination comprises:
determining whether wireless access to a network is active; and
wirelessly communicating with the source via the network.

13. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising storing the first content in the local storage prior to making the first determination,
wherein the controlling comprises controlling the first option to be selectable based on the first result of the first determination indicating that the first content is available from the local storage.

14. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising outputting an updated menu that provides one or more content items from the first content or the second content and indicates which of the one or more content items are renderable by the media player.

15. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising transcoding a first content item, among the first content or the second content, having a first content format into a second content item having a second content format renderable by the media player.

16. A method comprising:
communicating, by a media player, with an interface device via a reader of the media player, the reader configured to removably connect additional memory;
receiving a menu structure that provides a first option for a first content source corresponding to a local storage of the interface device, and a second option for a second content source that is wirelessly accessible by the interface device; and
outputting a menu according to the menu structure, wherein the menu is configured such that the first option and the second option are selectable if content is available from the first content source and the second content source, respectively.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein receiving the menu structure comprises receiving the menu structure that provides a list of content and identifies which content of the list of content is renderable by the media player.

18. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising, in response to a selection of the second option, identifying which content of the second content source is renderable by the media player.

19. The method according to claim 18 , wherein the identifying comprises identifying which content of the second content source is renderable by the media player based on information received from the media player, the information indicating one or more types of content formats that are renderable by the media player.

20. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving particular content from the second content source; and
buffering the particular content prior to delivering the particular content to the media player.

21. The method according to claim 20 , further comprising:
in response to delivering the particular content to the media player, erasing the particular content from the local storage of the interface device.

22. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
communicating with the media player to determine one or more types of content formats that are renderable by the media player.

23. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
determining one or more types of content formats that are renderable by the media player based on at least one user input defining a type of the media player.

24. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
determining one or more types of content formats that are renderable by the media player based on at least one user input defining a type of content that the media player is configured to render.

25. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
processing a selection of copy protected content available from at least one of the first content source or the second content source;
decrypting the copy protected content to produce decrypted content; and
outputting the decrypted content to the media player.

26. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising

Assignees

• Cook Michael J
• Poder James S
• Comcast Cable Comm Llc

Inventors

• Cook Michael J
• Poder James S

Classifications

• H04N21/47202

  for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand · CPC title

• H04N21/6581

  Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application · CPC title

• H04N21/43637

  involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth®, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11] (arrangements for wireless networking or broadcasting of information in indoor or near-field type systems H04B10/114) · CPC title

• H04N5/85

  on discs or drums · CPC title

• H04N21/4184

  providing storage capabilities, e.g. memory stick · CPC title