US20120117110A1

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Publication number: US20120117110A1
Application number: US13/172,212
Authority: US
Inventors: Christopher M. Amidon; Harold Sutherland; Hugh Svendsen
Original assignee: Eloy Technology LLC
Current assignee: Concert Technology Corp
Priority date: 2010-09-29
Filing date: 2011-06-29
Publication date: 2012-05-10
Also published as: US9208239B2; US20120117146A1

Abstract

A cloud-based media aggregation system that aggregates media collections of geographically proximate users is disclosed. In one embodiment, the media aggregation system determines that a first user and one or more second users are geographically proximate to one another. In response, the media aggregation system dynamically aggregates at least a portion of media collection catalogs of the one or more second users with a media collection catalog of the first user to provide an aggregate media collection catalog of the first user. The media aggregation system may control an extent of the aggregation based on pre-defined criteria.

Description

This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/387,728, filed Sep. 29, 2010, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AGGREGATING MUSIC IN THE CLOUD, which was filed ______, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to aggregating media collection catalogs of users.

BACKGROUND

Today, applications such as Apple® iTunes® enable users to share their media collections over a Local Area Network (LAN). However, these applications have significant shortcomings in that they are restricted by the network boundaries of the LAN. For example, once a user device is disconnected from the LAN, the media items stored by that user device are no longer accessible to the other user devices connected to the LAN. Likewise, the user device that has disconnected from the LAN no longer has access to the media items stored by the other user devices that are connected to the LAN. Thus, there is a need for a system and method for sharing media collections that are not limited by network boundaries.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to cloud-based systems and methods for aggregating media collections of users. In one embodiment, in order to generate an aggregate media collection catalog of a first user, a cloud-based media aggregation system identifies one or more second users that have an identifier that is the same as an identifier of the first user for purposes of media collection aggregation. The media aggregation system then aggregates media collection catalogs of the one or more second users with a media collection catalog of the first user to thereby provide an aggregate media collection catalog of the first user.

In another embodiment, in order to generate an aggregate media collection catalog of a first user, a cloud-based media aggregation system identifies one or more second users that have a same base network as the first user for purposes of media collection aggregation. In one embodiment, the base network is a Local Area Network (LAN). The media aggregation system then aggregates media collection catalogs of the one or more second users with a media collection catalog of the first user regardless of whether user devices of the first user and the one or more second users are connected to the base network to thereby provide an aggregate media collection catalog of the first user.

In another embodiment, a cloud-based media aggregation system determines that a first user and one or more second users are geographically proximate to one another. In response, the media aggregation system dynamically aggregates at least a portion of media collection catalogs of the one or more second users with a media collection catalog of the first user to provide an aggregate media collection catalog of the first user. The media aggregation system may control an extent of the aggregation based on pre-defined criteria. In one embodiment, the aggregate media collection catalog is stored. In addition or alternatively, the aggregate media collection catalog is sent to a user device of the first user for utilization by the user device of the first user. In one embodiment, the media collection catalogs of the one or more second users are retained in the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user at least temporarily after the first user and the one or more second users are no longer geographically proximate to one another.

In yet another embodiment, a cloud-based media aggregation system determines that a user device of a first user and user devices of one or more second users are connected to the same Local Area Network (LAN). In response, the media aggregation system dynamically aggregates at least a portion of media collection catalogs of the one or more second users with a media collection catalog of the first user to provide an aggregate media collection catalog of the first user. The media aggregation system may control an extent of the aggregation based on pre-defined criteria. In one embodiment, the aggregate media collection catalog is stored. In addition or alternatively, the aggregate media collection catalog is sent to a user device of the first user for utilization by the user device of the first user. In one embodiment, the media collection catalogs of the one or more second users are retained in the aggregate media collection catalog of the first user at least temporarily after the user device of the first user disconnects from the LAN.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the present disclosure and realize additional aspects thereof after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments in association with the accompanying drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURES

The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates a Cloud-based Media Aggregation System (CMAS) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 2A through 2D illustrate the operation of the CMAS ofFIG. 1 to provide an aggregate media collection catalog of a user according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates the operation of the CMAS ofFIG. 1 to aggregate a media collection catalog of a first user with media collection catalogs of one or more second users having the same base network as the first user to thereby provide an aggregate media collection of the first user according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a process for aggregating media collection catalogs according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 5 and 6 graphically illustrate the process ofFIG. 4 for three exemplary media collection catalogs according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates the operation of the CMAS ofFIG. 1 to dynamically aggregate a media collection catalog of a first user and media collection catalogs of one or more second users that are geographically proximate to the first user according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates the operation of the CMAS ofFIG. 1 to dynamically aggregate a media collection catalog of a first user and media collection catalogs of one or more second users that are geographically proximate to the first user according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates the operation of the CMAS ofFIG. 1 to dynamically aggregate a media collection catalog of a first user and media collection catalogs of one or more second users having user devices that are connected to the same Local Area Network (LAN) according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates the operation of the CMAS ofFIG. 1 to proactively aggregate media collection catalogs according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a server computer hosting the CMAS ofFIG. 1 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of one of the user devices ofFIG. 1 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.

The present disclosure relates to cloud-based systems and methods for aggregating media collections of users. In one embodiment, in order to generate an aggregate media collection catalog of a first user, a cloud-based media aggregation system identifies one or more second users that have an identifier that is the same as an identifier of the first user for purposes of media collection aggregation. The media aggregation system then aggregates media collection catalogs of the one or more second users with a media collection catalog of the first user to thereby provide an aggregate media collection catalog of the first user. The common identifier of the first and the one or more second users may, as discussed below, be the identifier of the same base network identified for purposes of media collection aggregation. However, the common identifier of the first and second users is not limited thereto. Other types of identifiers may be used for media collection aggregation. For example, the common identifier of the first and second users may be an identifier used by the first and the one or more second users for a service such as, for example, the Apple iTunes® Store. Other types of identifiers will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this disclosure and such identifiers are considered within the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates asystem10 in which media collections can be aggregated “in the cloud” according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In general, thesystem10 includes a Cloud-based Media Aggregation System (CMAS)12 and a number of user devices14-1 through14-N (generally referred to herein collectively asuser devices14 and individually as user device14) having associated users16-1 through16-N (generally referred to herein collectively asusers16 and individually as user16) where both theCMAS12 and theuser devices14 are connected to or enabled to connect to anetwork18. Thenetwork18 is preferably a distributed, public network such as the Internet, but is not limited thereto. Further, thenetwork18 may include wired and/or wireless components.

TheCMAS12 is implemented as a single server computer or as a number of server computers operating in a collective fashion for purposes of load sharing and/or redundancy. TheCMAS12 includes anaggregation function20 and a user accountsrepository22. Theaggregation function20 is preferably, but not necessarily, implemented in software and executed by a controller (e.g., a Central Processing Unit (CPU)) of the server computer(s) implementing theCMAS12. In general, theaggregation function20 operates to manage the user accountsrepository22 and, as discussed below, aggregate media collections of theusers16.

The user accountsrepository22 generally operates to store a user account for each of theusers16. In one embodiment, theusers16 may be required to establish user accounts at theCMAS12 via, for example, a registration process. Each user account preferably includes a local media collection catalog that includes a listing of media items in a local media collection stored by theuser device14 of theuser16. In addition, in some embodiments, theuser16 may have more than one user device in which case the user account of theuser16 may include a local media collection catalog for each of theuser devices14 of theuser16. Further, as discussed below, the user account of theuser16 also includes an aggregate media collection catalog for theuser16.

Theuser devices14 may each be any type of user device having networking and media playback capabilities. For example, each of theuser devices14 may be a personal computer, a portable media player such as an Apple® iPod® media player, a mobile telecommunications device such as an Apple® iPhone®, a tablet computer such as an Apple® iPad® device, a set-top box, or the like. As illustrated, the user devices14-1 through14-N include media player functions24-1 through24-N (generally referred to herein collectively as media player functions24 and individually as media player function24) and local media collections26-1 through26-N (generally referred to herein collectively aslocal media collections26 and individually as local media collection26), respectively. In this exemplary embodiment, CMAS clients28-1 through28-N (generally referred to herein collectively asCMAS clients28 and individually as CMAS client28) are embedded within the media player functions24-1 through24-N, respectively.

For each of theuser devices14, the correspondingmedia player function24 may be implemented in software, hardware, or a combination thereof and generally operates to provide playback of media items from thelocal media collection26 and, as discussed below, media items from an aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16 obtained from theCMAS12. In this exemplary embodiment, theCMAS client28 is embedded within themedia player function24. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. TheCMAS client28 may alternatively be implemented separately from themedia player function24. For example, theCMAS client28 may be implemented as a plug-in for themedia player function24.

Thelocal media collection26 includes a number of media items stored locally by theuser device14. These media items may include media items previously purchased by theuser16 from a remote media distribution service such as, for example, the Apple® iTunes® store. In addition or alternatively, thelocal media collection26 may include media items imported from Compact Discs (CDs), Digital Video Discs (DVD), and/or the like. As used herein, a media item is an audio content item such as a song, audio book, or audio podcast; a video content item such as a movie, episode of a television program, or a video clip; or the like.

Before proceeding, it should be noted that while in the exemplary embodiment illustrated inFIG. 1 all of theuser devices14 storelocal media collections26, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. One or more of theuser devices14 may not store alocal media collection28, but may still obtain aggregate media collections for the correspondingusers16 from theCMAS12. The aggregate media collections of thoseusers16 may include an aggregate listing of media items from thelocal media collections26 stored by theuser devices14 of two or moreother users16, media items from the aggregate media collections of two or moreother users16, and/or media items from thelocal media collections26 of one or moreother user devices14 of thoseusers16.

FIGS. 2A through 2D provide an overview of the operation of theCMAS12 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated inFIG. 2A, a number of theuser devices14, namely, the user devices14-1 through14-3, are located at auser premises30. Theuser premises30 is generally a house, building, or other site at which users can be located. Someexemplary user premises30 are a house, an office building, or the like. Theuser premises30 includes a Local Area Network (LAN)32 connected to thenetwork18. TheLAN32 may be, for example, a wireless LAN (e.g., an IEEE 802.11x wireless LAN), an Ethernet LAN, or a combination thereof. The user devices14-1 through14-3 are connected to theLAN32 and are enabled to communicate with theCMAS12 over thenetwork18 via theLAN32.

As discussed below in detail, the user devices14-1 through14-3 are registered with theCMAS12. The CMAS clients28-1 through28-3 of the user devices14-1 through14-3 upload the local media collection catalogs for the local media collections26-1 through26-3 stored by the user devices14-1 through14-3 of the users16-1 through16-3 to theCMAS12 where the local media collection catalogs are stored in the user accounts of the users16-1 through16-3. In addition, theLAN32 is identified as a base network of the users16-1 through16-3. For example, in one embodiment, theuser premises30 is a home of the users16-1 through16-3, and the users16-1 through16-3 identify theLAN32 as their base network. Alternatively, theCMAS12 may automatically identify the base network of the users16-1 through16-3 by, for example, detecting that the user devices14-1 through14-3 of the users16-1 through16-3 are typically connected to theLAN32.

TheCMAS12 aggregates the local media collection catalog for the user device14-1 of the user16-1 with the local media collection catalogs for the user devices14-2 and14-3 of the other users16-2 and16-3 having the same base network to provide the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-1. Likewise, theCMAS12 aggregates the local media collection catalog for the user device14-2 of the user16-2 with the local media collection catalogs for the user devices14-1 and14-3 of the other users16-1 and16-3 having the same base network to provide the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-2. In addition, theCMAS12 aggregates the local media collection catalog for the user device14-3 of the user16-3 with the local media collection catalogs for the user devices14-1 and14-2 of the other users16-1 and16-2 having the same base network to provide the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-3.

Importantly, theCMAS12 enables the users16-1 through16-3 to maintain their aggregate media collection catalogs even if the users16-1 through16-3 leave theuser premises30 and are no longer connected to theLAN32. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 2B, the user device14-3, in this example, is a mobile device such as a mobile smartphone, notebook computer, or tablet computer, and the user16-3 leaves theuser premises30 taking the user device14-3 with him. However, even though the user device14-3 is no longer connected to theLAN32, theCMAS12 enables the aggregate media collections of the users16-1 through16-3 to remain as if the user device14-3 were still connected to theLAN32. Thus, the aggregate media collection catalogs of the users16-1 and16-2 still include the media items from the local media collection26-3 of the user device14-3 of the user16-3, and the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-3 still includes the media items from the local media collections26-1 and26-2 of the user devices14-1 and14-2 of the users16-1 and16-2. Further, the users16-1 and16-2 of the user devices14-1 and14-2 are still enabled to access media items that are in the local media collection26-3 stored by the user device14-3 and vice versa. As discussed below, the media items may be obtained directly from thecorresponding user device14, obtained from thecorresponding user device14 via theCMAS12, obtained from a media item repository of theCMAS12, or obtained from a third-party media delivery service (e.g., a subscription music or video service).

Continuing the example ofFIG. 2B, assume that the user16-3 comes within geographic proximity to user16-4 as illustrated inFIG. 2C. InFIG. 2C, the users16-3 and16-4 are determined to be in geographic proximity because the user device14-4 of the user16-4 is within a localwireless coverage area34 of the user device14-3. In one specific embodiment, the localwireless coverage area34 corresponds to a range of a Bluetooth® transceiver of the user device14-3, which is preferably aClass 2 Bluetooth® transceiver having a range of approximately 10 meters or aClass 3 Bluetooth® transceiver having a range of approximately 1 meter. In one alternative embodiment, theCMAS12 obtains geographic locations of the user devices14-3 and14-4 either from the user devices14-3 or14-4 or a third-party location service and determines that the users16-3 and16-4 are within geographic proximity of one another if the users16-3 and16-4 have a predefined spatial relationship. The predefined spatial relationship may be that a distance between the users16-3 and16-4 is less than a predefined distance such as, for example, 10 meters. However, the predefined spatial relationship is not limited thereto. As another example, the predefined spatial relationship may be that the users16-3 and16-4 are in a crowd of users as determined via a spatial crowd formation process such as that disclosed in commonly owned and assigned U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0198828, entitled FORMING CROWDS AND PROVIDING ACCESS TO CROWD DATA IN A MOBILE ENVIRONMENT, which published on Aug. 5, 2010; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0197318, entitled ANONYMOUS CROWD TRACKING, which published on Aug. 5, 2010; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0198826, entitled MAINTAINING A HISTORICAL RECORD OF ANONYMIZED USER PROFILE DATA BY LOCATION FOR USERS IN A MOBILE ENVIRONMENT, which published on Aug. 5, 2010; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0198917, entitled CROWD FORMATION FOR MOBILE DEVICE USERS, which published on Aug. 5, 2010; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0198870, entitled SERVING A REQUEST FOR DATA FROM A HISTORICAL RECORD OF ANONYMIZED USER PROFILE DATA IN A MOBILE ENVIRONMENT, which published on Aug. 5, 2010; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0198862, entitled HANDLING CROWD REQUESTS FOR LARGE GEOGRAPHIC AREAS, which published on Aug. 5, 2010; and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0197319, entitled MODIFYING A USER'S CONTRIBUTION TO AN AGGREGATE PROFILE BASED ON TIME BETWEEN LOCATION UPDATES AND EXTERNAL EVENTS, which published on Aug. 5, 2010; all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

An extent to which the media collection catalog of the user16-4 is aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-3 may be controlled by theCMAS12 based on one or more predefined criteria. The one or more predefined criteria may include, for example, an amount of time that the users16-3 and16-4 have been or are expected to be in geographic proximity to one another, a location or type of location (e.g., a Point of Interest (POI) or a type of POI) at which the users16-3 and16-4 are located, a system-defined aggregation value, a user-configurable aggregation value, and/or the like. More specifically, theCMAS12 may track the amount of time that the users16-3 and16-4 remain in geographic proximity to one another. Initially, only a portion of the media collection catalog of the user16-4 may be aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-3. For example, only those media item entries from the media collection catalog of the user16-4 that most closely match predefined media preferences of the user16-3 may be aggregated. The predefined media preferences of the user16-3 may be stored in the user account of the user16-3 and obtained using any suitable technology (e.g., manually by the user16-3 and/or based on an analysis of the local media collection catalog of the user device14-3 of the user16-3). Then, as the amount of time that the users16-3 and16-4 are in geographic proximity to one another increases, more of the media collection catalog of the user16-4 may be aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-3.

In addition or alternatively, theCMAS12 may determine an amount of time that the users16-3 and16-4 are expected to be in geographic proximity to one another and then select all or a portion of the media collection catalog of the user16-4 to aggregate into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-3 based on the amount of time that the users16-3 and16-4 are expected to be in geographic proximity to one another. For example, if the users16-3 and16-4 are expected to be in geographic proximity to one another for a short amount of time (e.g., less than 10 minutes), then theCMAS12 may select a portion of the media collection catalog of the user16-4 that most closely matches predefined media preferences of the user16-3 to aggregate into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-3. In contrast, if the users16-3 and16-4 are expected to be in geographic proximity to one another for a long amount of time (e.g., greater than 1 hour), then theCMAS12 may aggregate the entire media collection catalog of the user16-4 into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-3.

Continuing the example ofFIG. 2C, the user16-3 again moves such that the user16-3 is no longer within geographic proximity to the user16-4 but is now at a second user premises36 as illustrated inFIG. 2D. The second user premises36 includes aLAN38, where user devices14-5 through14-7 are connected to theLAN38. Once the user16-3 is at the second user premises36, the user device14-3 connects to theLAN38. TheCMAS12 determines or is notified that the user device14-3 is connected to theLAN38 and then operates to aggregate at least a portion of media collection catalogs of the users16-5 through16-7 into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-3. The media collection catalogs of the users16-5 through16-7 are either the local media collection catalogs for the user devices14-5 through14-7 of the users16-5 through16-7 or the aggregate media collection catalogs of the users16-5 through16-7. In this manner, the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-3 is now an aggregate of the local media collection catalogs of the user devices14-1 and14-2 of the other users16-1 and16-2 having the same base network and at least a portion of the media collection catalogs of the users16-5 through16-7. An extent to which the media collection catalogs of the users16-5 through16-7 are aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-3 may by controlled by theCMAS12 based on criteria such as, for example, an amount of time that the user16-3 has been connected to theLAN38 or is expected to be connected to theLAN38, the second user premises36 or user premises type (e.g., POI type), a system-defined aggregation value, a user-configurable aggregation value, and/or the like.

In addition to uploading the local media collection catalog, theCMAS client28 of theuser device14 sends a base network ID for theuser16 to the CMAS12 (step1008). The base network ID preferably identifies a LAN that is a base network of theuser16 for purposes of media collection aggregation. The base network of theuser16 may be manually selected by theuser16 or automatically detected by theCMAS client28. For example, theCMAS client28 may automatically select a LAN to which theuser device14 is connected at the time of registration and/or uploading the local media collection catalog as the base network of theuser16. As another example, theCMAS client28 may select a LAN to which theuser device14 is most often connected as the base network of theuser16. The base network ID may be any information that identifies the LAN selected as the base network. For example, the base network ID may be a network ID of the LAN. In response to receiving the base network ID, theaggregation function20 of theCMAS12 stores the base network ID of theuser16 in the user account of the user16 (step1010).

The aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16 is stored in the user account of theuser16 and sent to theuser device14 of the user16 (steps1016 and1018). Notably, the aggregate media collection catalog sent to theuser device14 is preferably the same aggregate media collection catalog stored for the user16 (e.g., includes both primary list and sub-lists). However, in an alternative embodiment, the aggregate media collection catalog sent to theuser device14 is a simplified version of the aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16 stored by theCMAS12. For instance, the version of the aggregate media collection catalog sent to theuser device14 may include only the primary list of unique media items or a simplified version of the primary list that generally lists the unique media items and indicates whether each unique media item is stored locally or remotely.

With respect to obtaining media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog for playback, media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog that are stored locally in thelocal media collection26 of theuser device14 are obtained and played from local storage of theuser device14. In contrast, media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog that are not stored locally in thelocal media collection26 of theuser device14 are obtained from a remote source. The remote source may be anotheruser device14 from whose media collection catalog the media item originates, theCMAS12, or a third-party media delivery service. Further, if the remote source is a source other than theCMAS12, theuser device14 may obtain the media item from the remote source either directly using information (e.g., a URI) included in the aggregate media collection catalog or via theCMAS12.

Notably, using the process ofFIG. 3, the local media collection catalogs of theother users16 having the same base network as theuser16 are aggregated with thelocal media collection26 of theuser16 regardless of whether theuser device14 of theuser16 or theuser devices14 of theother users16 are connected to the base network. As such, theuser16 has access to the media items in thelocal media collections26 of theuser devices14 of theother users16 that have the same base network even when theuser device14 of theuser16 is not connected to the base network and/or when theuser devices14 of the one or more of theother users16 are not connected to the base network.

Next, theaggregation function20 obtains, or gets, a first media item entry from the media collection catalog for aggregation (step2004). As discussed above, the media item entry includes information identifying the corresponding media item such as, for example, the GUID, title, or similar information identifying the media item. In addition, the media item entry may include information regarding a quality of the media item, a bitrate used to encode the media item, and an availability of the media item. Still further, the media item entry may include information identifying a source of the media item, such as information identifying theuser device14 on which the media item is stored or information identifying the correspondinguser16.

Next, theaggregation function20 determines whether the media item identified by the media item entry already exists in the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16 (step2006). In this embodiment, the aggregate media collection catalog is formed by a primary list including a media item entry for each unique media item in the aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16. In addition, the aggregate media collection catalog may include a sub-list for each media item entry in the primary list including an entry for each occurrence of the corresponding media item in the local media collection catalog of theuser16 and the media collection catalogs identified for aggregation. For example, if a particular media item is included in the local media collections of twodifferent users16, the corresponding sub-list in the aggregate media collection catalog will include two entries for the media item where one entry corresponds to the media item in thelocal media collection26 of one of the twousers16 and the other entry corresponds to the media item in thelocal media collection26 of the other of the twousers16.

If the media item identified by the media item entry is already included in the aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16, the process proceeds to step2010. Otherwise, theaggregation function20 creates a media item entry in the primary list of the aggregate media collection catalog for the media item identified by the media item entry (step2008). At this point, whether proceeding from

step

2006 or2008, a media item entry is created in the appropriate sub-list for the particular copy of the media item corresponding to the media item entry in the media collection catalog currently being processed (step2010).

In this embodiment, the media item in the media collection catalog currently being processed is scored in order to determine which media item entry from the sub-list for the media item is to be referenced or included in the primary list for the aggregate media collection catalog (step2012). More specifically, in one embodiment, the media item identified by the media item entry in the sub-list is scored based on quality, bitrate, availability, and/or the like. Then, based on the scores of the media item entries in the sub-list for the media item, the sub-list is sorted (step2014). The media item entry in the sorted sub-list having the highest score is then used as the media item entry for the corresponding media item in the primary list for the aggregate media collection catalog.

FIG. 6 illustrates the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-1 resulting from the aggregation of the local media collection catalogs ofFIG. 5 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated, the aggregate media collection catalog is formed by, or represented by, aprimary list40 including a media item entry for each unique media item in the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-1. Sub-lists42-1 through42-5 include a media item entry for each occurrence of the corresponding unique media items in the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-1. Thus, in this example, since media item A is included in the local media collection catalog of the user device14-1 of the user16-1 and each of the local media collection catalogs of the user devices14-2 and14-3 of the users16-2 and16-3, the sub-list42-1 includes three media item entries, each of which corresponds, or represents, one of the occurrences of media item A. Likewise, the sub-lists42-2 through42-5 are provided for the remaining media item entries in theprimary list40. The media items represented by the media item entries in the sub-lists42-1 through42-5 are scored based on quality, bitrate, and availability. Then, based on the scores, the sub-lists42-1 through42-5 are sorted such that, for each of the sub-lists42-1 through42-5, the media item entry representing the media item having the highest score is utilized as, or referenced by, the corresponding media item entry in theprimary list40.

FIG. 7 illustrates the operation of thesystem10 ofFIG. 1 to provide dynamic media collection aggregation according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As discussed above with respect toFIG. 2C, in one embodiment, theCMAS12 dynamically aggregates media collection catalogs ofusers16 that are in geographic proximity. More specifically, in this embodiment, theCMAS client28 of theuser device14 detects one or moreother user devices14 that are geographically proximate to the user device14 (step3000). The manner in which theCMAS client28 detects theother user devices14 that are geographically proximate to theuser device14 may vary. In one embodiment, a local wireless discovery process is utilized. For example, aClass 2 orClass 3 Bluetooth® transceiver of theuser device14 may perform a Bluetooth® discovery process to discover theother user devices14 that are within range of the Bluetooth® transceiver of theuser device14 and therefore determined to be geographically proximate to theuser device14. Other wireless technologies may alternatively be used. Theusers16 of theother user devices14 that are geographically proximate to theuser device14 of theuser16 are identified as theother users16 that are geographically proximate to theuser16 of theuser device14. Notably, this association between the geographicallyproximate user devices14 and theusers16 of thoseuser devices14 may be determined by the CMAS client28 (e.g., theCMAS client28 may obtain the user IDs of theusers16 from the geographically proximate user devices14) or may be determined by theCMAS12.

Next, theCMAS client28 of theuser device14 sends device IDs of theother user devices14 detected in step3000 and/or user IDs of theusers16 of theother user devices14 detected in step3000 to the CMAS12 (step3002). Theaggregation function20 of theCMAS12 then aggregates at least a portion of the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the geographically proximate users16 (i.e., theusers16 of the geographically proximate user devices14) with the aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16, thereby dynamically updating the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16 (step3004). Theaggregation function20 may control an extent to which the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the geographicallyproximate users16 are aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16 based on one or more predefined criteria. The one or more predefined criteria may include, for example, an amount of time that the geographicallyproximate users16 have been or are expected to be in geographic proximity to theuser16, a location or type of location (e.g., a POI or a type of POI) at which theusers16 are located, a system-defined aggregation value, a user-configurable aggregation value, and/or the like, as discussed above. Notably, media item entries for media items aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16 that closely match predefined user preferences of theuser16 or are otherwise known to be of interest to theuser16 but that have seldom or never been available to theuser16 may be highlighted in the aggregate media collection catalog.

Sometime thereafter, theCMAS client28 of theuser device14 detects that one or more of theother user devices14 detected in step3000 are no longer geographically proximate to the user device14 (step3016). In response, theCMAS client28 of theuser device14 notifies theCMAS12 that thoseuser devices14, or alternatively theusers16 of thoseuser devices14, are no longer geographically proximate to the user device14 (step3018). Theaggregation function20 of theCMAS12 then de-aggregates the local and/or aggregate media collection catalog(s) of theusers16 that are no longer geographically proximate to theuser16 from the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16 (step3020). More specifically, the media item entries in the aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16 that are from the media collection catalogs being de-aggregated are removed from the aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16. Notably, in one embodiment, personalized metadata (e.g., ratings of the corresponding media items by theuser16, playcounts of corresponding media items by theuser16, metadata defined for the corresponding media items by theuser16, and/or the like) may be retained. With respect to personalized metadata, the interested reader is directed to commonly owned and assigned U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0070537, entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGING A PERSONALIZED UNIVERSAL CATALOG OF MEDIA ITEMS, which published on Mar. 18, 2010, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference for its teachings on personalized metadata.

In one embodiment, the de-aggregation is performed immediately in response to receiving the notification instep3018. However, in the preferred embodiment, the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the one or moreother users16 are retained in the aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16 at least temporarily after the one or moreother users16 are no longer geographically proximate to theuser device14. For example, de-aggregation may be performed after a system-defined amount of time (e.g., 1 hour) has expired after receiving the notification instep3018. In this manner, theuser16 retains access, at least temporarily, to media items listed in the media collection catalogs of the one or moreother users16 even after the one or moreother users16 are no longer geographically proximate to theuser16. After de-aggregation, an update to, or an updated version of, the aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16 is sent to theuser device14 of theuser16 for utilization by theCMAS client28 as described above (step3022). Using the process ofFIG. 7, the aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16 is dynamically updated with media item entries from the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of theusers16 ofother user devices14 that are nearby (i.e., geographically proximate).

FIG. 8 illustrates the operation of thesystem10 ofFIG. 1 to provide dynamic media collection aggregation according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. This embodiment is substantially the same as that ofFIG. 7 but where theaggregation function20 of theCMAS12 determines when theusers16 are geographically proximate to one another based on geographic locations of theusers16. More specifically, first, theaggregation function20 of theCMAS12 detects that one or moreother users16 are geographically proximate to theuser16 of theuser device14 based on geographic locations of the user16 (step4000). TheCMAS12 may obtain the geographic locations of theusers16 from theuser devices14, from a third-party location service (e.g., a social networking service having a location feature), or the like. Theaggregation function20 then aggregates at least a portion of the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the geographicallyproximate users16 into the aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16, thereby dynamically updating the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16 (step4002). Theaggregation function20 may control an extent to which the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the geographicallyproximate users16 are aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16 based on criteria such as, for example, an amount of time that theusers16 have been or are expected to be in geographic proximity to one another, a location or type of location (e.g., a POI or a type of POI at which theusers16 are located), a system-defined aggregation value, a user-configurable aggregation value, and/or the like, as discussed above. Notably, media item entries for media items aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16 that closely match predefined user preferences of theuser16 or are otherwise known to be of interest to theuser16 but that have seldom or never been available to theuser16 may be highlighted in the aggregate media collection catalog.

With respect to obtaining media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog for playback, media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog that are stored locally in thelocal media collection26 of theuser device14 are obtained and played from local storage of theuser device14.

In contrast, media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog that are not stored locally in thelocal media collection26 of theuser device14 are obtained from a remote source. The remote source may be anotheruser device14 from whose media collection catalog the media item originates, theCMAS12, or a third-party media delivery service. Further, if the remote source is a source other than theCMAS12, theuser device14 may obtain the media item from the remote source either directly using information (e.g., a URI) included in the aggregate media collection catalog or via theCMAS12.

In this embodiment, theaggregation function20 of theCMAS12 updates the aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16 over time to include more of the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the geographicallyproximate users16 as discussed above (step4010). As the aggregated media collection catalog of theuser16 is updated, updates to, or an updated version of, the aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16 is sent to theuser device14 for utilization by theCMAS client28 of theuser device14 as described above (step4012).

Sometime thereafter, theaggregation function20 of theCMAS12 detects that one or more of theother users16 detected in step4000 are no longer geographically proximate to theuser16 of the user device14 (step4014). Theaggregation function20 of theCMAS12 then de-aggregates the local and/or aggregate media collection catalog(s) of the one or moreother users16 that are no longer geographically proximate to theuser16 from the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16 (step4016). Again, in one embodiment, the de-aggregation is performed immediately in response to detecting the one ormore users16 that are no longer geographically proximate to theuser16. However, in the preferred embodiment, de-aggregation is delayed such that theuser16 retains access to media items listed in the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the one or moreother users16 at least temporarily after the one or moreother users16 are no longer geographically proximate to theuser16. After de-aggregation, an update to, or an updated version of, the aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16 is sent to theuser device14 of theuser16 for utilization by theCMAS client28 as described above (step4018). Using the process ofFIG. 8, the aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16 is dynamically updated with media item entries from the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of theusers16 ofother user devices14 that are nearby (i.e., geographically proximate).

FIG. 9 illustrates the operation of thesystem10 ofFIG. 1 to provide dynamic media collection aggregation according to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure. As discussed above with respect toFIG. 2D, in one embodiment, theCMAS12 dynamically aggregates media collection catalogs ofusers16 that are connected to the same LAN even when theusers16 have different base networks. Using the scenario illustrated inFIG. 2D as an example for this discussion, the user device14-3 connects to theLAN38 and detects the other user devices14-5 through14-7 that are also connected to the LAN38 (steps5000 and5002). The CMAS client28-3 of the user device14-3 then sends user IDs of the users16-5 through16-7 of the other user devices14-5 through14-7 that are connected to theLAN38 or the device IDs of the other user devices14-5 through14-7 connected to theLAN38 to the CMAS12 (step5004).

Theaggregation function20 of theCMAS12 then aggregates at least a portion of the local media collection catalogs of the user devices14-5 through14-7 and/or the aggregate media collection catalogs of the users16-5 through16-7 into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-3, thereby dynamically updating the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-3 (step5006). Theaggregation function20 may control an extent to which the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs are aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-3 based on criteria such as, for example, an amount of time that the user device14-3 of the user16-3 (and optionally the user devices14-5 through14-7 of the users16-5 through16-7) have been or are expected to be connected to theLAN38, a location or type of location (e.g., a POI or a type of POI) of the second user premises36 at which theLAN38 is located, a system-defined aggregation value, a user-configurable aggregation value, and/or the like, as discussed above. Notably, media item entries for media items aggregated into the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-3 that closely match predefined user preferences of the user16-3 or are otherwise known to be of interest to the user16-3 but that have seldom or never been available to the user16-3 may be highlighted in the aggregate media collection catalog.

With respect to obtaining media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog for playback, media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog that are stored locally in the local media collection26-3 of the user device14-3 are obtained and played from local storage of the user device14-3. In contrast, media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalog that are not stored locally in the local media collection26-3 of the user device14-3 are obtained from a remote source. The remote source may be anotheruser device14 from whose media collection catalog the media item originates, theCMAS12, or a third-party media delivery service. Further, if the remote source is a source other than theCMAS12, the user device14-3 may obtain the media item from the remote source either directly using information (e.g., a URI) included in the aggregate media collection catalog or via theCMAS12.

Sometime thereafter, the user device14-3 disconnects from the LAN38 (step5018), and the CMAS client28-3 of the user device14-3 notifies the CMAS12 (5020). Theaggregation function20 of theCMAS12 then de-aggregates the local and/or aggregate media collection catalog(s) of the users16-5 through16-7 from the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-3 (step5022). More specifically, the media item entries in the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-3 that are from the media collection catalogs being de-aggregated are removed from the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-3. Notably, in one embodiment, personalized metadata (e.g., ratings of the corresponding media items by the user16-3, playcounts of corresponding media items by the user16-3, metadata defined for the corresponding media items by the user16-3, and/or the like) may be retained, as discussed above.

In one embodiment, the de-aggregation is performed immediately in response to receiving the notification instep5020. However, in the preferred embodiment, de-aggregation is delayed such that the user16-3 retains access to the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of the users16-5 through16-7 at least temporarily after the user device14-3 has disconnected from theLAN38. Notably, when disconnected from theLAN38, the user device14-3 may be enabled to connect to thenetwork18 via, for example, a wireless cellular communications interface (e.g., a 3G or 4G wireless cellular communications interface). For example, de-aggregation may be performed after a system-defined amount of time (e.g., 1 hour) has expired after receiving the notification instep5020. After de-aggregation, an update to, or an updated version of, the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-3 is sent to the user device14-3 of the user16-3 for utilization by the CMAS client28-3 as described above (step5024). Using the process ofFIG. 9, the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16-3 is dynamically updated with media item entries from the local and/or aggregate media collection catalogs of theusers16 ofother user devices14 that are connected to the same LAN as theuser device14 of theuser16 even if theusers16 have different base networks.

FIG. 10 illustrates the operation of theCMAS12 to optimize media collection catalog aggregation by predicting when users are expected to be geographically proximate to one another and/or when the user devices of the users are expected to be connected to the same LAN according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. First, theaggregation function20 of theCMAS12 determines that theuser16 of theuser device14 and one or moreother users16 of one or moreother user devices14 are expected to be either geographically proximate to one another or connected to the same LAN at a future time (step6000). This determination may be based on any type of suitable information such as, for example:

- a historical record of previous geographic locations of theusers16,
- a historical record of previous LAN connections of theuser devices14 of theusers16,
- route information defining routes being traveled by or to be traveled by theusers16, and/or
- calendar information from electronic calendars of theusers16 that define events (e.g., meetings) scheduled for theusers16, dates and times for which the events are scheduled, and, in some embodiments,other users16 to participate in the events and/or geographic locations at which the events are scheduled to occur.

More specifically, a historical record of previous geographic locations of theusers16 may be maintained by theCMAS12 or may otherwise be accessible to theCMAS12. The historical record may define the previous geographic locations of theusers16 as well as dates and/or times at which theusers16 were at those previous geographic locations. Based on the historical record, theaggregation function20 is enabled to predict future geographic locations of theusers16 and then determine when two or more of theusers16 are expected to be in geographic proximity to one another in the future. Similarly, a historical record of previous LAN connections of theuser devices14 of theusers16 may be maintained by theCMAS12 or may otherwise be accessible to theCMAS12. This historical record may define LANs to which theuser devices14 of theusers16 have previously been connected as well as dates and/or times at which theuser devices14 were connected to those LANs. Using this information, theaggregation function20 is enabled to predict future LAN connections of theuser devices14 of theusers16 and then determine when theuser devices14 of two or more of theusers16 are expected to be connected to the same LAN in the future.

In addition or alternatively, theaggregation function20 may have access to route information for traveling routes currently being traveled by or planned to be traveled by theusers16. The route information may be obtained from, for example, separate navigation systems of the users16 (e.g., personal navigation devices or in-vehicle navigation devices) or navigation components or features of theuser devices14. Using the route information, theaggregation function20 is enabled to determine when two or more of theusers16 are expected to be in geographic proximity to one another.

In addition or alternatively, theaggregation function20 may have access to calendar information from electronic calendars of theusers16 that defines events (e.g., meetings) scheduled for theusers16, dates and times for which the events are scheduled, and, in some embodiments,other users16 to participate in the events and/or geographic locations at which the events are scheduled to occur. Using this calendar information, theaggregation function20 can determine when two or more of theusers16 are scheduled to be in geographic proximity to one another in the future.

Next, theaggregation function20 of theCMAS12 predictively aggregates at least a portion of the local media collection catalogs of theuser devices14 of the one or moreother users16 or the aggregate media collection catalogs of the one or moreother users16 with the aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16 to provide a predictive aggregate media collection catalog for the user16 (step6002). Thereafter, theaggregation function20 determines that theuser16 and the one or moreother users16 are geographically proximate to one another or that theuser devices14 of theuser16 and the one or moreother users16 are connected to the same LAN (step6004). In response, theaggregation function20 stores the predictive aggregate media collection catalog as the aggregate media collection catalog of the user16 (step6006) and sends the aggregate media collection catalog of theuser16 to theuser device14 of the user16 (step6008).

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of aserver computer44 implementing theCMAS12 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated, theserver computer44 includes acontroller46 connected tomemory48, one or moresecondary storage devices50, and acommunication interface52 by abus54 or similar mechanism. Thecontroller46 is a microprocessor, digital Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or similar hardware component. In this embodiment, thecontroller46 is a microprocessor, and the aggregation function20 (FIG. 1) is implemented in software and stored in thememory48 for execution by thecontroller46. Further, the user accounts repository22 (FIG. 1) may be stored in the one or moresecondary storage devices50. Thesecondary storage devices50 are digital data storage devices such as, for example, one or more hard disk drives. Thecommunication interface52 is a wired or wireless communication interface that communicatively couples theserver computer44 to the network18 (FIG. 1). For example, thecommunication interface52 may be an Ethernet interface, local wireless interface such as a wireless interface operating according to one of the suite of IEEE 802.11 standards, or the like.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of one of theuser devices14 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As illustrated, theuser device14 includes acontroller56 connected tomemory58, one or moresecondary storage devices60, one or more communication interfaces62, one or more user interface components64, and alocation function66 by abus68 or similar mechanism. Thecontroller56 is a microprocessor, digital ASIC, FPGA, or similar hardware component. In this embodiment, thecontroller56 is a microprocessor, and themedia player function24 including theCMAS client28 is implemented in software and stored in thememory58 for execution by thecontroller56. The local media collection26 (FIG. 1) may be stored in the one or moresecondary storage devices60, which may be, for example, FLASH memory, one or more hard disk drives, or the like. The one ormore communication interfaces62 include a wired or wireless communication interface that communicatively couples theuser device14 to the network18 (FIG. 1). For example, the one ormore communication interfaces62 may include a local wireless interface such as a wireless interface operating according to one of the suite of IEEE 802.11 standards, a mobile communications interface such as a cellular telecommunications interface, or the like. The one ormore communication interfaces62 may also include a Bluetooth® interface or other local wireless interface to, for example, detectother user devices14 that are geographically proximate to theuser device14. Note that the same local wireless interface may be utilized to both connect theuser device14 to thenetwork18 and detect nearby devices. The one or more user interface components64 include, for example, a touchscreen, a display, one or more user input components (e.g., a keypad), a speaker, or the like, or any combination thereof. Lastly, theuser device14 may include, in some embodiments, alocation function66 for determining a geographical location of theuser device14. For example, the location function64 may be a hardware component such as, for example, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver.

It should be noted that the systems and methods described herein have substantial opportunity for variation without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. For example, while the discussion above primarily focuses on the aggregation of local media collection catalogs of theusers16, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. In one alternative embodiment, some or all of theusers16 may have user media collections stored by a cloud-based media collection storage and possibly playback service. One such service is Amazon's Cloud Music player, which enables users to store their music collections in the cloud and then play their music from any user device having web access. If the media collections owned by theusers16 are stored by such a cloud-based service, theCMAS12 may additionally or alternatively operate to aggregate corresponding media collection catalogs of theusers16 for the user media collections stored by the cloud-based service using the processes described herein. Further, theCMAS12 may be integrated with a cloud-based media storage and playback service or may be separate from the cloud-based media storage and playback service. The media items listed in the aggregate media collection catalogs of theusers16 may then be accessible from the cloud-based service.

Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein and the claims that follow.