Multimedia messaging method and system
AssigneeCore Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l.
InventorMiraj Mostafa
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A multimedia messaging method and system, wherein the same multimedia message can be used to encapsulate both non-streamable media components and descriptors relating to streamable media components. A recipient extracts the descriptors from the multimedia message and initiates streaming sessions accordingly. The notification process by which a recipient user agent is informed of the availability of a multimedia message is the same regardless the type of the components within the message.
Claims16
A method for receiving a multimedia message, comprising the steps of:
- receiving a multimedia message transmission;
- separating from the multimedia message transmission a descriptor containing information necessary to initiate a streaming session;
- and
- initiating a streaming session, using the descriptor, to retrieve a stored streamable media component described by the descriptor.
A method for multimedia messaging, comprising the steps of:
- storing a multimedia message containing a streamable media component in a communications network entity;
- sending a multimedia message transmission from the network entity to a recipient user agent;
- and
- including in said multimedia message transmission a descriptor providing information allowing the multimedia user agent to initiate a streaming session to retrieve the streamable media component.
A method according to any of the preceding claims, the method further comprises notifying a recipient user agent that the multimedia message is available using a notification message.
A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the multimedia message further contains a non-streamable media component and the multimedia message transmission further contains the non-streamable media component.
A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a streamable media component of a multimedia message is replaced with the aforementioned descriptor, such that the multimedia message is modified to contain the descriptor.
A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the descriptor is selected from a group consisting of:
- a session description file, a uniform resource locator (URL), and a Universal Resource Identifier (URI).
A method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the descriptor contains all the data necessary to initiate a streaming session to download the streamable component.
A multimedia messaging user agent comprising a transceiver (RF) for receiving a multimedia message and for establishing a streaming session;
- characterised by the user agent further comprising:
- a processor (CPU) for searching the multimedia message for a descriptor containing streaming initialisation data;
- and
- the processor (CPU) being arranged to control the transceiver (RF) to initiate a streaming session using the streaming initialisation data contained by the descriptor.
A multimedia messaging service system (100) comprising:
- a first network entity (150) for storing a multimedia message;
- a plurality of user agents (110,127);
- a second network entity (142) for notifying a user agent of a multimedia message available to the user agent, said user agent being a recipient user agent;
- a third network entity (142,144) for searching the multimedia message for a streamable media component, for storing such a component, and for modifying the multimedia message by placing into the multimedia message, instead of the streamable component, a descriptor sufficient to allow the recipient multimedia user agent (110,127) to initiate a streaming session to retrieve the streamable media component;
- the second network entity (142) being arranged to receive a request for delivering the multimedia message to the recipient user agent (110,127) and to transfer the multimedia message to the recipient user agent responsive to the request.
A multimedia message comprising an address of a recipient of the multimedia message;
- characterised in that the multimedia message further comprises:
- a descriptor containing all necessary data for allowing a recipient user agent, using the descriptor, to initiate a streaming session to retrieve at least one streamable media component.
A Computer program product for controlling a multimedia messaging user agent, comprising computer executable program code to enable the user agent to receive a multimedia message;
- characterised by the computer program product further comprising:
- computer executable program code to enable the user agent to search the multimedia message for a descriptor containing streaming initialisation data;
- and
- computer executable program code to enable the user agent to initiate a streaming session using the streaming initialisation data contained by the descriptor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.