Portable media player as a low power remote control and method thereof
AssigneeApple Computer, Inc.
InventorsSteve Ko, Stephen Lemay
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A portable multimedia player is used to wirelessly access and control a media server that is streaming digital media by way of a wireless interface to a media unit such as a stereo/speakers in the case of streaming digital audio. In one embodiment, the portable multimedia player is wirelessly synchronized to a selected one(s) of a number of digital media files stored on the media server in such a way that digital media file metadata (song title, author, etc.) associated with the selected digital media file(s) only is transferred from the media server to be stored in the portable media player.
Claims21
A method of using a portable multimedia player arranged to store digital media files to wirelessly access and/or control a media server configured to stream digital media data to a media unit;
- comprising:
- binding the portable multimedia player and the media server;
- wirelessly transmitting a signal from the multimedia player to the media server;
- and
- streaming the digital media data from the media server to a media unit by way of a wireless interface using the received signal.
A portable digital multimedia player remote controller unit arranged to store multimedia media file metadata used to wirelessly control a remote media server, comprising:
- a wireless network interface;
- a display device arranged to display a user interface having a number of user selectable items;
- and
- a processor unit that in response to a user selection of one of the user selectable items generates a signal that is wirelessly sent by the wireless network interface to the remote media server, the signal including multimedia file meta data identifying a multimedia file stored on the media server that, in turn, responds to the signals by accessing the identified multimedia file and once accessed, wirelessly sends the identified multimedia file to a remote media unit.
A method of providing wireless remote control of a remote media unit through use of a portable multimedia player and a personal computer, comprising:
- wirelessly receiving at the personal computer a multimedia file indication from the multimedia player;
- identifying a multimedia file stored on the personal computer using the received multimedia file indication;
- accessing the identified multimedia file;
- and
- wirelessly sending the identified multimedia file from the personal computer to the remote media unit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.