Social media playback
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorsAlan Bishop, Eric Soldan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of synchronizing playback of a media asset between a first playback device and one or more other playback devices includes synchronizing an initial playback timeline of a media asset with a reference clock, and then playing the media asset with the initial playback timeline on each of the two or more playback devices. In response to a playback-alteration command, an updated playback timeline of the media asset is synchronized with the reference clock, and the media asset is then played with the updated playback timeline on each of the two or more playback devices.
Claims20
A method of facilitating group control of a synchronized media asset via a plurality of different playback devices, the method comprising:
- receiving a playback-alteration message from any of the plurality of different playback devices, the playback-alteration message indicating a start point at which playback of the synchronized media asset is to begin, a reference time when playback of the synchronized media asset is to begin, and a playback rate at which playback is to occur;
- and
- playing the synchronized media asset on each of the plurality of different playback devices from the start point at the playback rate on a playback timeline in which the start point is synced with the reference time.
A method of providing a social media experience via two or more playback devices:
- synchronizing an initial playback timeline of a media asset with a reference clock;
- playing the media asset with the initial playback timeline on each of the two or more playback devices;
- in response to a playback-alteration command, synchronizing an updated playback timeline of the media asset with the reference clock;
- and
- playing the media asset with the updated playback timeline on each of the two or more playback devices.
A method of synchronizing playback of a media asset between a first playback device and one or more other playback devices, including a second playback device, the method comprising:
- synchronizing a first reference clock accessible by the first playback device with a second reference clock accessible by the second playback device;
- acknowledging the media asset that is to be synchronized on the first playback device and the second playback device;
- acknowledging a start point along a progress timeline of the media asset at which playback is to begin on the first playback device and the second playback device;
- acknowledging a reference time when playback is to begin on the first playback device;
- creating a first playback timeline for the first playback device by temporally aligning the progress timeline to the first reference clock so that the start point syncs with the reference time, the first playback timeline matching a second playback timeline for the second playback device;
- and
- playing the media asset with the first playback timeline on the first playback device while the media asset is played with the second playback timeline on the second playback device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.