US 9,071,887 B2Granted

Media session heartbeat messaging

AssigneeVerizon Patent and Licensing Inc.

InventorsXuefeng Yao, Jack Jianxiu Hao, Sandeep G. Rathi, Zhiying Jin

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Abstract

A client device plays streaming media, and obtains a media playback position of the media at a first time. The client device sends a first message from the client device to a server, wherein the first message includes the media playback position and where the media playback position includes a time reference associated with playback of the media at the first time. The client device receives a first reply message from the server, wherein the first reply message indicates a time period. The client device sends a second message from the first client to the server, based on expiration of the time period, wherein the second message includes a media playback position of the media at a second time during the playing of the streaming media that is different than the first time.

Claims24

Dependent claims

A method, comprising:

initiating, at a first device associated with a user, a heartbeat timer in response to receiving user input to continue playback or to begin playback of media associated with a streaming media session;
receiving the media associated with the streaming media session at the first device;
playing the media at the first device;
obtaining, at the first device and during the playing of the media, a heartbeat access token, a media playback status associated with the media, and a current playback position of the playing media;
sending, at intervals during the playing of the media, messages from the first device to a network device that is separate from the first device, wherein each of the messages includes a session identifier (ID) associated with the streaming media session, the heartbeat access token, the media playback status, and the current playback position of the playing media at one of the intervals at which a respective one of the messages is sent;
receiving, at the first device from the network device, a reply message corresponding to each one of the messages sent, wherein one or more reply messages specify a length of an interval;
determining, at the first device and responsive to each of the reply messages, whether a time value of the heartbeat timer is less than the specified length;
resetting, at the first device, the heartbeat timer responsive to a determination that the time value of the heartbeat timer is not less than the specified length;
determining, at the first device and responsive to a determination that the time value of the heartbeat timer is less than the specified length, whether the streaming media session has ended;
resetting, at the first device, the heartbeat timer responsive to a determination that the streaming media session has not ended;
and
obtaining, at the first device and responsive to a determination that the streaming media session has ended, the media playback status indicating that the streaming media session has ended and a corresponding media playback position.

9 more elements

A method, comprising:

initiating, at a first client of multiple clients associated with a user, a heartbeat timer in response to receiving user input to continue playback or to begin playback of media associated with a streaming media session;
starting, responsive to receiving the user input, playback of the media at the first client;
determining, at the first client, that the heartbeat timer is less than a specified time period;
determining, at the first client and responsive to the determination that the heartbeat timer is less than the specified time period, that the streaming media session has ended;
obtaining, at the first device and responsive to the determination that the streaming media session has ended, a media playback status indicating that the streaming media session has ended and a current playback position of the media;
sending, from the first client to a network device, a first message that includes a session identifier associated with the streaming media session, a heartbeat access token, a media playback status, and the current playback position of the media;
retrieving, at a second client of the multiple clients and from the network device, the current playback position of the media based on the session identifier;
and
resuming playback of the media, at the second client, from the retrieved current playback position of the media.

6 more elements

A device, comprising:

a communication interface connected to a network via a wired or wireless link;
a display;
and
a processing unit configured to:
initiate a heartbeat timer in response to receiving user input, from a user associated with the device, to continue playback or to begin playback of streaming media,
play, via the display, the streaming media,
obtain a first media playback status associated with the streaming media, and a first media playback position of the streaming media, at a first time during the playing,
send, via the communication interface, a first message from the device to a server, wherein the first message includes a session identifier (ID) for the streaming media, the first media playback status, and the first media playback position,
receive, via the communication interface, a first reply message from the server, wherein the first reply message indicates a time period,
compare, responsive to the first reply message, a time value of the heartbeat timer to the indicated time period,
reset, based on the comparison, the heartbeat timer based on an expiration of the indicated time period,
obtain, based on an expiration of the indicated time period, a second media playback status associated with the streaming media, and a second media playback position of the streaming media, at a second time during the playing, and
send, via the communication interface, a second message to the server, based on the expiration of the indicated time period, wherein the second message includes the session ID, the second media playback status, and the second media playback position.

10 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/651,872Filed 15 Oct 2012
Published: US 2014/0108497 A117 Apr 2014
Granted: 30 Jun 2015
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification12 codes

H04N 21/85406
Content authoring: involving a specific file format, e.g. MP4 format
H04L 65/00
Network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet
H04L 65/612
For supporting one-way streaming services, e.g. Internet radio: for unicast
H04L 65/613
For supporting one-way streaming services, e.g. Internet radio: for the control of the source by the destination