US007454511B2
`
`(12) United States Patent
`US 7,454,511 B2
`(10) Patent No.:
`Weast
`(45) Date of Patent:
`*Nov. 18, 2008
`
`(54)
`
`VISIBILITY 0F UPNP MEDIA RENDERERS
`AND INITIATING RENDERING VIA FILE
`SYSTEM USER INTERFACE
`
`6,675,387 B1 *
`2004/0044723 A1 *
`2004/0148362 A1*
`
`1/2004 Boucher et a1.
`............. 725/105
`...... 709/203
`3/2004 Bell et a1.
`
`7/2004 Friedman .................... 709/217
`
`(75)
`
`Inventor:
`
`John C. Weast, Hillsboro, OR (US)
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`(73)
`
`Assignee:
`
`Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, CA
`(US)
`
`(*)
`
`Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 890 days.
`
`MediaRenderer:1 Device Template Version 1.01 For Universal Plug
`and Play Version 1.0, Jun. 25, 2002, 12 pgs, Microsoft Corporation.
`MediaServer: 1 Device Template Version 1 .01 For Universal Plug and
`Play Version 1.0, Jun. 25, 2002, 12 pgs, Microsoft Corporation.
`UPnP AV Architecture:0.83 For Universal Plug and PlayVersion 1.0,
`Jun. 12, 2002, Microsoft Corporation.
`
`This patent is subject to a terminal dis-
`claimer.
`
`(21)
`
`Appl. No.: 10/447,882
`
`(22)
`
`Filed:
`
`May 29, 2003
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`Primary Examiner7William C Vaughn, Jr.
`Assistant Examineriloiya M. Cloud
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firmischwabe, Williamson &
`Wyatt, PC.
`
`(65)
`
`(51)
`
`(52)
`
`(58)
`
`(56)
`
`Prior Publication Data
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`US 2004/0243694 A1
`
`Dec. 2, 2004
`
`Int. Cl.
`
`(2006.01)
`G06F 15/16
`US. Cl.
`....................... 709/231; 709/223; 709/219;
`709/203
`
`Field of Classification Search ................. 709/203,
`709/223, 231, 219
`See application file for complete search history.
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`A computing device is equipped with file system services and
`media related services that automatically make visible to a
`user of the computing device, through an user interface ofthe
`file system, availability of one or more UPNP media render-
`ers, on discovery of the availability of the one or more UPNP
`media renderers. In various embodiments, the file system
`services and the media related services are further equipped
`to cause a media content to be rendered by a UPNP media
`renderer, in response to the user dragging and dropping the
`file system entry corresponding to the media content into the
`file system entry corresponding to the UPNP media renderer.
`
`5,913,038 A *
`
`6/1999 Griffiths ..................... 709/231
`
`11 Claims, 15 Drawing Sheets
`
`
`
`
`Z:\MvMedia\Renderers
`
`File Edit View Heln~404
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`£5” E33 "406
`Address: Z:\MyMedia\Renderers
`
`1
`
`
`
`
`Name ~412
`
`Size~414 Tvpe~416 Date ~418
`
`11} Music Player
`JVideo Player
`
`345KB
`678KB
`
`Renderer
`Renderer
`
`10/16/02
`07/23/01
`
`Q3
`
`4021:
`
`
`
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`U.S. Patent
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`Nov. 18, 2008
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`US 7,454,511 B2
`
`1
`VISIBILITY 0F UPNP MEDIA RENDERERS
`AND INITIATING RENDERING VIA FILE
`SYSTEM USER INTERFACE
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention relates to the field of media content
`rendering. More specifically, the present invention is related
`to a user friendly technique to employ UPnP media renderers
`to render media content available from UPnP media servers.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`Advances in microprocessor and related technologies have
`led to wide spread deployment and adoption of computing
`devices. Computing powers that used to be available only in
`very expensive main frame computers requiring conditioned
`operating environment, are now available in many personal
`computing devices. Their form factors vary from desktop,
`laptop, palm sized, and so forth. A number ofthese computing
`devices are packaged as “special purpose” devices, such set-
`top boxes, entertainment control centers, personal digital
`assistants (PDA), pagers,
`text messengers, and wireless
`mobile phones.
`Concurrently, advances in networking, telecommunication
`and related technologies, in particular, in the area of wireless
`networking/communication, have led to increased connectiv-
`ity between computing devices, over local, private, wide area,
`and/or public networks. Ofparticular notoriety is the Internet.
`Together, these and other related factors have contributed
`to the availability of rich multi-media content available from
`a variety of media servers, for consumption on a variety of
`media rendering devices. Recently, this trend of connected
`consumption ofhigh quality media content has made particu-
`lar significant advances in the home operating environment.
`To facilitate interchangeability and ease of employment of
`a wide range ofrich media rendering devices to render media
`contents, the UPnP A/V Architecture Specification and a
`number of related specifications are being developed by the
`members of the UPnP Forum. These specifications specify
`the protocol and services to be supported by the UPnP A/V
`Media Server providing media contents, and the UPnP A/V
`Media Renderers which render the provided media contents,
`and the control point which controls the cooperation between
`the complying media servers and the complying media ren-
`derers.
`
`However, these specifications do not specify the user inter-
`face through which the media contents, the complying servers
`and renderers are to be made visible to the users at the control
`
`points, and the user interface through which their operations
`are to be controlled.
`
`Thus, an approach, preferably a user friendly one, for a user
`at a UPnP control point to discern the media contents avail-
`able from the various UPnP media severs, and the various
`UPnP media renderers present in a network domain, and to
`control their operations to consume the available media con-
`tent is desired.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`The present invention will be described by way of exem-
`plary embodiments, but not limitations,
`illustrated in the
`accompanying drawings in which like references denote
`similar elements, and in which:
`FIG. 1 illustrates a system view of an example operating
`environment suitable for use to practice the present invention,
`in accordance with one embodiment;
`
`2
`FIG. 2 illustrates an architectural view of a device suitable
`
`for use as a UPnP control point and/or a UPnP media server,
`in accordance with one embodiment;
`FIGS. 3a-3b illustrate an overview of the protocol and
`methods for the UPnP control point to interact with and
`control the UPnP media servers and the UPnP media renders,
`in accordance with one embodiment;
`FIGS. 4a-4c illustrate three example screen shots of a file
`system user interface being advantageously employed to
`make visible available media contents from UPnP media
`
`servers ofthe operating environment, in accordance with one
`embodiment;
`FIGS. 5a-5b illustrate two example screen shots of a file
`system user interface being advantageously employed to
`make visible available UPnP media renderers ofthe operating
`environment, in accordance with two embodiments;
`FIGS. 611-619 illustrate two example screen shots of a file
`system user interface being advantageously employed to
`facilitate a user in employing a UPnP media renderer to
`render media content available from a UPnP media server of
`
`the operating environment, in accordance with two other
`embodiments;
`FIG. 7 illustrates an example screen shot of a file system
`user interface being advantageously employed to facilitate a
`user in employing a UPnP media renderer to render media
`content available from a UPnP media server of the operating
`environment, in accordance with yet another embodiment;
`FIG. 8 illustrates an example screen shot of a file system
`user interface being advantageously employed to facilitate a
`user in controlling a UPnP media renderer’s rendering of a
`media content available from a UPnP media server of the
`
`operating environment, in accordance with one embodiment;
`FIG. 9 illustrates the operational flow of the relevant
`aspects of the file system services of the control point device
`of FIG. 1, in accordance with one embodiment; and
`FIG. 10 illustrates the operational flow of the relevant
`aspects of the media related services of the control point
`device of FIG. 1, in accordance with one embodiment.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
`OF THE INVENTION
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`The present invention includes a user friendly technique
`for a user to employ and control a UPnP media renderer to
`render media content available from a UPnP media server in
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`an operating environment.
`Parts of the description will be presented in terms com-
`monly employed by those skilled in the art to convey the
`substance of their work to others skilled in the art. The terms
`
`“control point”, “media content”, “media server” and “media
`renderer” have the same meaning as the terms are employed
`in the UPNP A/V Architecture and related specifications,
`available at the time of filing the present application. In the
`case of UPnP A/V Architecture Specification, that is version
`1.0.
`
`In the following description, various aspects of the present
`invention will be described. However, it will be apparent to
`those skilled in the art that the present invention may be
`practiced with only some or all aspects of the present inven-
`tion. For purposes ofexplanation, specific numbers, materials
`and configurations are set forth in order to provide a thorough
`understanding of the present invention. However, it will be
`apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention
`may be practiced without
`the specific details.
`In other
`instances, well-known features are omitted or simplified in
`order not to obscure the present invention.
`
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`US 7,454,511 B2
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`3
`Various operations will be described as multiple discrete
`steps in turn, in a manner that is most helpful in understanding
`the present
`invention, however,
`the order of description
`should not be construed as to imply that these operations are
`necessarily order dependent. In particular, these operations
`need not be performed in the order of presentation.
`The phrase “in one embodiment” is used repeatedly. The
`phrase generally does not refer to the same embodiment,
`however,
`it may. The terms “comprising”, “having” and
`“including” are synonymous, unless the context dictates oth-
`erwise.
`
`Referring now to FIG. 1, wherein an overview of an
`example operating environment incorporated with the teach-
`ings the present invention, in accordance with one embodi-
`ment, is shown. As illustrated, example operating environ-
`ment 100 includes device 102, operating in the role of a UPnP
`control point, UPnP media servers 104, and UPnP media
`renderers 106, operationally coupled to each other as shown.
`UPnP media servers 104 comprise a number of media
`contents 132. UPnP media servers 104 provide media con-
`tents 132 to selected ones of UPnP media renderers 106 to
`
`render, at the control of control point 102. In various embodi-
`ments, media contents 132 provided by UPnP media servers
`104 may include media contents 132 accessible to UPnP
`media servers 104, but not disposed on UPnP media servers
`104 itself.
`
`Media contents 132 may be audio, video, textual, graphi-
`cal, pictorial, and/or other contents of the like, including
`combinations thereof. Each UPNP media renderer 106 may
`be equipped to render one or more of the enumerated media
`types, i.e. audio, video, and so forth.
`In general, the term “media content” as used herein is
`synonymous with the term “media item” used in the earlier
`identified UPnP Specification, unless the context clearly indi-
`cates to the contrary.
`In various embodiments, elements 102-106 are coupled to
`each other wirelessly 142-146, i.e. they are members of a
`wireless network domain. In other embodiments, elements
`102-106 are coupled to each other as members of a wire based
`network domain.
`
`Regardless ofthe manner elements 102-106 are coupled to
`each other,
`for the embodiment, elements 102-106 are
`equipped to operate in accordance with the above described
`UPnP family of specifications.
`Additionally, in accordance with the present invention,
`control point device 102 includes media related services 112
`and enhanced file system services 124, part of operating
`system services 122. Media related services 112 and
`enhanced file system services 124 are equipped to cooperate
`with each other, to enable media contents 132 available from
`UPnP media servers 104 and availability of UPnP media
`renderers 106 be made visible through the user interface of
`the file system implemented by file system services 124.
`Further, selection of media content 132 for rendering, and
`media renderer 106 to perform the rendering, may be made
`through the same user interface of the file system.
`Preferably, the file system user interface is a graphical user
`interface. An example ofa graphical file system user interface
`is the file system user interface of the Windows family of
`operating systems of Microsoft Corporation, of Redmond,
`Wash.
`
`Resultantly, since users are generally familiar with the user
`interfaces of the file systems of the devices the UPnP control
`points reside, consumption of media contents 132, using
`UPnP media renderers 106, and controlling the rendering
`may be made much more user friendly than the prior art.
`Further, as will be apparent from the descriptions to follow,
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`legacy media contents may be easily made available and
`rendered by the available UPnP renderers also.
`Continuing to refer to FIG. 1, for the embodiment, media
`related services 112 include in particular, media content man-
`agement service 114 and media rendering control service
`116. Media content management service 114 is equipped to
`facilitate making visible the availability of media contents
`132 from UPnP media servers 104. Media rendering control
`service 116, on the other hand, is equipped to facilitate mak-
`ing visible the availability of UPnP media renderers 106
`through the user interface of the file system, as well as selec-
`tion of media contents 132 for rendering by selected ones of
`UPnP media renderers 106. [Accordingly, media rendering
`control service 116 as referred herein is to be distinguished
`from the service bearing the same name specified in the
`earlier mentioned UPnP Specification, unless the context
`clearly indicates to the contrary.]
`Except for media related services 112, and enhancements
`made to file system services 124, device 102 (including oper-
`ating system services 122, other than the enhancements made
`to file system services 124), UPnP media servers 104 (includ-
`ing media contents 132) and UPnP media renderers 106 rep-
`resent a broad range ofthese elements known in the art, and to
`be designed. The functions as well as their constitutions are
`known; accordingly, they will not be further described.
`Media related services 112 and enhancements made to file
`
`system services 124 will be further described in turn below.
`However, before doing so, it should be noted that while for
`ease of understanding, control point device 102 and UPnP
`media servers 104 are illustrated, and will be described as
`separate entities,
`in alternate embodiments, control point
`device 102 and at least some of the UPnP servers 104 may be
`implemented on the same apparatus.
`In one embodiment, operating environment 100 is a home
`computing environment.
`FIG. 2 illustrates an example computing device 200, suit-
`able for use to as either control point device 102 or UPnP
`media server 104 to practice the present invention, in accor-
`dance with one embodiment. As illustrated, computing
`device 200 includes one or more processors 202, system
`memory 204, mass storage devices 206, other I/O devices 208
`and network communication interface 210, coupled to each
`other via system bus 212 as shown.
`Processor 202 is employed to execute various software
`components 214, e.g. media related services 112 and operat-
`ing system services 122 when computing device 200 is used
`as control point device 102. Processor 202 may be any one of
`a number of processors known in the art or to be designed.
`Examples of suitable processors include but are not limited
`microprocessors available from Intel Corp of Santa Clara,
`Calif.
`
`System memory 204 is employed to store working copies
`of software components 214, such as media related services
`112 and operating system services 122 in the case of control
`point device 102. System memory 204 may be Dynamic
`Random Access Memory (DRAM), Synchronous DRAM
`(SDRAM) or other memory devices of the like.
`Mass storage devices 206 are employed to persistently
`store data, including e.g. contents 132, if computing device
`200 is used as a UPnP media server 104. Examples of mass
`storage devices 206 include but are not limited to hard disks,
`CDROM, DVDROM, and so forth.
`Other I/O devices 208 are employed to facilitate other
`aspects of input/output. Examples of other I/O devices 208
`include but are not limited to keypads, cursor control, video
`display and so forth.
`
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`US 7,454,511 B2
`
`5
`Network communication interface 210 is employed to
`facilitate network communication with control point device
`102 or UPnP media server 104, depending on whether com-
`puting device is used as UPnP media server 104 or control
`point device 102, as well as communication with UPnP media
`renderers 106. Network communication interface 210 may be
`wired based or wireless. In various embodiments, network
`communication interface 210 may also support other net-
`working protocols.
`In various embodiments, computing device 200, whether
`used as control point device 102 or UPnP media server 104,
`may be a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet com-
`puter, a palm-sized computing device, a PDA, a set-top box,
`an entertainment center controller, a wireless mobile phone,
`and so forth.
`FIGS. 3a-3b illustrate overviews of the communication
`
`protocols employed by control point 102 to interact with and
`control UPnP media servers 104 and UPnP renderers 106, in
`accordance with one embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 3a,
`control point device 102 first discovers the presence of vari-
`ous UPnP media servers 104 in an operating environment or
`more specifically, a network domain, by issuing discovery
`requests in accordance with the earlier mentioned UPnP A/V
`Architecture Specification, op 302.
`In response, UPnP media servers 104 respond as called for
`by the earlier mentioned UPnP A/V Architecture Specifica-
`tion, op 304.
`In response to the receipt of each of these responses, con-
`trol point device 102 requests for the identifications of media
`contents 132 available from the responding UPnP media
`server 104, in accordance with the earlier mentioned UPnP
`A/VArchitecture Specification, op 306. For the embodiment,
`control point device 102 also requests for the corresponding
`meta data describing the available media contents 132.
`In response, the UPnP media server 104 provides the iden-
`tifications ofmedia contents 132 available, including if appli-
`cable, the meta data describing the available media contents
`132, op 308.
`As alluded to earlier, and to be more fully described below,
`on receipt of the identifications and meta data, control point
`device 102 advantageously makes visible these information
`through the familiar user interface ofthe file system ofcontrol
`point device 102.
`Examples of meta data may include, but are not limited to,
`the title, the size, the version, date of creation, the media type,
`the artist, and so forth of the media content 132.
`In various embodiments, operations 306 and 308 may be
`performed via one or more sets of requests and responses.
`Thereafter, during operation, at an appropriate time, in
`response to a user selection to render a media content, control
`point device 102 instructs the applicable UPnP media servers
`104 accordingly, to provide applicable ones ofmedia contents
`132 to the appropriate ones of UPnP media renderers 106, op
`310. In alternate embodiments, control point device 102 may
`instruct a UPnP media renderer to pull the applicable media
`content from the applicable UPnP media server 104 instead.
`As illustrated in FIG. 3b, control point device 102 first
`discovers the presence of various UPnP media renderers 106
`in an operating environment or more specifically, a network
`domain, by issuing discovery pings in accordance with the
`earlier mentioned UPnP A/V Architecture Specification, op
`312.
`
`In response, UPnP media renderers 106 respond as called
`for by the earlier mentioned UPnP A/V Architecture Specifi-
`cation, op 314.
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`For the embodiment, in response to the receipt of each of
`these responses, control point device 102 requests for the
`description documents describing the responding UPnP
`media renderer 106, op 316.
`In response, the UPnP media renderers 106 provide the
`description documents as requested, op 318.
`As alluded to earlier and to be more fully described below,
`on receipt of the identifications and description documents,
`control point device 102 advantageously makes visible these
`information through the familiar user interface of the file
`system of control point device 102.
`Examples ofdescription information in a description docu-
`ment may include, but are not limited to, the renderer type,
`e.g. DVD player, media types supported, e.g. DVD, CD,
`VCD, the manufacturer, and so forth of a UPnP media ren-
`derer 106.
`
`In various embodiments, operations 316 and 318 may be
`performed via one or more sets of requests and responses.
`Thereafter, during operation, at an appropriate time, in
`response to a user selection to render a media content, control
`point device 102 instructs the applicable UPnP media render-
`ers 106 accordingly, to receive/pull and render provided
`media contents 132 from UPnP media servers 104, op 320.
`FIGS. 4a-4c illustrate three example screen shots ofan user
`interface of a file system, through which media contents 132
`(available from UPnP media servers 104) and UPnP media
`renderers 106, may be made visible to a user of control point
`device 102, in accordance with one embodiment.
`As illustrated in FIG. 411, for the embodiment, for each
`media content 132 available from a UPnP media server 104,
`media related services 112 in cooperation with file system
`services 124 cause a corresponding file system entry 422 to be
`created within the file system. Resultantly, corresponding file
`system entries 422 may be visible through a file system win-
`dow, such as file system window 40211.
`In various embodiments, file system entries 422 are repre-
`sentative dummy or pseudo media files; in other words, they
`correspond to media contents 132, but they are not media
`contents 132 themselves. In various embodiments, file sys-
`tem entries 422 are corresponding pointers or links of media
`contents 132, i.e. file system entries 422 integrally include
`location information of media contents 132.
`
`In various embodiments, file system entries 422 may be
`typed also. That is, file system entries may be typed in accor-
`dance with the media type of the corresponding media con-
`tents 132, e.g. music, video, and so forth.
`Further, in various embodiments, creation of file system
`entries 422 includes storage of meta data describing the cor-
`responding media contents 132. In particular,
`in various
`embodiments, the meta data are stored as properties associ-
`ated with file system entries 422.
`As illustrated in FIG. 4b, for the embodiment, for each
`media renderer 106 discovered, media related services 112 in
`cooperation with file system services 124 cause a correspond-
`ing file system entry 424 to be created within the file system.
`Resultantly, corresponding file system entries 424 may be
`visible through a file system window, such as file system
`window 40219.
`
`In various embodiments, file system entries 424 are repre-
`sentative dummy or pseudo file system folders. In various
`embodiments,
`file system entries 424 are corresponding
`pointers or links ofUPnP media renderers 106, i.e. file system
`entries 424 integrally include location information of UPnP
`media renderers 106.
`
`In various embodiments, file system entries 424 may be
`typed also. That is, file system entries may be typed in accor-
`
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`US 7,454,511 B2
`
`7
`dance with the media type of the media contents 132 UPnP
`media renderers 106 are equipped to render.
`Further, file system entries 424 may also be associated with
`the description documents of UPnP media renderers 106,
`describing them.
`Refer now to FIG. 40, for the embodiment, the user inter-
`face of the file system also supports viewing of its entries in a
`tree like structure 426. Accordingly, by advantageously mak-
`ing Visible media contents 132 (available from UPnP media
`servers 104) and UPnP media renderers 106 through an user
`interface of a file system as earlier described, available media
`contents 132 and UPnP media renderers 106 may also be
`visible in the tree like structure 426 as illustrated, while a user
`is viewing or working with other non-media content related
`entries 428 of the file system.
`FIGS. 5a-5b illustrate two example screen shots of an user
`interface of a file system, through which rendering of media
`contents 132 available from UPnP media servers 104 by
`selected ones of UPnP media renderers 106 may be initiated
`by a user of control point device 102, in accordance with
`couple of embodiments. In these embodiments, rendering of
`media contents 132 may be initiated through a command
`available through the drop down menu of 502a/502b of the
`“File” command.
`
`In alternate embodiments, rendering ofmedia contents 132
`may be initiated via other techniques, e. g. through a context
`menu provided in response to a right click of a cursor control
`device.
`
`More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 5a, in the 502a
`embodiment, rendering of media contents 132 is initiated
`through the generic “open” command. As will be described in
`more detail below, in response to the selection of the “open”
`command, file system services 124 and media related services
`112 cooperate to determine whether the selected file system
`entry 422 against which the “open” command is to “operate”
`is a corresponding file system entry of a media content 132. If
`so, file system services 124 and media related services 112
`further cooperate to determine its UPnP media server 104,
`media type, and locate an appropriate available UPnP media
`renderer 106.
`
`Upon so determining, file system services 124 and media
`related services 112 cooperate to cause the corresponding
`media content 132 to be opened (also referred to as
`“launched”), and be provided from the appropriate UPnP
`media server 104 to the appropriate UPnP media renderer 106
`to render.
`
`In alternate embodiments, file system services 124 and
`media related services 112 may cooperate to cause the corre-
`sponding media content 132 to be rendered by other applica-
`tions, such as a media player application, instead.
`The 50219 embodiment is similar to the 502a embodiment,
`except a media content tailored “open”, or more specifically,
`a “play” command is employed (instead ofthe generic “open”
`command). File system services 124 are enhanced to deter-
`mine the entry type of the selected file system entry when the
`drop down menu is requested. If the entry type ofthe selected
`file system entry is determined to be a file system entry
`corresponding to a media content 132, drop down menu 50219
`with the tailored “play” command is presented to the user
`instead.
`
`On selection of the “play” command, file system services
`124 and media related services 112 cooperate to respond in
`substantially the same manner as earlier described.
`In various implementations, regardless of embodiment
`502a or embodiment 502b, upon initiating the rendering of
`the selected media content 132, media related services 112
`may further facilitate a user in selecting a UPnP media ren-
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`derer 106 of the user’s choice, if multiple capable UPnP
`media renderers 106 are available.
`
`FIGS. 6a-6b illustrate two example screen shots of an
`(augmented) user interface of a file system, through which
`rendering of media contents 132 available from UPnP media
`se