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EP-3794834-B1 - METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MODIFYING OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS OF PROXIMATE DEVICES

EP3794834B1EP 3794834 B1EP3794834 B1EP 3794834B1EP-3794834-B1

Inventors

  • PULICHARLA, DURGA PRASAD
  • SRINIVASAN, MADHUSUDHAN

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20200423

Claims (15)

  1. A method of modifying output characteristics of second content devices located proximate to a first content device, the method comprising: detecting consumption of a content stream at the first content device; receiving identifiers of portions of the content stream, the portions designated as portions of the content stream susceptible to interruption during which a user may be distracted while consuming the content stream; selecting second content devices located proximate to the first content device, wherein the second content devices are consuming different content streams simultaneously with the content stream consumption of the first content device, and wherein each consumption of the different content streams further comprises output characteristics; determining a user identifier of each of the second content devices; and for each second content device having a determined user identifier different from a user identifier of the first content device, reducing an output characteristic of the each second content device proximate to the first content device during consumption of any of the designated portions of the content stream on the first content device.
  2. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving further comprises receiving the identifiers of portions of the content stream from metadata of the content.
  3. The method of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the method further comprises designating the first content device as a priority device.
  4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first content device is consuming live content.
  5. The method of claim 4, wherein the live content is live primetime content.
  6. The method of claim 3, wherein the first content device is consuming video on demand or pay per view content.
  7. The method of any of claims 1-6, wherein the output characteristic is one of an output volume and an output luminance.
  8. The method of claim 7, wherein the output characteristic is the output volume, and the modifying further comprises muting the output volume.
  9. The method of any of claims 1-8, wherein the modifying further comprises modifying an output volume of one or more of ringtones of each of the content devices other than the priority device, notifications of each of the content devices other than the priority device, and alerts of each of the content devices other than the priority device.
  10. The method of any of claims 1-9, further comprising: selecting additional devices different from the second content devices; and modifying output characteristics of the selected additional devices during consumption of any of the designated portions of the content stream on the first content device; wherein the additional devices include connected devices.
  11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having non-transitory computer-readable instructions encoded thereon for modifying output characteristics of proximate devices that, when executed by control circuitry, cause the control circuitry to perform the method of any of claims 1-10.
  12. A system for modifying output characteristics of second content devices located proximate to a first content device, the system comprising: a storage device; and control circuitry configured to: detect consumption of a content stream at the first content device; receive identifiers of portions of the content stream, the portions designated as portions of the content stream susceptible to interruption during which a user may be distracted while consuming the content stream; select second content devices located proximate to the first content device, wherein the second content devices are consuming different content streams simultaneously with the content stream consumption of the first content device, and wherein each consumption of the different content streams further comprises output characteristics; determine a user identifier of each of the second content devices; and for each second content device having a determined user identifier different from a user identifier of the first content device, reduce an output characteristic of the each second content device proximate to the first content device during consumption of any of the designated portions of the content stream on the first content device.
  13. The system of claim 12, wherein the system further comprises designating the first content device as the priority device.
  14. The system of claim 12, wherein the first content device is consuming live content.
  15. The system of claim 12, wherein the system comprises means configured to execute the method of any of claims 2 or 5-10.

Description

Background Embodiments of the disclosure relate generally to content consumption on electronic devices. More specifically, embodiments of the disclosure relate to reducing distractions during consumption of content on electronic devices. US 2014/267906 discloses methods and apparatus for enhancing the viewing experience of video content. Summary The wide availability and selection of digital content, combined with the large number of electronic devices available for its display, mean that consumers may select and consume desired content at almost any time and any location that they wish. Additionally, contemporary personal electronic devices are now equipped with many different functions, allowing users to employ their devices at seemingly all times, for many different uses. The flexibility and availability of such electronic devices is not without its drawbacks, however. For example, many different devices are often used in close proximity to each other, raising the possibility that some devices may disturb or distract nearby users of other devices. This is particularly true in areas such as homes, coffee shops, and other areas where people frequently congregate. In the home example, multiple members of the same household can find themselves sitting in the same room but each utilizing different electronic devices at the same time. Noises emitted by any such device may distract other device users in the room. Adding to this problem is the increasingly likely presence of still further devices in the same room or nearby, such as household appliances, electronic peripherals like printers, electronic personal assistants, and the like. Each may output noises, light, or images that may disturb people watching content on their devices. Accordingly, to overcome the problems and limitations of electronic devices distracting other users when in close proximity, systems and methods are described herein for a computer-based process that determines when a device is consuming content susceptible to interruption, and modifies an output characteristic of other nearby devices. The output characteristic can be any characteristic of an electronic device, such as output volume, screen or indicator light luminance, noise from operation of devices such as home appliances, and the like. To carry out this process, a system receives identifiers of portions of content designated as susceptible to interruption. Examples of such portions include quiet or dark content whose viewers would be easily distracted by nearby noises or flashing lights, and live content that cannot be rewound and played back after a distraction. Nearby devices are then selected for their proximity to the interruptible content being consumed, and the users of these devices are determined. If the users of these nearby devices are different from the user viewing the interruptible content, then output characteristics of these nearby devices are modified while interruptible content is being consumed. In this manner, the system continuously scans for portions of content that are susceptible to interruption, and when these portions are being consumed, modifies the output characteristics of other nearby devices, thus reducing distractions for the viewers of interruptible content. The designation of content as susceptible to interruption may be made via metadata. More specifically, content metadata may contain identifiers or pointers defining those portions of content that have been marked or selected as susceptible to interruption. The identifiers of such content portions may thus be received from content metadata. It may be beneficial for the system to modify the output characteristics of only those devices that are used by others besides the viewer of interruptible content. In particular, a user may wish to watch both the interruptible content on one device, and other content on another device. For example, a user may wish to watch a movie with scenes susceptible to interruption, while also following a sporting event on his or her phone. Accordingly, it is beneficial for the system to determine the user of each device. In this situation, the user may wish to continue following the sporting event even during sensitive scenes of the movie. To that end, the system may employ user identifiers for each device, where the user identifiers indicate which user is currently using a particular device. The modification in output characteristics may thus be applied to only those devices with a user different from the user streaming interruptible content. As the risk of interruption only arises for nearby devices, embodiments of the disclosure contemplate the selection of devices by location. A predetermined set of devices can be determined, such as a set of devices which are currently receiving a content stream from a particular source, or which are currently latched onto a particular network. From this set of devices, only those which are near the device consuming interruptible