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AN OVERBROAD PATENT ON Wireless Audio - This application from Logitech seeks to patent the idea of...Forwarding a media stream from a first media output device to a second media output device! 10 minutes of your time can help narrow US patent applications before they become patents. Follow @askpatents on twitter to help.

QUESTION - Have you seen anything that was published before 8/25/2011 that discusses:

  • Sharing a media stream between two media devices

If so, please submit evidence of prior art as an answer to this question.. We welcome multiple answers from the same individual.

EXTRA CREDIT - A reference to anything that meets all of the criteria to the question above AND ALSO terminates the first media stream when it is transferred to a second media device

TITLE: EASY SHARING OF WIRELESS AUDIO SIGNALS

Summary: [Translated from Legalese into English] A user commands (with voice, button, gesture, anything) a first media output device (e.g. an iPhone) to stream to a second media output device (e.g. a TV)

  • Publication Number: US20130117693 A1
  • Application Number: US 13/567,203
  • Assignee: Logitech
  • Prior Art Date: Seeking prior Art predating 8/25/2011
  • Open for Challenge at USPTO: Open through 11/5/2013

Claim 1 requires each and every step below:

A method comprising:

  1. receiving, at a first media output device, streaming media from a media source device;

  2. receiving, at the first media output device, a command by motion or voice to share the streaming media with a second media output device; and

  3. initiating, by the first media output device, sharing of the streaming media between the first media output device and the second media output device.

In English this means:

A method, comprising:

  1. Streaming media to a media output device

  2. Receiving a command to transfer the streaming media to a second media output device

  3. Streaming the media from the first media output device to the second media output device

Good prior art would be evidence of a system that did each and every one of these steps prior to 8/25/2011

You're probably aware of ten pieces of art that meet this criteria already... separately, the applicant is claiming A reference to anything that meets all of the criteria to the question above AND ALSO where the first media output stream is terminated when it is streaming to a second media device

"easy sharing of media from one media output device from a first user to a media output device of a second userfrom the Applicant"

What is good prior art? Please see our FAQ.

Want to help? Please vote or comment on submissions below. We welcome you to post your own request for prior art on other questionable US Patent Applications.

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5 Answers 5

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Apple's AirPlay technology/branding (September 1, 2010) seems to fit the bill. One can stream audio/visual streams, for example YouTube/NetFlix/etc to iPhone/iPad to AppleTV. Unfortunately I have been unable to find a document detailing everything, but I have identified some Apple patents that may apply:

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This looks like it was preceded by http://www.google.com/patents/WO2006133764A8 "A method for establishing a paired connection between media devices"

" ABSTRACT A method for establishing a paired connection between first and second media devices >across a network includes transmitting a first information message across the network including an identifier that includes a request to pair the first and second media devices. When a second information message is received from the second media device within a first predetermined time period, the first device retrieves an identifier of the second device and transmits a confirmation message across the network including the device identifiers. A paired connection between the media devices is completed after a corresponding confirmation message from the second device is received within a second predetermined time period."

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Does this count: https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/126/kw/mesh

It mentions a mesh network between separate Sonos devices. The date published mentions 05/13/2004, but the document has been updated in 01/07/2013.

The picture of the mesh network: https://www.sonos.com/graphics/rn/FAQ126/SonosNet-wireless.PNG is dated as modified on 17 July 2008 16:43:45.

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VLC media player has had this functionality for many, many years (very handy to do multi-room audio at parties for no cost!). See (dated 2005): http://www.videolan.org/doc/streaming-howto/en/

The page linked above demonstrates all of the three required criteria for prior art but does takes some reading to fathom. The first page I found that walks you through it I've linked to below, dated 2009: https://github.com/videolan/vlc/commits/66d45378d23e7420a5facdcebf83aab95459a3fc/modules/gui/macosx/wizard.h

VLC is open source and stored on GIT, as such it's trivial to confirm at the code level when a feature was added, to help a little the code for the wizard (in Mac) has a header file with a date starting in 2005: https://github.com/videolan/vlc/commits/66d45378d23e7420a5facdcebf83aab95459a3fc/modules/gui/macosx/wizard.h

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Windows Media Player version 12, released in 2009, has the Play To functionality, which does precisely this. See this Wikipedia Article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Media_Player.

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