System And Method For Video Display Transfer Between Video Playback Devices

Abstract

Systems, methods, and devices are disclosed for transferring video display between video playback devices. In one embodiment, a mobile, or handheld, device having a media broker detects a renderer. The mobile device initiates a transfer request to the media broker, the transfer request includes identifying information for the renderer. In one embodiment, the mobile device receives at the media broker a playback state of a media content on the renderer. The mobile device requests the media content from a media controller and receives and displays the media content from the media controller. In one embodiment, the transfer request directs the media broker to transfer content being displayed on the renderer to the mobile device.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A mobile device having a media broker comprising:
 a wireless communication interface component; and   a controller component associated with the wireless communication interface, adapted to:
 detect a renderer; and 
 initiate a transfer request to the media broker, wherein the transfer request includes identifying information for the renderer; and 
   wherein at least one of the components comprises at least one electronic hardware component.   
     
     
         2 . The mobile device of  claim 1  wherein the controller component is further adapted to:
 receive at the media broker a playback state of a media content on the renderer; 
 request the media content from a media controller; and 
 receive and display the media content from the media controller. 
 
     
     
         3 . The mobile device of  claim 1  wherein the controller component is further adapted to:
 receive at the media broker a playback state of a media content on the renderer; 
 retrieve the media content from memory on the mobile phone; and 
 display the media content on the mobile device. 
 
     
     
         4 . The mobile device of  claim 2 , wherein the playback state comprises one of a group consisting of:
 information identifying the media controller providing the media content;   information identifying the renderer;   information identifying the media content stream being delivered from the media controller to the renderer; and   information identifying a point in playback of the media content at the renderer.   
     
     
         5 . The mobile device of  claim 4 , wherein the information identifying a media controller comprises information identifying a media controller currently providing media content to the renderer. 
     
     
         6 . The mobile device of  claim 4 , wherein the information identifying a media controller comprises Internet Protocol address of a location of the media content and at least one credential to access the media controller. 
     
     
         7 . The mobile device of  claim 1  wherein the controller component is further adapted to:
 receive and display the media content from the media broker. 
 
     
     
         8 . The mobile device of  claim 1 , wherein the media broker further comprises:
 a content discovery function to discover accessible media content both locally and remotely.   
     
     
         9 . The mobile device of  claim 1 , wherein the media broker further comprises:
 an aggregation engine to create a merged guide that includes a listing of a plurality of media content including local media content and remote media content.   
     
     
         10 . The mobile device of  claim 9 , wherein the aggregation engine further includes a list of media controllers from which the remote content is accessible. 
     
     
         11 . The mobile device of  claim 9 , wherein the media broker is configured to receive a merged guide request from the renderer and provide the merged guide to the renderer. 
     
     
         12 . The mobile device of  claim 1 , wherein the media broker causes the media content to be streamed simultaneously and independently to the mobile device and the renderer. 
     
     
         13 . The mobile device of  claim 1 , wherein detecting the renderer comprises using a digital image of the renderer. 
     
     
         14 . The mobile device of  claim 1 , wherein detecting the renderer comprises wirelessly detecting the renderer. 
     
     
         15 . The mobile device of  claim 14 , wherein wirelessly detecting the renderer comprises receiving a Bluetooth identifier for the renderer. 
     
     
         16 . The mobile device of  claim 14 , wherein wirelessly detecting the renderer comprises detecting the renderer based on the highest strength of a signal indicator. 
     
     
         17 . The mobile device of  claim 1 , wherein detecting the renderer comprises using GPS and a digital compass. 
     
     
         18 . The mobile device of  claim 1 , wherein the transfer request directs the media broker to transfer media content being displayed on the renderer to the mobile device. 
     
     
         19 . The mobile device of  claim 1 , wherein the transfer request directs the media broker to transfer media content being displayed on the mobile device to the renderer.