Selection of Playback Devices

Abstract

Example techniques involve selection of playback devices within a media playback system for outputting a media stream based on user input. An example implementation involves a controller causing a plurality of first representations of at least some of a plurality of playback devices to be displayed on a first portion of a display. The controller causes a plurality of second representations of at least some of one or more groups playback devices to be displayed on a second portion of the display, each group having at least two associated playback devices of the plurality of playback devices. The controller receives an input indicative of a particular group of the one or more groups and adjusts a selected status of the particular group. The controller also determines which playback devices are associated with the particular group, and adjusts a selected status of the playback devices that associated with the particular group.

1 . A method comprising, at a controller device:
 retrieving data indicative of a plurality of playback devices;   causing a plurality of first representations of at least some of the plurality of playback devices to be displayed on a first portion of a display of the controller device;   retrieving data indicative of one or more groups of playback devices, each group having at least two associated playback devices of the plurality of playback devices;   causing a plurality of second representations of at least some of the one or more groups to be displayed on a second portion of the display; and   responsive to receipt of an input indicative of a particular group of the one or more groups:
 adjusting a selected status of the particular group; 
 determining playback devices of the plurality of playback devices which are associated with the particular group; 
 adjusting a selected status of the playback devices that are determined to be associated with the particular group; 
 changing the second representation of the particular group on the second portion of the display based on the adjusted selected status of the particular group; and 
 changing the first representation of the playback devices that are determined to be associated with the particular group on the first portion of the display based on the adjusted selected status of the playback devices. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining that none of the playback devices that are determined to be associated with the particular group have a first representation visible on the first portion of the display; and   wherein the changing a representation of the playback devices comprises causing at least one first representation of a playback device associated with the particular group to be visible on the first portion of the display.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: after the adjusting a selected status of playback devices associated with the particular group, adjusting a selected status of a further group of playback devices based on the adjusted status of the playback devices. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: responsive to receipt of an input indicative of a particular playback device:
 adjusting a selected status of the particular playback device;   changing the first representation of the particular playback device on the first portion of the display based on the selected status of the particular playback device;   determining at least one of the one or more groups which is associated the particular playback device;   adjusting a selected status of the determined at least one of the one or more groups, based on the selected status of the particular playback device; and   changing the second representation of the at least one of the one or more groups on the second portion of the display based on the selected status.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: causing reproduction of media according to the selected status of playback devices. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the data indicative of the one or more groups is retrieved from a storage of the controller device. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the data indicative of the one or more groups is retrieved from another device, separate from the controller. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the data indicative of the one or more groups is associated with a user account. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising storing a group based on user-selected playback devices before the step of retrieving data indicative of one or more groups of playback devices. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining a display name based on the selected status of the plurality of playback devices and the one or more groups. 
     
     
         11 . A controller for a media playback system comprising a plurality of playback devices, the controller comprising:
 a display;   a human interface device configured to allow user input to be received;   storage comprising non-transitory computer readable instructions for execution by the processor; and   a processor;   wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, instruct the processor to:   retrieve data indicative of a plurality of playback devices;   cause a plurality of first representations of at least some of the plurality of playback devices to be displayed on a first portion of a display of the controller device;   
       retrieve data indicative of one or more groups of playback devices, each group having at least two associated playback devices of the plurality of playback devices;
 cause a plurality of second representations of at least some of the one or more groups to be displayed on a second portion of the display; and 
 responsive to receipt of an input indicative of a particular group of the one or more groups:
 adjust a selected status of the particular group; 
 determine playback devices of the plurality of playback devices which are associated with the particular group; 
 adjust a selected status of the playback devices that are determined to be associated with the particular group; 
 change the second representation of the particular group on the second portion of the display based on the adjusted selected status of the particular group; and 
 change the first representation of the playback devices that are determined to be associated with the particular group on the first portion of the display based on the adjusted selected status of the playback devices. 
 
 
     
     
         12 . The controller of  claim 11 , wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, instruct the processor to:
 determine that none of the playback devices that are determined to be associated with the particular group have a first representation visible on the first portion of the display; and   
       wherein the changing a representation of the playback devices comprises causing at least one first representation of a playback device associated with the particular group to be visible on the first portion of the display. 
     
     
         13 . The controller of  claim 11 , wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, instruct the processor to: after the adjusting a selected status of playback devices associated with the particular group, adjust a selected status of a further group of playback devices based on the adjusted status of the playback devices. 
     
     
         14 . The controller of  claim 11 , wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, instruct the processor to:
 responsive to receipt of an input indicative of a particular playback device:
 adjust a selected status of the particular playback device; 
 change the first representation of the particular playback device on the first portion of the display based on the selected status of the particular playback device; 
 determine at least one of the one or more groups which is associated the particular playback device; 
 adjust a selected status of the determined at least one of the one or more groups, based on the selected status of the particular playback device; and 
 change the second representation of the at least one of the one or more groups on the second portion of the display based on the selected status. 
   
     
     
         15 . The controller of  claim 11 , wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, instruct the processor to:
 cause the reproduction of media according to the selected status of playback devices.   
     
     
         16 . The controller of  claim 11 , wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, instruct the processor to:
 retrieve the data indicative of the one or more groups from the storage.   
     
     
         17 . The controller of  claim 11 , wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, instruct the processor to:
 retrieve the data indicative of the one or more groups from another device, separate from the controller.   
     
     
         18 . The controller of  claim 11 , wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, instruct the processor to:
 determine a display name based on the selected status of the plurality of playback devices and the one or more groups.   
     
     
         19 . The controller of  claim 11 , wherein the display has a diagonal dimension which is less than or equal to about 18 cm. 
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer program instructions embodied thereon, wherein the computer program instructions, when executed by a processor of a controller, instruct the controller to:
 retrieve data indicative of a plurality of playback devices;   cause a plurality of first representations of at least some of the plurality of playback devices to be displayed on a first portion of a display of the controller device;   retrieve data indicative of one or more groups of playback devices, each group having at least two associated playback devices of the plurality of playback devices;   cause a plurality of second representations of at least some of the one or more groups to be displayed on a second portion of the display;   responsive to receipt of an input indicative of a particular group of the one or more groups:
 adjust a selected status of the particular group; 
 determine playback devices of the plurality of playback devices which are associated with the particular group; 
 adjust a selected status of the playback devices that are determined to be associated with the particular group; 
 change the second representation of the particular group on the second portion of the display based on the adjusted selected status of the particular group; and 
 change the first representation of the playback devices that are determined to be associated with the particular group on the first portion of the display based on the adjusted selected status of the playback devices; and 
   cause reproduction of media according to the selected status of playback devices.