User interface for screencast applications

Abstract

An electronic device determines that an application has been launched for which screencasting is available. In response, the device displays a screencast control panel. A user inputs an instruction to begin screencasting via the control panel. In response to this instruction, the electronic device screencasts media content including content created by the application. A rate of screencasting is determined by a Frame Rate Conversion (FRC) module.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer-implemented method for screencasting media content from a first device to a second device, the method comprising:
 responsive to determining that a first application has been launched, displaying a user interface (UI) comprising a screencast UI element at the first device;   receiving, via user input using the screencast UI element of the user interface at the first device, an instruction to begin screencasting;   determining, by the first device, a rate of screencasting to be supported by the first device; and   responsive to the instruction, screencasting, at the determined rate, from the first device to the second device, media content including content created by the first application.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first device is a mobile device and the second device is a mobile device or a server device. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the user interface displayed at the first device is a screencast control panel provided by a second application that is different from the first application. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the rate of screencasting is determined by a frame rate conversion (FRC) module hosted by the first device. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 determining, by the FRC module, the rate of screencasting based on at least one of hardware of the first device or strength of network connection between the first device and the second device.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 adjusting, by the FRC module, the rate of screencasting based on variation in output condition.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the adjusting the rate of screencasting comprises:
 maintaining a buffer of frames in the FRC module; and   providing a number of frames in the buffer of frames to a video encoder.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 applying, by the FRC module, a policy to determine the number of frames based on the variation in the output condition.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the policy is implemented by dropping or duplicating frames from the buffer of frames. 
     
     
         10 . A first device for screencasting media content created at the first device to be transmitted to a second device, the first device comprising:
 one or more processors configured to execute instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to:   responsive to determining that a first application has been launched, display a user interface comprising a screencast UI element at the first device;   receive, via user input using the screencast UI element of the user interface at the first device, an instruction to begin screencasting;   determine, by the first device, a rate of screencasting to be supported by the first device; and   responsive to the instruction, screencast, at the determined rate, from the first device to the second device, media content including content created by the first application.   
     
     
         11 . The first device of  claim 10 , wherein the user interface displayed at the first device is a screencast control panel provided by a second application that is different from the first application. 
     
     
         12 . The first device of  claim 10 , wherein the first device includes a frame rate conversion (FRC) module that determines the rate of screencasting. 
     
     
         13 . The first device of  claim 12 , wherein the FRC module determines the rate of screencasting based on at least one of hardware of the first device or strength of network connection between the first device and the second device. 
     
     
         14 . The first device of  claim 13 , wherein the FRC module adjusts the rate of screencasting based on variation in output condition. 
     
     
         15 . The first device of  claim 14 , wherein the first device further comprises a video encoder, and the FRC module adjusts the rate of screencasting by:
 maintaining a buffer of frames in the FRC module; and   providing a number of frames in the buffer of frames to a video encoder.   
     
     
         16 . The first device of  claim 15 , wherein the FRC module applies a policy to determine the number of frames based on the variation in the output condition. 
     
     
         17 . The first device of  claim 16 , wherein the policy is implemented by dropping or duplicating frames from the buffer of frames. 
     
     
         18 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions for screencasting media content created at a first device to be transmitted to a second device, the instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
 responsive to determining that a first application has been launched, display a user interface comprising a screencast UI element at the first device;   receive, via user input using the screencast UI element of the user interface at the first device, an instruction to begin screencasting;   determine, by the first device, a rate of screencasting to be supported by the first device; and   responsive to the instruction, screencast, at the determined rate, from the first device to the second device, media content including content created by the first application.   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein the first device includes a frame rate conversion (FRC) module that determines the rate of screencasting based on at least one of hardware of the first device or strength of network connection between the first device and the second device. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 19 , wherein the FRC module adjusts the rate of screencasting based on variation in output condition.