System and method of managing metadata data

Abstract

A system and method of the present invention allow users to access, manage, and edit information about content data, often referred to as metadata. Metadata is collected from various sources, added, and maintained in a metadata database. In addition, metadata is dynamically read from the metadata database and dynamically displayed in a graphical user interface in an organized manner, such as a hierarchical tree. In the graphical user interface, a user may add, delete, and/or modify the metadata. As the user changes the metadata, the metadata database is updated and the user's changes are propagated throughout the graphical user interface such that the hierarchical tree is displays the changed metadata.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. In a user computer, a method comprising:
 generating a graphical representation of a plurality of metadata database entries corresponding to, audio/video content to be played by a media player application, each metadata entry stored locally at the user computer in the metadata database and characterized in accordance with a plurality of attributes that are associated with the audio/video content and shared between one or more of the plurality of metadata database entries;   receiving user input to manually modify one of the shared attributes;   recharacterizing in the metadata database, those of the plurality of metadata database entries characterized by the modified one of the shared attributes; and   dynamically updating the graphical representation of the one or more of the plurality of metadata database entries based upon the user input.   
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the audio/video content is played by the media player application in response to a metadata entry being selected by the user. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the user may manually perform at least one of a metadata addition, metadata deletion, and a metadata modification via the graphical representation. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the audio/video content comprises an MP3 file. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the metadata database is stored separate from the audio/video content. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the graphical representation further comprises a plurality of content grouping trees, each representing one or more of the plurality of metadata database entries and characterized in accordance with at least a first of the one or more attributes. 
     
     
       7. The method of  6 , wherein the graphical representation further comprises a table including metadata entries corresponding to nodes of a selected one of the plurality of content grouping trees. 
     
     
       8. The method of  7 , wherein the table includes metadata entries corresponding to leaf nodes of the selected one of the plurality of content grouping trees. 
     
     
       9. The method of  6 , wherein the plurality of content grouping trees comprises a hierarchical folder structure. 
     
     
       10. The method of  9 , wherein the plurality of content grouping trees comprises a hierarchical folder structure wherein the hierarchical folder structure is selectively expandable based upon user input. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the graphical representation further comprises a table including metadata entries characterized in accordance with at least a subset of the plurality of attributes associated with the audio/video content. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the metadata database is a hierarchically arranged database containing the plurality of metadata database entries corresponding to a plurality of audio/video content. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the attributes associated with the audio/video content comprise a selected one of a title, artist, genre, and track name. 
     
     
       14. In a user computer, a method comprising:
 generating a graphical representation of a plurality of metadata entries characterizing audio/video content to be played by a media player application, wherein the metadata is stored locally at the user computer in a metadata database and characterized in accordance with one or more attributes associated with the audio/video content, the graphical representation including
 a plurality of content grouping trees, with each content grouping tree representing one or more metadata entries characterized in accordance with a first of the one or more attributes; and 
 a table including metadata entries corresponding to nodes of a selected one of the plurality of content grouping trees; 
 receiving user input to manually modify at least one of the attributes associated with the audio/video content; and 
 dynamically updating the graphical representation of the metadata and the metadata database to reflect the user input. 
   
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 14 , wherein a user may recharacterize a metadata entry by graphically associating the metadata entry displayed in the table with a second content grouping tree corresponding to a second of the one or more attributes. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 15 , wherein the metadata entry inherits characteristics associated with the second content grouping tree. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the table comprises a plurality of attribute field names including at least one of track name, artist, album, genre and track length. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the audio/video content is played by the media player application in response to a metadata entry being selected by the user. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the user may manually perform at least one of a metadata addition, metadata deletion, and a metadata modification via the graphical representation. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the audio/video content comprises an MP3 file. 
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the table includes metadata entries corresponding to leaf nodes of a selected one of the plurality of content grouping trees. 
     
     
       22. An apparatus comprising:
 a storage medium having a plurality of programming instructions stored therein, the programming instructions designed to
 generate a graphical representation of a plurality of metadata database entries corresponding to, audio/video content to be played by a media player application, each metadata entry stored locally in the metadata database and characterized in accordance with a plurality of attributes that are associated with the audio/video content and shared between one or more of the plurality of metadata database entries, 
 receive user input to manually modify one of the shared attributes, 
 recharacterize in the metadata database, those of the plurality of metadata database entries characterized by the modified one of the shared attributes, and 
 dynamically update the graphical representation of the one or more of the plurality of metadata database entries based upon the user input; and 
   at least one processor coupled with the storage medium to execute the programming instructions.   
     
     
       23. The apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein the programming instructions are further designed to play the audio/video content in response to a metadata entry being selected by the user. 
     
     
       24. The apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein the programming instructions are further designed to facilitate at least one of a metadata addition, metadata deletion, and a metadata modification by a user via the graphical representation. 
     
     
       25. The apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein the graphical representation further comprises a plurality of content grouping trees, each representing one or more of the plurality of metadata database entries and characterized in accordance with at least a first of the one or more attributes. 
     
     
       26. The apparatus of  25 , wherein the graphical representation further comprises a table including metadata entries corresponding to nodes of a selected one of the plurality of content grouping trees. 
     
     
       27. The apparatus of  26 , wherein the table includes metadata entries corresponding to leaf nodes of the selected one of the plurality of content grouping trees. 
     
     
       28. The apparatus of  25 , wherein the plurality of content grouping trees comprises a hierarchical folder structure. 
     
     
       29. The apparatus of  28 , wherein the plurality of content grouping trees comprises a hierarchical folder structure wherein the hierarchical folder structure is selectively expandable based upon user input. 
     
     
       30. The apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein the graphical representation further comprises a table including metadata entries characterized in accordance with at least a subset of the plurality of attributes associated with the audio/video content. 
     
     
       31. The apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein the metadata database is a hierarchically arranged database containing the plurality of metadata database entries corresponding to a plurality of audio/video content. 
     
     
       32. The apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein the attributes associated with the audio/video content comprise a selected one of a title, artist, genre, and track name. 
     
     
       33. An apparatus comprising:
 a storage medium having a plurality of programming instructions stored therein, the programming instructions designed to
 generate a graphical representation of a plurality of metadata entries, characterizing audio/video content to be played, wherein the metadata is stored locally in a metadata database and characterized in accordance with one or more attributes associated with the audio/video content, the graphical representation including a plurality of content grouping trees, with each content grouping tree representing one or more metadata entries 
 characterized in accordance with a first of the one or more attributes, and a table including metadata entries corresponding to nodes of a selected one of the plurality of content grouping trees, 
 receive user input to manually modify at least one of the attributes associated with the content, and 
 dynamically update the graphical representation of the metadata and the metadata database to reflect the user input; and 
   at least one processor coupled with the storage medium to execute the programming instructions.   
     
     
       34. The apparatus of  claim 33 , wherein the programming instructions are further designed to facilitate a user in recharacterizing a metadata entry by graphically associating the metadata entry displayed in the table with a second content grouping tree corresponding to a second of the one or more attributes. 
     
     
       35. The apparatus of  claim 33 , wherein the table comprises a plurality of attribute field names including at least one of track name, artist, album, genre and track length. 
     
     
       36. The apparatus of  claim 33 , wherein the audio/video content comprises an MP3 file. 
     
     
       37. The apparatus of  claim 33 , wherein the programming instructions are further designed to play the audio/video content in response to a metadata entry being selected by the user. 
     
     
       38. The apparatus of  claim 33 , wherein the programming instructions are further designed to facilitate at least one of a metadata addition, metadata deletion, and a metadata modification by a user via the graphical representation. 
     
     
       39. A method of selecting at least one track from a plurality of tracks stored in a portable computing device executing a player module including at least one of an audio player and a video player, the portable computing device configured to present a hierarchical tree on a display of the portable computing device, the plurality of tracks accessed according to a hierarchy of the hierarchical tree, the hierarchy having a plurality of categories, subcategories, and items respectively in a first, second, and third level of the hierarchy, the method comprising:
 receiving, using one or more processors, a selection of a category in the first level of the hierarchical tree on the portable computing device executing the player module including the at least one of an audio player and a video player;   displaying, using the one or more processors, the subcategories belonging to the selected category as child nodes of the selected category in a listing presented in the second level of the hierarchical tree;   receiving, using the one or more processors, a selection of a subcategory in the second level of the hierarchical tree;   displaying, using the one or more processors, the items belonging to the selected subcategory as child nodes of the selected subcategory in a listing presented in the third level of the hierarchical tree; and   accessing, using the one or more processors, at least one track based on a selection made in one of the levels of the hierarchical tree,   wherein receipt of the selection in the first level of the hierarchical tree results in an expansion of the hierarchical tree to display the child nodes of the selected category and receipt of the selection in the second level of the hierarchical tree results in an expansion of the hierarchical tree to display the child nodes of the selected subcategory.   
     
     
       40. The method of selecting a track as recited in claim 39 wherein the accessing at least one track comprises selecting an item in the third level of the hierarchical tree and playing at least one track associated with the selected item. 
     
     
       41. The method of selecting a track as recited in claim 39 wherein the accessing at least one track comprises one of playing or adding to a playlist at least one track associated with a selected one of the category, subcategory, and item. 
     
     
       42. The method of selecting a track as recited in claim 39 further comprising selecting one of the items displayed in the third level of the hierarchical tree and presenting a listing of items associated with the selected item as child nodes of the selected item in a fourth level of the hierarchical tree. 
     
     
       43. The method of selecting a track as recited in claim 39 wherein the category genre is selected in the first level of the hierarchical tree from available categories that include at least artist, album, and genre; and the subcategories listed in the second level of the hierarchical tree comprise a listing of at least one genre type and one of the at least one genre type is selected. 
     
     
       44. The method of selecting a track as recited in claim 39 wherein the track is a music track, accessing at least one track comprises accessing a track title in the third level of the hierarchical tree, and the track is played in response to the access. 
     
     
       45. The method of selecting a track as recited in claim 39 wherein the category selected in the first level of the hierarchical tree is from a top level of the hierarchy. 
     
     
       46. The method of selecting a track as recited in claim 39 wherein the category selected in the first level of the hierarchical tree is a category from a level at least one level below the top level of the hierarchy. 
     
     
       47. The method of selecting a track as recited in claim 39 wherein the plurality of categories comprise a list of artist names, the plurality of subcategories comprise a list of album names and the plurality of items comprise a list of track names. 
     
     
       48. The method of selecting a track as recited in claim 39 wherein the accessing at least one track comprises selecting a subcategory in the second level of the hierarchical tree and playing a plurality of tracks associated with the selected subcategory. 
     
     
       49. The method of selecting a track as recited in claim 39 wherein the accessing at least one track comprises selecting a subcategory and adding the tracks associated with the selected subcategory to a playlist. 
     
     
       50. The method of selecting a track as recited in claim 39 wherein the accessing at least one track comprises selecting an item in the third level of the hierarchical tree and adding at least one track associated with the selected item to a playlist. 
     
     
       51. The method of selecting a track as recited in claim 39 further comprising receiving user input to modify an attribute of at least one track of the corresponding tracks. 
     
     
       52. The method of selecting a track as recited in claim 51 further comprising updating a tree information database and a display of the hierarchical tree based on the received user input, the tree information database comprising data regarding the hierarchy of the hierarchical tree. 
     
     
       53. The method of selecting a track as recited in claim 39 further comprising updating a tree information database based on one or more added tracks, the tree information database comprising data regarding the hierarchy of the hierarchical tree. 
     
     
       54. The method of selecting a track as recited in claim 39 wherein the hierarchical tree and the hierarchy of the hierarchical tree are in the form of a directed acyclic graph. 
     
     
       55. A method of selecting at least one track from a plurality of tracks stored in a portable computing device executing a player module including at least one of an audio player and a video player, the portable computing device configured to present a hierarchical tree on a display of the portable computing device, the plurality of tracks accessed according to a hierarchy of the hierarchical tree, the hierarchy having a plurality of categories, subcategories, and items respectively in a first, second, and third level of the hierarchy, the method comprising causing one or more processors to:
 receive a selection of a category in the first level of the hierarchical tree on the portable computing device executing the player module including the at least one of an audio player and a video player;   display the subcategories belonging to the selected category as child nodes of the selected category in a listing presented in the second level of the hierarchical tree;   receive a selection of a subcategory in the second level of the hierarchical tree;   display the items belonging to the selected subcategory as child nodes of the selected subcategory in a listing presented in the third level of the hierarchical tree;   access at least one track based on a selection made in one of the levels of the hierarchical tree;   receive user input to modify an attribute of at least one track of the corresponding tracks; and   update a tree information database and a display of the hierarchical tree based on the received user input, the tree information database comprising data regarding the hierarchy of the hierarchical tree.   
     
     
       56. A method of selecting at least one track from a plurality of tracks stored in a portable computing device executing a player module including at least one of an audio player and a video player, the portable computing device configured to present a hierarchical tree on a display of the portable computing device, the plurality of tracks accessed according to a hierarchy of the hierarchical tree, the hierarchy having a plurality of categories, subcategories, and items respectively in a first, second, and third level of the hierarchy, the method comprising:
 receiving a selection of a category in the first level of the hierarchical tree on the portable computing device executing the player module including the at least one of an audio player and a video player;   displaying the subcategories belonging to the selected category as child nodes of the selected category in a listing presented in the second level of the hierarchical tree;   receiving a selection of a subcategory in the second level of the hierarchical tree;   displaying the items belonging to the selected subcategory as child nodes of the selected subcategory in a listing presented in the third level of the hierarchical tree;   accessing at least one track based on a selection made in one of the levels of the hierarchical tree; and   updating a tree information database based on one or more added tracks, the tree information database comprising data regarding the hierarchy of the hierarchical tree.