Granted Patent B1

US 9,942,294 · App. 14/673,544 · Granted Apr 10, 2018

Abstract

Claims (55)

1. A network attached storage device, comprising:

a network interface configured to couple to a computer network;

a memory configured to store at least one of a first media file, a second media file, and a third media file, wherein at least two of the first to third media files are configured differently from one another; and

a processor coupled to the memory and to the network interface, the processor being configured to generate a single media stream by at least:

sequentially applying at least one filter to at least one of the first to third media files;

sequentially reformatting at least one of the first to third media files such that each of the first to third media files substantially conforms to a common format;

ordering the first to third media files according to a selectable metric;

aggregating the first to third media files together to generate the single media stream, wherein the first to third media files substantially conform to the common format;

accessing fourth to n th media files for potential inclusion in the single media stream;

omitting any of the first to n th media files from the single media stream that are determined to be at least one of too dark, too light, or too blurry, according to predetermined respective thresholds; and

making the single media stream accessible to the computer network over the network interface.

2. The network attached storage device of claim 1 , wherein the at least two of the first to third media files are configured differently from one another with respect to at least one of size, file format, file type, length, resolution, orientation, color depth, brightness, and color palette.

3. The network attached storage device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to access at least one of the fourth to n th media files over the computer network.

4. The network attached storage device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to access at least one of the fourth to n th media files from the memory.

5. The network attached storage device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to store any of the filtered or reformatted files of the first to third media files in the memory.

6. The network attached storage device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to cause the aggregated first to third media files to transition smoothly from one of the first to third media files to a next one of the first to third media files in the single media stream.

7. The network attached storage device of claim 1 , wherein the selectable metric includes at least one of: creation time, theme, subject, predominant colors, and media file metadata.

8. The network attached storage device of claim 1 , wherein:

at least one of the first to third media files is a video file;

at least one other one of the first to third media files is a photo file; and

the processor is configured to generate the single media stream to comprise at least the video file and the photo file.

9. The network attached storage device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to download, via the network interface, at least one of the first to third media files from a remote site on the computer network.

10. The network attached storage device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to generate the single media stream independently of any request from a user of the network attached storage device.

11. A method implemented by a network attached storage device comprising memory configured to store at least one of a first media file, a second media file, and a third media file, wherein at least two of which are configured differently from one another, the method comprising:

sequentially applying at least one filter to at least one of the first to third media files;

sequentially reformatting at least one of the first to third media files such that each of the first to third media files substantially conforms to a common format;

ordering at least each of the first to third media files according to a selectable metric;

aggregating at least the ordered first to third media files together to generate a single media stream;

accessing fourth to n th media files for potential inclusion in the single media stream;

omitting any of the first to n th media files from inclusion in the single media stream that are determined to be at least one of too dark, too light, or too blurry, according to predetermined respective thresholds; and

making the single media stream accessible to a computer network over a network interface.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the at least two of the first to third media files are configured differently from one another with respect to at least one of size, file format, file type, length, resolution, orientation, color depth, brightness, and color palette.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein aggregating together comprises causing the aggregated first to third media files to transition smoothly from one of the first to third media files to a next one of the first to third media files in the single media stream.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the selectable metric comprises at least one of creation time, theme, subject, predominant colors, and media file metadata.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein:

at least one of the first to third media files is a video file;

at least one other one of the first to third media files is a photo file; and

generating comprises including the video file and the photo file in the single media stream.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein generating the single media stream comprises generating the single media stream independently of any request from a user of the network attached storage device.

17. An electronic device, comprising:

a network interface configured to couple to a computer network; and

a processor coupled to the network interface, the processor being further configured to couple to a memory, the memory being configured to store at least one of a first media file, a second media file, and a third media file, wherein at least two of the first to third media files are configured differently from one another;

wherein the processor is further configured to generate a single media stream by at least:

accessing at least one of the first to third media files from the memory;

sequentially applying at least one filter to at least one of the first to third media files;

sequentially reformatting at least one of the first to third media files such that each of the first to third media files substantially conforms to a common format;

ordering each of the first to third media files according to a selectable metric;

aggregating at least the ordered first to third media files together to generate the single media stream;

accessing fourth to n th media files for potential inclusion in the single media stream;

omitting any of the first to n th media files from inclusion in the single media stream that are determined to be at least one of too dark, too light, or too blurry, according to predetermined respective thresholds; and

making the single media stream accessible to the computer network over the network interface.

18. The electronic device of claim 17 , wherein the electronic device comprises the memory.

19. The electronic device of claim 17 , wherein:

the memory is coupled to the computer network; and

the processor is configured to use the network interface to access the memory over the computer network.

Assignments (13)