Method and apparatus for identifying a single user requesting conflicting content and resolving said conflict
Systems and methods for automatically determining when a single party is playing or requesting conflicting content on two different devices, and resolving the conflict accordingly. Systems automatically identify when a single user is playing back a content stream on one device, then requests another content stream on another device. If the two content streams conflict, the conflict is automatically resolved in a number of ways, including by automatically pausing or redirecting one of the content streams. Conflict identification may also be carried out with the assistance of an added state flag that indicates a device or stream that has audio priority in a conflict. Thus, for example, when one user requests two conflicting content streams, and only one stream is associated with the conditional audio enabled flag, audio of the flagged stream may be played, while the other stream is muted.
1. A method of identifying a user requesting playback of multiple content streams, the method comprising:
determining, from a list of users, an active user playing a first content stream on a first device;
detecting a request for a second content stream on a second device;
determining whether the active user initiated the request for the second content stream;
if the active user initiated the request for the second content stream, determining whether a conflict exists between the first content stream on the first device and the second content stream on the second device, wherein the determining whether the conflict exists comprises determining whether the first content stream and the second content stream are of a same content type; and
if the conflict exists, resolving the conflict by pausing or redirecting one of the first content stream and the second content stream.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
storing user identifiers each associated with a different user;
storing device identifiers each associated with a different content playback device and with one or more of the user identifiers, the first device and the second device each being one of the content playback devices;
storing account identifiers each associated with a user identifier and maintained for access to content stored by a content provider; and
storing user profiles each associated with one of the user identifiers.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the determining an active user playing a first content stream on a first device further comprises:
determining the device identifier associated with the first device; and
if only one of the active user identifiers is associated with the determined device identifier, determining that the only one user identifier is associated with the active user.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the determining an active user playing a first content stream on a first device further comprises:
if more than one of the user identifiers is associated with the determined device identifier, determining the user identifier associated with the user according to a comparison of the content of the first content stream to the stored user profiles associated with the more than one of the user identifiers.
5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the determining whether the active user initiated the request for the second content stream further comprises:
determining the device identifier associated with the second device; and
if only one of the user identifiers is associated with the determined device identifier, determining that the only one user identifier is associated with the active user.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the determining whether the active user initiated the request for the second content stream further comprises:
if more than one of the user identifiers is associated with the determined device identifier, determining the user identifier associated with the active user according to a comparison of the content of the second content stream to the stored user profiles associated with the more than one of the user identifiers.
7. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
determining the account identifier associated with the request for the second content stream;
determining the user identifier associated with the determined account identifier;
determining the user profile associated with the determined user identifier;
comparing the content of the second content stream to the determined user profile to determine whether the content of the second content stream matches a content profile of the determined user profile; and
if the content of the second content stream does not match the content profile, determining that the conflict does not exist.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
storing a content manifest comprising:
the device identifiers of devices playing content streams; and
content type identifiers of the content streams being played.
9. The method of claim 8 :
further comprising storing an audio/video type identifier associated with each of the stored device identifiers of the content manifest, each audio/video type identifier being an identifier corresponding to audio only, video only, or audio and video;
wherein the determining whether a conflict exists further comprises determining that the conflict exists:
when the audio/video type identifier associated with the first device and the audio/video type identifier associated with the second device each correspond to audio only or to audio and video; and
when the audio/video type identifier associated with the first device and the audio/video type identifier associated with the second device each correspond to video only or to audio and video.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
determining whether the conflict is an audio conflict or a video conflict;
if the conflict is an audio conflict, determining whether a secondary audio output is available, and:
if a secondary audio output is available, directing an audio signal of the first content stream to the secondary audio output; and
if a secondary audio output is not available, halting audio output of the first content stream while continuing video output of the first content stream to the first device; and
if the conflict is a video conflict, determining whether a secondary video output is available, and:
if a secondary video output is available, directing a video signal of the first content stream to the secondary video output; and
if a secondary video output is not available, halting video output of the first content stream while continuing audio output of the first content stream to the first device.
11. A system for identifying a user requesting playback of multiple content streams, the system comprising:
a storage device; and
control circuitry configured to:
determine, from a list of users, an active user playing a first content stream on a first device;
detect a request for a second content stream on a second device;
determine whether the active user initiated the request for the second content stream;
if the active user initiated the request for the second content stream, determine whether a conflict exists between the first content stream on the first device and the second content stream on the second device, wherein the determining whether the conflict exists comprises determining whether the first content stream and the second content stream are of a same content type; and
if the conflict exists, resolve the conflict by pausing or redirecting one of the first content stream and the second content stream.
12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:
store user identifiers each associated with a different user;
store device identifiers each associated with a different content playback device and with one or more of the user identifiers, the first device and the second device each being one of the content playback devices;
store account identifiers each associated with a user identifier and maintained for access to content stored by a content provider; and
store user profiles each associated with one of the user identifiers.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the determining a user playing a first content stream on a first device further comprises:
determining the device identifier associated with the first device; and
if only one of the user identifiers is associated with the determined device identifier, determining that the only one user identifier is associated with the active user.
14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the determining a user playing a first content stream on a first device further comprises:
if more than one of the user identifiers is associated with the determined device identifier, determining the user identifier associated with the active user according to a comparison of the content of the first content stream to the stored user profiles associated with the more than one of the user identifiers.
15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the determining whether the active user initiated the request for the second content stream further comprises:
determining the device identifier associated with the second device; and
if only one of the user identifiers is associated with the determined device identifier, determining that the only one user identifier is associated with the active user.
16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the determining whether the active user initiated the request for the second content stream further comprises:
if more than one of the user identifiers is associated with the determined device identifier, determining the user identifier associated with the active user according to a comparison of the content of the second content stream to the stored user profiles associated with the more than one of the user identifiers.
17. The system of claim 12 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:
determine the account identifier associated with the request for the second content stream;
determine the user identifier associated with the determined account identifier;
determine the user profile associated with the determined user identifier;
compare the content of the second content stream to the determined user profile to determine whether the content of the second content stream matches a content profile of the determined user profile; and
if the content of the second content stream does not match the content profile, determine that the conflict does not exist.
18. The system of claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:
store a content manifest comprising:
the device identifiers of devices playing content streams; and
content type identifiers of the content streams being played.
19. The system of claim 18 :
wherein the control circuitry is further configured to store an audio/video type identifier associated with each of the stored device identifiers of the content manifest, each audio/video type identifier being an identifier corresponding to audio only, video only, or audio and video; and
wherein the determining whether a conflict exists further comprises determining that the conflict exists:
when the audio/video type identifier associated with the first device and the audio/video type identifier associated with the second device each correspond to audio only or to audio and video; and
when the audio/video type identifier associated with the first device and the audio/video type identifier associated with the second device each correspond to video only or to audio and video.
20. The system of claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to:
determine whether the conflict is an audio conflict or a video conflict;
if the conflict is an audio conflict, determine whether a secondary audio output is available, and:
if a secondary audio output is available, direct an audio signal of the first content stream to the secondary audio output; and
if a secondary audio output is not available, halt audio output of the first content stream while continuing video output of the first content stream to the first device; and
if the conflict is a video conflict, determine whether a secondary video output is available, and:
if a secondary video output is available, direct a video signal of the first content stream to the secondary video output; and
if a secondary video output is not available, halt video output of the first content stream while continuing audio output of the first content stream to the first device.