Managing content quality and related characteristics of a media playback system
An example first playback device is configured to: while the first playback device is in a synchrony group with a second playback device, play back a first version of audio content in synchrony with the second playback device; in response to identifying that a quality of a connection between the second playback device and a network device is below a threshold criterion, cause the second playback device to play back a second version of the audio content in synchrony with the first version of the audio content playing back by the first playback device; and in response to detecting a change in the quality of the connection between the second playback device and the network device such that the quality of the connection meets the threshold criterion, cause the second playback device to play back the first version of the audio content in synchrony with the first playback device.
1. A computing device comprising:
a user interface;
at least one processor;
a non-transitory computer-readable medium; and
program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to:
display, via the user interface, a content quality indicator for media content being played back by a playback device, wherein the content quality indicator comprises:
a representation of a highest-available quality level of media content; and
a representation of either (i) a first state indicating that a quality level of a current version of media content being played back by the playback device matches the highest-available quality level or (ii) a second state indicating that the quality level of the current version of media content being played back by the playback device does not match the highest-available quality level;
determine that the quality level of the current version of the media content being played back does not match the highest-available quality level and thereby cause the content quality indicator to represent the second state;
receive, via the user interface, an input indicating a request to access a set of information about the quality level of the current version of the media content being played back; and
based on the input indicating the request, display, via the user interface, the set of information, wherein the set of information includes at least one factor contributing to the quality level of the current version of the media content being played back.
2. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one factor contributing to the quality level of the current version of the media content being played back comprises at least one of (i) a network characteristic, (ii) a characteristic of the playback device, (iii) a characteristic of a synchrony group that includes the playback device, (iv) a characteristic of a media playback system that includes the playback device and the computing device, or (v) a characteristic of a media content service from which the media content was retrieved.
3. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the set of information further includes a set of one or more instructions for adjusting the at least one factor contributing to the quality level of the current version of the media content being played back.
4. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to receive the input indicating the request to access the set of information about the quality level of the current version of the media content being played back comprise program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to:
receive an input indicating a user selection of the content quality indicator.
5. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the quality level of the current version of the media content is a first quality level, the computing device further comprising program instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executable by the at least one processor such that the computing device is configured to:
determine that the playback device has transitioned to playing back a different version of the media content that comprises a second quality level that matches the highest-available quality level; and
based on determining that the playback device has transitioned to playing back the different version of the media content that comprises the second quality level that matches the highest-available quality level, update the content quality indicator to represent the first state instead of the second state.
6. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the highest-available quality level of media content comprises a highest tier of media content quality offered by a media content service from which the media content was retrieved.
7. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the highest-available quality level of media content comprises a bit depth of 24 bits and a sample rate between 96 kilohertz and 192 kilohertz.
8. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the representation of the highest-available quality level of media content comprise one or both of (i) a textual depiction including alphanumeric characters that correspond to the highest-available quality level or (ii) a logo corresponding to the highest-available quality level.
9. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein the textual depiction is one of “HD,” “HiFi,” “Dolby Atmos,” or “Dolby Digital”.
10. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein:
the first state indicating that the quality level of the current version of media content being played back by the playback device matches the highest-available quality level comprises a highlighted visual indication of the content quality indicator; and
the second state indicating that the quality level of the current version of media content being played back by the playback device does not match the highest-available quality level comprises an un-highlighted visual indication of the content quality indicator.
11. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein:
the first state indicating that the quality level of the current version of media content being played back by the playback device matches the highest-available quality level comprises a bolded visual indication of the content quality indicator; and
the second state indicating that the quality level of the current version of media content being played back by the playback device does not match the highest-available quality level comprises a grayed out visual indication of the content quality indicator.
12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium is provisioned with program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause a computing device to:
display, via a user interface of the computing device, a content quality indicator for media content being played back by a playback device, wherein the content quality indicator comprises:
a representation of a highest-available quality level of media content; and
a representation of either (i) a first state indicating that a quality level of a current version of media content being played back by the playback device matches the highest-available quality level or (ii) a second state indicating that the quality level of the current version of media content being played back by the playback device does not match the highest-available quality level;
determine that the quality level of the current version of the media content being played back does not match the highest-available quality level and thereby cause the content quality indicator to represent the second state;
receive, via the user interface, an input indicating a request to access a set of information about the quality level of the current version of the media content being played back; and
based on the input indicating the request, display, via the user interface, the set of information, wherein the set of information includes at least one factor contributing to the quality level of the current version of the media content being played back.
13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the at least one factor contributing to the quality level of the current version of the media content being played back comprises at least one of (i) a network characteristic, (ii) a characteristic of the playback device, (iii) a characteristic of a synchrony group that includes the playback device, (iv) a characteristic of a media playback system that includes the playback device and the computing device, or (v) a characteristic of a media content service from which the media content was retrieved.
14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the set of information further includes a set of one or more instructions for adjusting the at least one factor contributing to the quality level of the current version of the media content being played back.
15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the computing device to receive the input indicating the request to access the set of information about the quality level of the current version of the media content being played back comprise program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the computing device to:
receive an input indicating a user selection of the content quality indicator.
16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the quality level of the current version of the media content is a first quality level, and wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium is also provisioned with program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the computing device to:
determine that the playback device has transitioned to playing back a different version of the media content that comprises a second quality level that matches the highest-available quality level; and
based on determining that the playback device has transitioned to playing back the different version of the media content that comprises the second quality level that matches the highest-available quality level, update the content quality indicator to represent the first state instead of the second state.
17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the highest-available quality level of media content comprises a highest tier of media content quality offered by a media content service from which the media content was retrieved.
18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the highest-available quality level of media content comprises a bit depth of 24 bits and a sample rate between 96 kilohertz and 192 kilohertz.
19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the representation of the highest-available quality level of media content comprise one or both of (i) a textual depiction including alphanumeric characters that correspond to the highest-available quality level or (ii) a logo corresponding to the highest-available quality level.
20. A method carried out by a computing device, the method comprising:
displaying, via a user interface of the computing device, a content quality indicator for media content being played back by a playback device, wherein the content quality indicator comprises:
a representation of a highest-available quality level of media content; and
a representation of either (i) a first state indicating that a quality level of a current version of media content being played back by the playback device matches the highest-available quality level or (ii) a second state indicating that the quality level of the current version of media content being played back by the playback device does not match the highest-available quality level;
determining that the quality level of the current version of the media content being played back does not match the highest-available quality level and thereby cause the content quality indicator to represent the second state;
receiving, via the user interface, an input indicating a request to access a set of information about the quality level of the current version of the media content being played back; and
based on the input indicating the request, displaying, via the user interface, the set of information, wherein the set of information includes at least one factor contributing to the quality level of the current version of the media content being played back.