A system that provides for the accessing and playing of media files having differing associated rights such as non-DRM media files, purchased and downloaded media files, subscription download files such as tethered downloads, and subscription streamed DRM files. The system also provides a method and user interface for sharing a media collection among computing devices in communication via a network. The system allows access and playback, from each computing device on a network, of all media files in a media collection, regardless of their associated rights.

A method for making a playlist available to the public, in which the playlist comprises user-defined descriptor information. The user-defined descriptor information is entered as free form text or prose.

A method and computer readable medium for exploring similar users and items of a media service includes generating a user interface. The user interface displays a user selectable indicia representing a similar member function for allowing a user to search a media service for at least one other user. The one other user has a degree of similarity with respect to the searching user. Another method includes facilitating the search of such a similar user within a media service.

The overall architecture and details of a scalable video fingerprinting and identification system that is robust with respect to many classes of video distortions is described. In this system, a fingerprint for a piece of multimedia content is composed of a number of compact signatures, along with traversal hash signatures and associated metadata. Numerical descriptors are generated for features found in a multimedia clip, signatures are generated from these descriptors, and a reference signature database is constructed from these signatures. Query signatures are also generated for a query multimedia clip. These query signatures are searched against the reference database using a fast similarity search procedure, to produce a candidate list of matching signatures. This candidate list is further analyzed to find the most likely reference matches. Signature correlation is performed between the likely reference matches and the query clip to improve detection accuracy.

A method and computer readable medium for exploring similar users and items of a media service includes generating a user interface. The user interface displays a user selectable indicia representing a similar member function for allowing a user to search a media service for at least one other user. The one other user has a degree of similarity with respect to the searching user. Another method includes facilitating the search of such a similar user within a media service.

Methods and a media system and storage system for cross-media storage coordination include but are not limited to storing a first data version of specified content based on a particular media format: storing at least a second data version of related content based on a different media format: providing a cross-reference between the first data version and the at least second data version to enable coordinated management by a designated user and/or an approved device for search and possible retrieval of the first data version and/or the at least second data version: and implementing communication access by one or more parties and/or the designated user via a communication type that is correlated with the first data version and/or the at least second data version.

A method and apparatus for content management are provided. The method and apparatus efficiently manage content so as to provide a convenient user interface in an electronic device supporting content playback, browsing and storage. The method includes obtaining attribute information of a content item from a storage device, registering the attribute information in a content database, determining content items to be played back by a content player using the attribute information registered in the content database, creating a content list on the basis of the determined content items, displaying the content list, and playing back a content item selected by a user from the content list.

Events may be identified by storing information in response to activating an event stamp function. As a result of activating the event function, the information collected may immediately be compared to event information in a database. Alternatively, the information collected may later be compared to event information in a database. One or more candidates for the event of interest may be automatically or manually retrieved, and the user may decide whether a candidate event of the one or more candidates correspond to the event of interest. Alternatively, a purchase of an item related to the event may be automatically made in response to activating the event stamp.

The present disclosure includes a method of maintaining rating groups and receiving, from a first user, a selection of a first rating group, from among the rating groups, to be applied to a set of users associated with the first user. Next, method includes receiving, from a user, a request for a piece of content from the content and determining that the user from which the request was received belongs to the set of users associated with the first user. The method also includes accessing information associated with the first rating group and determining whether the first rating group includes a rating for the requested piece of content. The method also includes determining whether or not to provide information to the requesting user conditioned on the indication or absence of a rating for the requested piece of content within the first rating group.

A first collection of content that includes digital assets is maintained on a host computer. Based on a determination that a portable media device becomes connected to a client computer that is separate from the host computer and that interacts with the host computer, initiation of a synchronization of the first collection of content resident on the host computer with a second collection of content on the portable media device is automatically triggered. The synchronization of the first collection with the second collection includes a transfer of at least one of the digital assets from the host computer to the client computer to the portable media device and is triggered and conditioned upon the determination that the portable media device has become connected to the client computer.