Patent ID: 9406341
Filing Date: 2016-08-02
CPC Classification: G06F,G11B,H04N

Claim Text:
1. A method for managing audio files of a user to reduce latencies in play start times on local devices, the audio files being stored on cloud storage managed by a server, comprising: processing, at a processor, a plurality of audio files associated with the user, the processing configured to create audio snippet files from each of the plurality of audio files, the audio snippet files representing a beginning part of each of the plurality of audio files; transmitting, at the processor, the audio snippet files to a client device; detecting, at the processor and after the audio snippet files have been transmitted to the client device, a request from the client device to begin playing a first audio file from the plurality of audio files of the user, the first audio file being stored on the cloud storage managed by the server; and transmitting, at the processor, at least a remaining part of the first audio file to the client device in response to the request, the remaining part having an identified transition start point, the identified transition start point being a time in the first audio file that corresponds to an end time of a first audio snippet file that corresponds to the first audio file, wherein play of the first audio file at the client device begins with the first audio snippet file while the transmitting of the at least the remaining part of the first audio file occurs in a background download operation and play transitions to the remaining part of the first audio file after reaching the end time of the first audio snippet file, and wherein the first audio snippet file is a low bit rate file and the remaining part of the first audio file is a high bit rate file, or the first audio snippet file is the high bit rate file and the remaining part of the first audio file is the low bit rate file.