Abstract:
In one aspect the present disclosure is directed to a media system having a base unit and a portable media player. The base unit may be adapted to playback and record media content being received from an external media source. The base unit may further be adapted to analyze the media content and to automatically extract therefrom, without intervention by a user of the system, intermittent, designated portions of the media content as the media content is received by the base unit, and to store the designated portions of the media content as media files for subsequent playback. The portable media player may be docked to the base unit so that stored media files from the base unit may be uploaded to the portable media player.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/088,438, filed Aug. 13, 2008, which is incorporated herein by reference into the present disclosure. 
     
    
     FIELD 
       [0002]    The present disclosure relates to media systems, and more particularly to a media system adapted to record and playback media content from an external source. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Various devices are known for downloading and or recording music and other media content to a portable device. Such devices generally download or record particularly selected content in the form of individual songs, albums or podcasts, for example. 
         [0004]    To a more limited extent, it is known to record audio broadcasts to a device and edit any commercials or unwanted non-song content from the recorded content. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,062,442 discloses a method and a system for locating and recording time-limited signal sequences in media channels that may contain undesirable signal components (e.g., recording music in radio transmissions). The disclosure of this document is hereby incorporated by reference in full into the present disclosure. The signals are continuously buffered in a memory. The user identifies a desired source material. Out of this desired source material a section may be taken as a search key. The device may also select search keys automatically. If a second instance of the search key is detected, signal sequences that in time are connected to the search keys are compared. The signal sequences that by comparison are substantially identical are identified as belonging to the same, wanted, source material. 
         [0005]    Previously developed media storage and playback systems have often been complicated to setup or to operate. This has made their operation challenging by users with limited experience with electronic devices. 
         [0006]    Accordingly, it remains desirable in the pertinent art to provide an improved method and system for downloading and managing an edited media stream for future playback. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a perspective illustration of one embodiment of a media system that may be constructed in accordance with the present teachings of the present disclosure, and more particularly showing one embodiment of a base unit of the present with one embodiment of a portable audio player docked to the base unit; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a top view of the media system of  FIG. 1  without the portable audio player; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a high level block diagram of various components that may be used to form the base unit; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a front perspective view of the portable audio player of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is another front perspective view of the portable audio player of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a rear perspective view of the portable audio player of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is another rear perspective view of the portable audio player of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is a front view of the portable audio player of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 9  a rear view of the portable audio player of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 10  is a top view of the portable audio player of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 11  is a bottom view of the portable audio player of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 12  is a left side view of the portable audio player of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 13  is a right side view of the portable audio player of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0021]      FIG. 14  is a high level block diagram of various components that may be used to form the portable media player shown in  Figure 1 ; 
           [0022]      FIG. 15  is a flowchart of major operations that may be performed by the system  10  in recording media content with the base unit and uploading the recorded media content to the portable media player; 
           [0023]      FIG. 16  is a flowchart of operations that may be performed by the system in uploading stored media files from the base unit to the portable media player when docking of the portable media player on the base unit is detected; and 
           [0024]      FIG. 17  is a flowchart of a synchronization process that may be performed by the system  10  each time the portable media player is placed in the docking port of the base unit to update the stored media content on the portable media player. 
       
    
    
     SUMMARY 
       [0025]    In one aspect the present disclosure is directed to a media system. The media system may comprise a base unit adapted to playback and record media content being received from an external media source. The base unit may further be adapted to analyze the media content and to automatically extract therefrom, without intervention by a user of the system, intermittent, designated portions of the media content as the media content is received by the base unit, and to store the designated portions of the media content as media files for subsequent playback. The system may also include a portable media player adapted to be docked to the base unit. The portable media player may have uploaded thereto the stored media files from the base unit. 
         [0026]    In another aspect the present disclosure is directed to a media system that may include a base unit and a portable media player. The base unit may be adapted to receive media content from a media content source. The base unit may include a controller, a memory, and a gap detection software module for detecting gaps in the media content being received by the base unit. The controller may use the gap detection software module to filter out portions of the media content and to store a remaining quantity of the media content as media files in the memory. The portable media player of the system may include a rechargeable battery and a memory. The portable media player may be adapted to be electrically coupled to the base unit so that the stored media files can be uploaded from the memory of the base unit to the memory of the portable media player for subsequent playback on the portable media player by a user. 
         [0027]    In another aspect the present disclosure may be directed to an apparatus adapted to receive media content from a media content source. The apparatus may comprise a controller, a memory in communication with the controller, and a gap detection software module used by the controller for detecting gaps in the media content being received by the apparatus. The controller may use the gap detection software module to filter out portions of the media content and to store a remaining quantity of the media content as media files in the memory. The apparatus may also include a playback control for initiating playback of the media files as audio files. A control may also be provided for allowing a user to protect specific ones of the media files, as the media files are being played back as the audio files, against deletion from the memory. 
         [0028]    In another aspect the present disclosure is directed to a portable media player adapted to receive media files from an external device. The portable media player may comprise a housing, a controller, and a memory in communication with the controller for storing media files thereon. A transducer may be adapted to receive the stored media files when the stored media files are being played back on the portable media player and to convert the stored media files to audio tracks. A control in communication with the controller may allow a user to protect specific ones of the stored media files against future deletion as the stored media files are played back as the audio tracks by the transducer. 
         [0029]    In another aspect the present disclosure relates to a method for recording and playing back media content received from a media source. The method may comprise using a base unit to receive media content from an external media source, with the media content including first portions intermittently separated by second portions. The media content may be analyzed to detect the first portions. Only the first portions may be stored as separate media files in a memory of the base unit. A first control may be provided for allowing a user to play back the stored media files. A second control may be provided for allowing the user to designate specific ones of the media files stored in the memory of the base unit that cannot be deleted. A portable media player may be placed in communication with the base unit, and media files stored on the base unit may be uploaded to a memory of the portable media player for future playback on the portable media player. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0030]    The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present teachings, their application, or uses. Although the following description is related generally to a system for downloading recorded music, it will be understood that the system may be adapted to download other media content. Therefore, it will be understood that the following discussions are not intended to limit the scope of any appended claims. 
         [0031]    With general reference to the drawings, a media system constructed in accordance with the present teachings is illustrated and generally identified at reference character  10 . The media system  10  is illustrated to generally include a base unit  12  and a portable media player  14 . As will become more apparent below, the base unit  12  is operative to receive media content from a media content source, for example an FM signal source or possibly another device that is interfaced to the base unit  12 . These features of the base unit will be described in greater detail in the following paragraphs. 
         [0032]    In one implementation the base unit  12  of the media system  10  may receive FM signals containing music. For the purpose of discussion, the music may be thought of as simply “streaming music” or “streaming media”. The streaming music may include commercials or various advertisements interspersed between songs. The commercials or advertisements may be content that a listener does not consider desirable or enjoyable to listen to. The streaming music, if obtained from an FM signal originating from an FM radio station will typically also include dead air (e.g., breaks between songs). As briefly discussed above, the media content may also include video content or both audio and video content. The media content may also include text or other data. 
         [0033]    The source for the media content may be selected from a group including, but not limited to: High Definition (HD) radio, Internet radio, digital audio broadcasting, AM radio, FM radio, or any other media source. However, it will be appreciated that the system  10  may just as readily be used with little or no modification to provide any other form of media content. As such, the term “content”, when it is referred to herein, is understood to imply audio, video and any other type of content. For convenience, the following discussion will focus on the media as being FM audio content. 
         [0034]    An external media source may supply media content to the base unit connected through an external input such as RCA or ¼″ (3.5 mm) stereo cable and jack, a USB connector and its associated cable, etc., and digital input for external audio source. In this example the external media source may be, for example, a satellite radio receiver, an Internet radio source, or any audio content source. In certain applications, the base unit  12  of the media system  10  may be dedicated to a particular media source. In other applications, the base unit  12  may be switchable between multiple media sources or otherwise adapted to receive media content from various types of media sources. 
         [0035]    With particular reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2  of the drawings, the base unit  12  of the present invention is shown to generally include a cabinet  20 , one or more decorative caps  22 , and control panel  24 . The control panel  24  may define an opening or recess for a docking port  26  for receiving the portable media player  14 . The opening may generally conform in size and shape to the cross-section of the portable media player  14  to allow the portable media player to be securely supported, both mechanically and electrically, on the base unit  12  when attached to the docking port  26 . The interface between the base unit  12  and the portable media player  14  that is formed by the docking port  26  may be of any type well-known in the art, for example a well known 4-pin USB port. However, any suitable form of data port may be used. The control panel  24  may also include a display  24   a,  for example a liquid crystal display (LCD), for displaying various types of information, for example, an FM channel that the base unit  12  is present tuned to, the present time, a volume level; a song title for a song being played, etc. 
         [0036]    The control panel  24  may also include a mode button  30 , and a plurality of preset FM station buttons  32 . The mode button  30  may be used to select between FM mode, playback mode where recorded music is played back, and displaying the time. In one embodiment the system  10  may employ well known “jack sense” technology to sense if an auxiliary input device or cable is coupled to an auxiliary input of the system  10 , and to automatically use the signal provided on the auxiliary input when the mode button  30  has selected FM as the input. 
         [0037]    A power button  28  may be located in any convenient location, but in one embodiment is located on a rear area of the  20 . The control panel  24  may further include a volume control  34  and a tuning control  36 , which are shown as enlarged knobs. The Tuning control  36  may also be of the type that has a pushbutton feature that enables it to control an additional operation besides tuning. In one embodiment the tuning control  36  makes use of such a pushbutton to implement a PLAY/PAUSE feature when one wants to listen to media content that has been saved on the base unit  12 . When the tuning control  36  is pushed to start playback of a recorded media file, then rotating the knob  36  clockwise forwards to the next stored media file for playback. Rotating the tuning control  36  counterclockwise skips back to select the previously stored track. The knob  36  may employ detents that provide a series of tactile “clicks” or detents as it is rotated, where each click will move forward or backward by one media file. Thus, rotating the knob  36  in one direction, for example clockwise, for 5 clicks would advance 5 media files forward while rotating the knob  36  counterclockwise 3 clicks would backtrack 3 media files. Alternatively the volume  34  and tuning  36  controls may take other forms such as conventional touch sensitive membrane switches that when touched or held down enable the user to select a different FM station or to select a volume level setting, etc., although additional, separate controls may need to be implemented to control playback if such membrane switches are used. 
         [0038]    The control panel  24  may also include a Lock/Unlock button or control  24   b.  The Lock/Unlock button  24   b  may be used to “tag” a particular song that is playing on the base unit  12  as a song that is to be “protected” after being uploaded from the base unit  12  to the portable media player  14 . This feature will be discussed in greater detail in the following paragraphs. The Lock/Unlock button  24   b  may also be used to delete a media file (e.g., a song file) currently stored in the base unit  12 . These features will also be described in greater detail in the following paragraphs, and particularly the flowcharts of  FIGS. 15 and 16 . Any one or more of the buttons included on the control panel  24  may include raised tactile features to enable persons with visual impairments to easily detect, simply by tactile feel, the various buttons. 
         [0039]    Referring now to  FIG. 3 , a block diagram representation of various subsystems and elements of one embodiment of the base unit  12  is shown. The base unit  12  in this example receives DC power from a conventional transformer (not shown), although it will be appreciated that AC power could be used to directly power the base unit  12 , assuming suitable rectification circuitry is employed with the base unit. The base unit  12  may include a controller  40  that is in communication with an FM tuner (i.e., receiver)  42 . The FM tuner  42  may itself be in communication with an antenna  44  for receiving wireless FM signals and outputting same to the FM tuner  42 . 
         [0040]    The controller  40  may also be in bidirectional communication with a number of other inputs and outputs of the base unit  12 . For example, the controller  40  may be in bidirectional communication with the docking port  26 ; with the control panel  24 ; with an update jack  48 ; and with an auxiliary input jack  50 . The update jack  48  may be provided for future use, for example to update firmware used in the base unit  12 . The Line-Out jack  52  could be used to enable the audio output from the base unit  12  to be input to a home stereo or any other external device for playing back audio content stored on the base unit  12 . The auxiliary input jack  50  may be used to receive audio content from an external audio source, for example a satellite radio receiver, or a computer receiving streaming audio via an Internet radio connection, or any other external audio source. 
         [0041]    The controller  40  may also be in bidirectional communication with a memory (e.g., RAM)  54 , an audio signal processing subsystem  56 , a gap detection module (hardware and software)  58 , and the line-out output (RCA) jack  52 . An optional rechargeable DC battery pack or non-rechargeable DC batteries  59  may be included to power the various electrical components of the base unit  12 . The memory  54  may be used for the temporary storage of digital information representing media files. The signal processing subsection  56  may include various conventional signal processing subsystems such as a conventional preamplifier circuit, one or more digital to analog (D/A) circuits, one or more analog to digital (A/D) circuits, one or more comparator circuits, and other conventional signal processing components and circuitry. The signal processing subsystem  56  may be in communication with a headphone jack  46  and also with a Line-Out output jack  52 . The controller  40  may be a microprocessor or any other suitable form of microcontroller. The signal processing electronics  56  may provide an electrical output signal representing a stored media file to the amplification module  60  that is amplified and then converted into audio form by one or more speakers  62 . An automatic dimming subsystem  25  with a manual user control  25 a may be in communication with the controller  40  and with the display  24   a  for enabling a user to manually dim the display  24   a.  Alternatively, the dimming subsystem  25  will automatically dim the display using, for example, a suitable photo sensor, unless the user has manually dimmed the display  24   a.    
         [0042]    The gap detection software module  58  may include software such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,062,442 that senses “gaps” in audio content being received by the FM tuner  42  or possibly audio content being received at the auxiliary input jack  50  from a different audio source (e.g., Internet radio). For convenience, the following discussion will assume that the audio content being received is broadcast FM signals that are received by the FM tuner  42 . The broadcast FM signals represent music (i.e., songs or “media files” or “first portions”) of the media content being broadcast, together with commercials and advertisements interspersed between the songs that may be considered “second portions” of the media content being broadcast. In one implementation the gap detection software module effectively “filters out” the advertisements, DJ talk, etc. separating songs that are being received from an FM or AM broadcast source and creates media files for just the songs, with each song representing a separate media file. These media files will be referred to throughout the following discussion simply as “song files”. The song files may be MP3 files or may be in other any suitable format, for example FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec). If the files are video files then any suitable video format may be employed. 
         [0043]    Turning now to  FIGS. 4 through 14 , the portable media player  14  will be further described. The portable media player  14  is illustrated to generally include a back housing  64  and a front cover  66 . The portable media player  14  may further include a back (metal or high strength plastic) cover  68 . The back cover  68  may be secured to the back housing  64  in any conventional manner. The housing  64  or other portion of the portable media player  14  may optionally have a suitable hole or structure to which a lanyard (not shown) may be attached so that a user may carry the player  14  when the lanyard is worn around the neck. 
         [0044]    The portable media player  14  may further include a plurality of control buttons (or alternatively membrane switches) that extend through openings in the front cover  66  and cooperate with a PCB (not shown) disposed inside the portable media player  14 . The plurality of buttons or controls may include a centrally located Play/Pause button  70 , Forward and Reverse track selection buttons or controls  72  and  74 , and a Lock/Unlock button or control  76 . The plurality of controls may further include an independent volume up button  78  and an independent volume down button  80 . The buttons  70 - 80  may take any form, but in one form may comprise conventional membrane switches. Any one or more of the buttons  70 - 80  could include raised, tactile features that enable persons having a visual handicap to readily discern, by tactile feel, the various buttons. If conventional membrane switches are employed, such switches will allow a momentary pressing action to provide a selection control, while holding down a membrane switch continuously allows repeated selections to be performed, such as for increasing or decreasing volume or for rapidly forwarding or reversing track selections for recorded song files. An audio transducer  81  forming a headphone assembly may be worn in or adjacent to the ears of a user, and may be electrically coupled to the back housing  64  at the headphone jack  88 . A hold switch  94  may be employed to “lock out” the other controls on the portable media player  14 . 
         [0045]    The portable media player  14  may interface with the base unit  12  for controlling the storage of song files on the portable media player  14 . The interface between the portable media player  14  and the base unit  12  may operate to constantly fill the internal memory of the portable media player  14  to capacity or near capacity and replace older media files (e.g., song files) with new media files from the base unit  12 . This may also be considered a first-in, first-out method (FIFO) of updating the memory content of the portable media player  14 . 
         [0046]    Users have the option to lock (i.e., save or write/delete protect) a song file on the portable media player  14  via the Lock/Unlock button  76 . Similarly, a song file may be designated as being write-protected through button  24   b  on the base unit  12 , and will be treated as a write-protected file after it is uploaded to from the base unit  12  to the portable media player  14 . In this example the base unit  12  will only replace older media files (e.g., stored song files) with newer recorded song files in accordance with the FIFO protocol, although it will be appreciated that different protocols could be employed for determining which recorded song files are to be deleted first. Files that are stored on the base unit  12  and which are designated (i.e., “tagged”) as being write-protected will still be overwritten on the base unit  12 , if memory space on the base unit becomes too limited. However, these files will be treated as write-protected files by the portable media player  14  after they are uploaded to the portable media player  14 . It will be appreciated that this methodology could easily be altered so that song files stored on the base unit  12  can be designated and treated as write-protected files by the base unit  12  so that same cannot be deleted by the base unit  12 . 
         [0047]    When the lock/unlock button  76  on the portable media player  14  is pressed, or a “Lock/Unlock” control (not particularly shown) is pressed on the control panel  24  of the base unit  12  while a given song is playing, the media file being currently played will be “locked” (i.e., write-protected against automatic deletion). In one embodiment of the base unit  12 , regardless if a song file is locked or not locked, the base unit  12  automatically deletes the song file if available space in the memory  54  becomes unavailable. Locking of a song file may be performed while the song is being recorded on the base unit  12 , while a song is being played back on the base unit  12 , and while a song file is displayed on the display  24   a,  or independently from digital media delivered into the base unit  12 . 
         [0048]    When a lock command is given via the Lock/Unlock button  24   b  of the control panel  24  (as described above) for a song file that is currently locked, the controller  40  will “unlock” the song file unless it is a permanently locked file delivered from a digital media source. Some media files that are digitally delivered to the base unit  12  may be able to be unlocked as per copyright laws. Some media files delivered to the base unit  12  must remain permanently locked. 
         [0049]    The base unit  12  may operate to remove commercials or other undesirable content from a stream of media. One manner of removing commercials or undesirable content interspersed from between portions of music content (i.e., songs) in the streaming media content is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,062,442. There are additional other available techniques that may be able to remove (i.e., capture) songs delivered from digital file breaks, as well as well known analog methods of looking for “dead air” (no audible signal) to signify audio breaks. For example, CDs typically have a two second dead air space between each individual song track. The base unit  12  may remove the dead air and use this dead air as a marker to separate songs. 
         [0050]    The portable media player  14  may comply with the Serial Copyright Management System (SCMS) portion of the Audio Home Recording Act. There are a variety of devices available that comply with the SCMS through digital rights management (DRM). The portable media player  14  and the base unit  12  comply as they do not allow a copy of the recording to be made on additional devices. A principal advantage of the system  10  is that it provides a computerless system for SCMS without using a traditional DRM approach. The user does not need to provide any input to the system  10  in order for song files to begin being uploaded from the base unit  12  to the portable media player  14  when the player is docked on the base unit. 
         [0051]    With brief reference to  FIG. 14 , a high level block diagram of one embodiment of the portable media player  14  is shown. The portable media player  14  may use a USB interface. Alternatively, the portable media player  14  may use the FIREWIRE® interface protocol. The portable media player  14  may also make use of the BLUETOOTH® wireless connectivity standard to wirelessly connect with other BLUETOOTH® enabled devices. The portable media player  14  may use uPnp (DLNA) protocol or Wi-Fi protocol. The portable media player  14  may also connect over a mobile telephone system. 
         [0052]    The portable media player  14  may include one or more internal PCBs having mounted thereon a plurality of components. The components may include a controller  82  that is in communication with a memory  84  (e.g., a RAM). The controller  82  may also be in communication with an interface circuit or subsystem  86 , which as mentioned above may be a USB or FIREWIRE® type interface. The controller  82  may also be in communication with a headphone jack  88 , an interface connection port  90  (e.g., USB, FIREWIRE® interface, etc.), a reset input switch  92  and a hold switch  94 . The reset switch  92  may be recess mounted in the back housing  64  so that it cannot be accidentally depressed while handling the media player  14 . The controller  86  may be adapted to detect when a plug of the audio transducer assembly  81  is inserted into the headphone jack  88 , and may automatically power on the portable media player  14  when the insertion of a headphone plug is detected. The controller  82  may also be programmed so that the most recent (or the oldest) stored song file on the portable media player  14  automatically begins playing when the player  14  is powered up. A hard reset signal may be provided to the controller  82  by inserting an end of a small pointed implement, for example a paper clip, into the recess mounted reset input  92  switch and depressing it momentarily. The hold switch  94  may be used to lock in the current mode of the portable media player  14 , for example so that if the player  14  is currently in a playback mode, then exiting that mode cannot be done by accidentally engaging one of the other controls on the player  14 . The hard reset essentially functions similar to a hard reset on a desktop or laptop computer to power down and immediately power back up the system  10 . The rechargeable battery  14   a  may comprise any suitable battery, for example a lithium ion battery. For convenience, the connections from the rechargeable battery  14   a  to the other electrically powered components of the portable media player  14  have not been shown so as to avoid cluttering the drawing figure. Alternatively, the portable media player  14  could be adapted with only minor modifications to use non-rechargeable batteries such as AA or AAA batteries. 
         [0053]    It will also be appreciated that the base unit  12  could be configured with minor modifications to interface with one or more presently available portable media players, for example the Apple, Inc. IPOD® or IPHONE®. This would enable stored media files on the base unit  12  to be uploaded to either of these Apple, Inc. devices, or possibly to any other portable media player. In addition to interfacing with the hardware of another portable device, the base unit  12  may also communicate with the operating system on the device or through a suitable application, for example Google ANDROID™, IPHONE® OS, etc. 
         [0054]    Referring now to  FIG. 15  a flowchart  100  is shown illustrating various operations that may be performed by the system  10  during its initial operation. By “initial operation”, it is meant the first time that the system  10  is used by a user. For this portion of the description it will be assumed that the portable media player  14  is not docked on the base unit  12 . 
         [0055]    At operation  102  the base unit  12  may be powered on by a user via its power button  28 . At operation  104  a check is made if the portable media player  14  is docked on the base unit  12 . If so, then a jump is made to the operational sequence shown in  FIG. 17 . If not, then at operation  106  the base unit  12  begins receiving media content from a media source and recording samples of the media content from the signal source. This is done by using the gap detection module  58  ( FIG. 3 ). For this example it will be assumed that the media is an FM signal. The gap detection module  58  effectively “learns” a profile of music from a given station that is being recorded. By “learns” it is meant that the gap detection software module becomes familiar with the nature of the music being analyzed as well as the characteristics of the station broadcasting the music. A new learning period may be required if a different style of music is being played from one that was previously “learned” by the system. At operation  108  the base unit  12  identifies song files as monitoring of the FM content received continues, and saves each identified song as a new song to the memory  54  of the base unit. It will be appreciated that operation  108  also checks to see if a song file has been previously recorded, and if so, then it will not be re-saved a second time. 
         [0056]    As mentioned above, for this example the FM media content will be songs with advertisements and disc jockey comments or news updates interspersed between the songs. The song files that are saved in the memory  54  contain may date and time information as to the day, and time of day, that the song files are recorded (i.e., saved) by the base unit  12 . Alternatively, more recently stored song files may be distinguished from older song files simply by the order that they have been recorded in the memory  54 . 
         [0057]    At operation  110  a check is made if the base unit  12  memory  54  is almost full. By “almost” full it is meant that only a predetermined, or less, amount of free storage space is available in the memory  54 . Such a predetermined amount may be, for example, 1 MB of storage space. If the inquiry at operation  114  produces a “No” answer, then operations  104 - 110  are repeated, and recording will continue. If the check at operation  114  indicates that the memory  54  is almost full, then the controller  40  may delete or overwrite one of the stored song files in the memory to make room for the newly recorded song file, as indicated at operation  112 . In one example the oldest stored song file in the memory  54  may be deleted to make room for the next newly recorded song file. This arrangement follows a conventional “first-in-first-out” (FIFO) protocol. The creation and recording of song files may continue in sequential fashion as long as the base unit  12  is powered on and receiving an FM broadcast signal, with each newly recorded song files over-writing the oldest recorded song file when the memory  54  is otherwise almost full. 
         [0058]      FIG. 16  illustrates operation of the base unit  12  in the playback mode. At operation  118  the base unit  12  begins playing back stored song files when the Play/Pause button  24 c is selected by the user. At operation  120  the controller  40  checks if the music “Lock” command has been received via the Lock/Unlock button  24   b  on the base unit  12 . If the Lock/Unlock button  24   b  is detected as having been depressed by the user, then the controller  40  checks to see if the song file is already locked, as indicated at operation  121 . If so, the file is marked as a file that is to be deleted, and a jump to operation  126  is performed. If the answer to the inquiry at operation  121  indicates the file is not already locked, then the currently playing (and being recorded) song is stored with a suitable code that indicates that it is to be “locked” when uploaded to the portable media player  14  during the next performed synchronization routine. This code will transfer with the song file when it is later uploaded to the portable media player  14  in accordance with the FIFO uploading methodology. 
         [0059]    At operation  124  the controller  40  checks to see if a delete command has been received using the Lock/Unlock button  24 b. The delete command may be generated by continuously holding down the Lock/Unlock button  24   b  for a predetermined time, for example at least one second. If the delete command is detected the controller may interrupt the recording of the currently playing song file and mark it for deletion as indicated at operation  126 . 
         [0060]    At operation  128  a check is then made to determine if the current song has finished playing, or if the next track or previous track has been selected. If not, then a loop is made back to operation  118 . If the current song file has finished playing, or if the next track or previous track has been selected, then the appropriate action (i.e., next song file, previous song track or next song track) is carried out using the memory  54  and operation  118  is repeated. 
         [0061]    Referring to  FIG. 17 , the synchronization process mentioned above will be described. The synchronization process is used to update the portable media player  14  with any new song files stored on the base unit  12  that have not already been uploaded into the portable media player  14  whenever the portable media player  14  is positioned on the docking port  26  of the base unit  12 . The check made at operation  110  in  FIG. 15  is used to detect if/when the portable media player  14  is inserted into the docking port  26  of the base unit  12 . For the following description it will be assumed that the base unit  12  has been used for a while and therefore includes a plurality of song files stored in its memory  54 . 
         [0062]    When docking of the portable media player  14  is detected by the controller  40  of the base unit  12 , the controller  40  and the controller  82  of the portable media player begin communicating as indicated at operation  136 . At operation  138  the base unit  12  may display a message on its display  24   a  such as “SYNC”, or something to this effect to let the user know that the system  10  is about to start updating the memory  84  of the portable media player  14  with new song files. At operation  140  the base unit  12  detects any song files that have been marked as “DELETE” by the user on the portable media player  14  and marks corresponding song files stored on the base unit  12  with a “DELETE” code. At operation  141 , any song file that is presently marked “Delete” on the portable media player  141 , but which is still present on the base unit  12 , is also deleted from the base unit  12  memory  54 . At operation  142  the base unit  12  determines the available memory on the portable media player  14  after deleted song files are taken into effect. At operation  144  the base unit  12  determines the amount of file storage space used for new song files that have been recorded since the last synchronization operation. At operation  146  a check is made to see if the memory of the portable media player  14  is full with all stored song files being in the “Locked” condition (i.e., write-protected). If this condition is present, then a message is displayed such as “MEMORY FULL” on the base unit&#39;s  12  display  24   a,  at operation  148 , and the synchronization operation is terminated. 
         [0063]    If the check at operation  146  reveals that at least one song file is not “Locked”, then at operation  150  a determination is made if the available (i.e., free) memory on the portable media player  14  is greater than the total file space of new song files stored on the base unit  12  since the previous synchronization operation. If not, then non-locked song files on the portable media player  14  are deleted sequentially at operation  152 , in accordance with FIFO protocol, and operation  150  is repeated until sufficient memory space becomes available to accommodate all of the new song files stored on the base unit  12  since the last synchronization operation. 
         [0064]    When the inquiry at operation  150  produces a “Yes” answer, then all new song files stored on the base unit  12  are uploaded to the portable media player  14 , as indicated at operation  154 . A check is then made at operation  156  if the synchronization operation is complete, that is if all of the new song files from the base unit  12  have been uploaded to the portable media player  14 . If they have not, then operations  154  and  156  are repeated. If they have, then the message “DONE” may be displayed on the base unit&#39;s  12  display  24   a  at operation  158 , and the synchronization operation is complete. 
         [0065]    It will also be appreciated that some FM stations (as well as satellite radio broadcasts) supply information on the title of a song as the song is being broadcast, which would make it easy for the controllers  40  and  82  to determine if a given song stored on the base unit  12  is actually a “new” song that is not stored on the player  14 . This technology is presently available in HD radio as well as RDS (Radio Data System) technology. 
         [0066]    At any time the recording of media on the base unit  12  may be interrupted by the user if the user wishes to begin listening to songs stored on the base unit  12 . This is accomplished simply by the user using the mode button Play/Pause button  24   c  on the base unit  12  to select the playback of song files on the base unit  12 . 
         [0067]    When the portable media player  14  is docked on the base unit  12 , the Lock/Unlock button  24   b  of the base unit  12  may be the control that is used to control locking and unlocking of media files. All other controls (e.g., volume, play/pause, next track, previous track) on the base unit  12  operate as previously described, essentially as if the portable media player  14  was not attached to the base unit  12 . Charging of the rechargeable battery  14   a  may be accomplished by supplying a suitable charging current through its connection to the docking port  26 . Alternatively, charging of the rechargeable battery  14   a  may be accomplished via a separate charging cable (not shown) that may be coupled to the connection port  90  of the portable media player  14  and also to a standard conventional recharger device that plugs into an AC line (e.g., 120 volt/60 Hz) power source. Alternatively, recharging could be done from a 12 volt power source, such as an accessory power port in a motor vehicle, via a suitable cable. Any of the above recharging arrangements allow the portable media player  14  to be quickly and easily recharged. 
         [0068]    The connection port  90  could also be used for coupling a suitable external cable to the portable media player  14  so that media content stored on the player can be directed to a “Line Input” jack of an external device, for example a car audio system, a home audio system, or any other form of playback system. 
         [0069]    The system  10  thus forms an easily operated system that monitors incoming media content from a variety of media sources, detects those portions of the incoming content that are desired to be saved by the user, records those portions of the incoming media content, and allows the stored portions of incoming media content to be replayed on a base type device or uploaded onto a hand holdable portable media player. A principal advantage of the system  10  is its ease of use. The user may simply turn on the base unit  12 , select the input media source, whether that be an FM broadcasting source, internet radio source, satellite radio source, etc., and the base unit  12  will begin monitoring and analyzing the incoming media to create song files that it stores in its memory  54 . No additional commands from the user are need for this operation to occur. When the user places the portable media player  14  in the docking port  26 , the uploading of stored song files on the base unit  12  will begin. Recording of song files may occur regardless of the level that the volume control  34  is set to. 
         [0070]    Still another significant feature is the ability of the base unit  12  to remove commercials and advertisements between songs and to save only the songs as independent song files on its memory  54 . The controller  40  of the base unit  12  may also be programmed to automatically insert a predetermined dead space, for example 1-2 seconds of silence, between stored songs. 
         [0071]    The base unit  12  may also function, with little or no modification, as a speaker phone for any compatible phone or mobile phone device. The portable media player  14  may be adapted, with little or not modification, to connect to factory car radios and may wirelessly connect to compatible receivers, for example using short range wireless connectivity standards such as the BLUETOOTH® wireless connectivity standard. 
         [0072]    It will be appreciated that while the system  10  has been described in connection with an application for storing broadcast media content in the form of music, and particularly song files, that the system  10  will lend itself with little or no modification to other significant applications. For example, the system  10  could be programmed to detect only commercials, and could save only the commercials that separate music from a given content source. This application may have be useful for various businesses, for exampling advertising agencies, seeking to examine/monitor their own advertisements as well as those of competitors that may occur from a given broadcast source. 
         [0073]    While one or more specific examples have been described in the specification and illustrated in the drawings, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalence may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the present teachings as defined in the claims. Furthermore, the mixing and matching of features, elements and/or functions between various examples may be expressly contemplated herein so that one skilled in the art would appreciate from the present teachings that features, elements and/or functions of one example may be incorporated into another example as appropriate, unless described otherwise above. Moreover, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the present teachings without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it may be intended that the present teachings not be limited to the particular examples illustrated by the drawings and described in the specification as the best mode of presently contemplated for carrying out the present teachings but that the scope of the present disclosure will include any embodiments following within the foregoing description and any appended claims.