Providing a summary of media content to a communication device

Abstract

A wireless communication device includes a processor, a display device coupled to the processor, and a memory accessible to the processor. The memory includes instructions executable by the processor to perform operations. The operations include receiving a user input to play a media content item. The operations include sending a request for a summary of the media content item to a network device in response to the user input in lieu of sending a particular request for the media content item. The operations also include, in response to the reply including media content, sending the media content to the display device for display.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A wireless communication device comprising:
 a processor; and   a memory accessible to the processor, the memory comprising instructions executable by the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:
 determining whether a summary of a media content item is to be obtained, the determining being based upon a type of network connection utilized by the wireless communication device, the determining resulting in a determination; 
 in response to the media content item having been requested for play and in a case of the determination being that the summary of the media content item is to be obtained, sending a request for the summary of the media content item to a network device in lieu of sending a particular request for the media content item; and 
 in response to a reply to the request comprising media content, facilitating display of the media content. 
   
     
     
         2 . The wireless communication device of  claim 1 , wherein the media content comprises a subset of frames of a plurality of frames of the media content item. 
     
     
         3 . The wireless communication device of  claim 2 , wherein the subset of frames is based on a user profile associated with the wireless communication device. 
     
     
         4 . The wireless communication device of  claim 1 , wherein the media content comprises selected representative frames as a particular number of frame blocks of the media content item. 
     
     
         5 . The wireless communication device of  claim 4 , wherein the frame blocks are uniformly distributed in time in the media content item. 
     
     
         6 . The wireless communication device of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise, after display of the media content and in response to the reply comprising a subset of frames of the media content item, sending to a display device an option to view the media content item. 
     
     
         7 . The wireless communication device of  claim 6 , wherein the operations further comprise, responsive to user input indicating a selection of the option:
 sending a media request for the media content item to a content source;   receiving the media content item responsive to the media request; and   sending the media content item to the display device for display.   
     
     
         8 . The wireless communication device of  claim 1 , wherein the reply comprises the media content item. 
     
     
         9 . The wireless communication device of  claim 8 , wherein the reply comprises the media content item based on the media content item corresponding to a music video, instructions on how to perform a task, particular media content with a play time less than a threshold, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         10 . The wireless communication device of  claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise, in response to the reply comprising a listing of media content:
 sending selectable options to a display device, the selectable options including first selectable options corresponding to items in the listing;   receiving user input that selects a particular selectable option corresponding to a first media content item;   sending a media request for the first media content item to a content source; and   sending the first media content item received in response to the media request to the display device for display.   
     
     
         11 . A method comprising:
 determining, by a communication device comprising a processor, whether a summary of a media content item is to be obtained, the determining being based upon a type of network connection utilized by the communication device, the determining resulting in a determination;   in response to the media content item having been requested for play and in a case of the determination being that the summary of the media content item is to be obtained, sending, by the communication device to a network device, a request for the summary of the media content item in lieu of sending a particular request for the media content item; and   in response to a reply to the request comprising a listing of media content, sending, by the communication device, selectable options to a display device, the selectable options comprising first selectable options corresponding to items in the listing.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the communication device is a mobile communication device, and wherein the method further comprises:
 receiving, by the mobile communication device, user input that selects a particular selectable option corresponding to a first media content item; and   sending, by the mobile communication device, a media request for the first media content item to a content source.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 sending, by the mobile communication device, the first media content item received in response to the media request to the display device for display.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein a first particular selectable option of the selectable options corresponds to the media content item. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising, in response to the reply comprising media content, sending, by the communication device, the media content to the display device for display. 
     
     
         16 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage device storing instructions executable by a processor of a communication device to perform operations, the operations comprising:
 determining whether a summary of a media content item is to be obtained, the determining being based upon a type of network connection utilized by the communication device, the determining resulting in a determination;   in response to the media content item having been requested for play and in a case of the determination being that the summary of the media content item is to be obtained, causing a network interface to send a request for the summary of the media content item to a network device in lieu of sending a particular request for the media content item; and   in response to a reply to the request comprising media content, facilitating output of the media content.   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of  claim 16 , wherein the communication device is a mobile communication device, and wherein the output is made via a display device, an audio device, or both. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of  claim 16 , wherein the facilitating the output of the media content comprises sending the media content to an output device, wherein the operations further comprise, after sending the media content to the output device and in response to the reply comprising a subset of frames of the media content item, sending from the communication device to the output device an option to retrieve the media content item. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of  claim 16 , wherein the media content comprises a particular number of frame blocks of the media content item. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage device of  claim 19 , wherein the frame blocks are uniformly distributed in time in the media content item.