Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for manipulating a media player based on the environment in which content is consumed. For example, a user listening to a radio broadcast or some other ambient sound hears a song begin to play. Recognizing the song, the user wishes to watch an associated music video. A smartphone is used to record a portion of the ambient sound using an application configured according to certain disclosed embodiments. The observed audio is compared with one or more archived audio segments, each of which is associated with corresponding video content. If a match is found between the observed audio segment and an archived audio segment, video content corresponding to the matched archived audio segment is played back via a media player installed on the device. The playback is synchronized with the ambient sound. This allows the user to enjoy both the ambient audio and corresponding video content.

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for manipulating a media player based on the environment in which content is consumed. For example, a user listening to a radio broadcast or some other ambient sound hears a song begin to play. Recognizing the song, the user wishes to watch an associated music video. A smartphone is used to record a portion of the ambient sound using an application configured according to certain disclosed embodiments. The observed audio is compared with one or more archived audio segments, each of which is associated with corresponding video content. If a match is found between the observed audio segment and an archived audio segment, video content corresponding to the matched archived audio segment is played back via a media player installed on the device. The playback is synchronized with the ambient sound. This allows the user to enjoy both the ambient audio and corresponding video content.