Systems and methods for providing interactive video services

• US 10,187,609 B2
• Filed: 01/04/2018
• Issued: 01/22/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: YinzCam Incorporated
• Original Assignee: YinzCam Incorporated
• Inventors: Narasimhan, Priya, Gandhi, Rajeev
• Primary Examiner(s): Htun, San
• Application Number:
  US15/862,021
• Publication Number:
  US 20180131906A1
• Time in Patent Office: 383 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/38 Arrangements for distribution where lower stations, e.g. receivers, interact with the broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/57 for mobile receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/63 to plural spots in a confined site, e.g. MATV [Master Antenna Television]
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/92 for local area
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/613 for the control of the source by the destination control signals issued by the client directed to the server or network components specially adapted for selective content distribution H04N21/637
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 intermediate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2143 located in a single building, e.g. hotel, hospital or museum arrangements specially adapted for plural spots in a confined site in broadcast systems H04H20/63; adaptations for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution in television systems H04N7/106
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/21805 enabling multiple viewpoints, e.g. using a plurality of cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2187 Live feed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2225 Local VOD servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234363 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for clients with a lower screen resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2393 involving handling client requests scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25875 involving end-user authentication restricting access to computer systems by authenticating users using a predetermined code G06F21/33; arrangements for secret or secure communication including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/437 Interfacing the upstream path of the transmission network, e.g. for transmitting client requests to a VOD server flow control in data networks H04L47/10; streaming protocols, e.g. RTP or RTCP, H04L65/65; scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests in data packet switching networks H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 : Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4886 : for displaying a ticker, e.g. scrolling banner for news, stock exchange, weather data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 : involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6181 : involving transmission via a mobile phone network arrangements for providing broadcast or conference services to substation in data switching networks in combination with wireless systems H04L12/189; wireless uplink channel access H04W74/004
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 : IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8133 : specifically related to the content, e.g. biography of the actors in a movie, detailed information about an article seen in a video program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 : for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

An apparatus includes a plurality of content sources providing content relevant to an event at a venue, one or more wireless access points positioned at the venue, a plurality of servers distributing the content signals to the wireless access points, and a plurality of wireless communication devices, each using a browser to retrieve the content through one of the wireless access points. A method performed by the apparatus is also provided.

Claims

1. A method of delivering video content, comprising:

receiving, with a computing system comprising one or more processors, video content from a plurality of content sources, wherein the plurality of content sources provide images of an event at a venue from multiple viewing perspectives;

monitoring, with the computing system, event information associated with the video content;

determining, with the computing system, at least one content identifier tag for one or more portions of the event;

identifying, with the computing system, one or more locations in the video content including one or more portions of the video content associated with one or more of the at least one content identifier tags;

isolating, with the computing system, one or more items based on the one or more video content locations in the video content from a plurality of different angles;

generating, with the computing system, from the one or more portions of the video content at least one video on demand item from the one or more items that correspond to the at least one content identifier and comprises images of the event activity from a plurality of the multiple viewing perspectives;

receiving, with the computing system, from at least one or more communication devices located within the venue where the event is taking place, a request to view one of the video on demand items from one of the multiple viewing perspectives; and

in response to receiving the request, transmitting, with the computing system, the images corresponding to the requested video on demand item and viewing perspective to the wireless communication device in a format that allows the device to display the images on a display screen of the device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the content sources comprise one or more of:

video from a control room;

video from a plurality of cameras;

video from a television truck; and

video from a venue display.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising outputting an indication of available video on demand items and viewing perspectives for each video on demand item to the one or more wireless communication devices.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising permitting at least one of the one or more wireless communication devices to determine available video on demand items and viewing perspectives for each video on demand item.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting the images associated with at least one video on demand item to at least one of the one or more wireless communication devices without first receiving from the at least one of the one or more wireless communication devices a request to view the video on demand item.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein each video on demand item comprises images of the event activity from two or more of the multiple viewing perspectives and the request to view one of the video on demand items from one of the multiple viewing perspectives includes a selection of one of the two or more of the multiple viewing perspectives.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the available video on demand items and viewing perspectives are presented on a graphical user interface on the display screen of the one or more wireless communication devices.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a content request from one of the one or more wireless communication devices; and

in response to receiving a content request, determining, with the computing system, the at least one content identifier based on the content request.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the content request comprises identifying information associated with items in the event or the venue.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the content request comprises one or more of:

broadcast information;

league information;

play information;

team information about a sports team playing at the venue; and

statistics information related to a sports team playing at the venue.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the content request information for determining the at least one content identifier is text, audio, or any combination thereof related to the event.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the text or audio related to the event is associated with a scoring play at a sporting event.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating, from the video content, a plurality of real-time video streams, wherein each real-time video stream comprises images from one of the multiple viewing perspectives;

providing an indication of available real-time video streams to the one or more wireless communication devices;

receiving, from at least one of the one or more wireless communication devices, a request to view one of the real-time video streams; and

in response to receiving the request, transmitting the requested real-time video stream to the wireless communication device in a format that allows the device to display the images of the real-time video stream on the display screen of the wireless communication device.

14. A computing system, comprising:

at least one video on demand server comprising one or more processors configured to communicate over a communication network, to;

receive video content from a plurality of content sources, wherein the plurality of content sources provide images of an event at a venue from multiple viewing perspectives;

monitor event information associated with the video content;

determine at least one content identifier tag for one or more portions of the event;

identify one or more locations in the video content including one or more portions of the video content associated with one or more of the at least one content identifier tags;

isolate one or more items based on the one or more video content locations in the video content from a plurality of different angles;

generate from the one or more portions of the video content at least one video on demand item from the one or more items that correspond to the at least one content identifier and comprises images of the event activity from a plurality of the multiple viewing perspectives; and

at least one streaming media server comprising one or more processors configured to;

receive from at least one or more communication devices located within the venue where the event is taking place, a request to view one of the video on demand items from one of the multiple viewing perspectives; and

in response to receiving the request, transmit the images corresponding to the requested video on demand item and viewing perspective to the wireless communication device in a format that allows the device to display the images on a display screen of the device.

15. The computing system of claim 14, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

receive a content request from one of the one or more wireless communication devices; and

in response to receiving a content request, determine the at least one content identifier based on the content request.

16. The computing system of claim 15, wherein the content request comprises identifying information associated with items in the event or the venue.

17. The computing system of claim 16, wherein the content request comprises one or more of:

broadcast information;

league information;

play information;

team information about a sports team playing at the venue; and

statistics information related to a sports team playing at the venue.

18. The computing system of claim 15, wherein the content request information for determining the at least one content identifier is text, audio, or any combination thereof related to the event.

19. The computing system of claim 18, wherein the text or audio related to the event is associated with a scoring play at a sporting event.

20. The computing system of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

generate, from the video content, a plurality of real-time video streams, wherein each real-time video stream comprises images from one of the multiple viewing perspectives;

provide an indication of available real-time video streams to the one or more wireless communication devices;

receive, from at least one of the one or more wireless communication devices, a request to view one of the real-time video streams; and

in response to receiving the request, transmit the requested real-time video stream to the wireless communication device in a format that allows the device to display the images of the real-time video stream on the display screen of the wireless communication device.