Method and apparatus for utilizing closed captioned (CC) text keywords or phrases for the purpose of automated searching of network-based resources for interactivelinks to universal resource locators (URL's)

• US 20010003214A1
• Filed: 11/30/2000
• Published: 06/07/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/1999
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: HOTV Incorporated
• Original Assignee: HOTV Incorporated
• Inventors: Arya, Ashwani, Gupta, Parul, Bharadwaj, Rinku, Sampath, Sumanth, Shastri, Vijnan
• Application Number:
  US09/727,837
• Publication Number:
  US 20010003214A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/109
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/748 Hypervideo linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object in the context of video distribution systems H04N21/858
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/7844 using original textual content or text extracted from visual content or transcript of audio data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• 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 21/4758 for providing answers, e.g. voting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A system for finding URLs for sites having information related to topics in a video presentation has an extractor extracting closed-caption (CC) text from the video presentation, a parser parsing the CC text for topic language, and a search function using the topic language from the parser as a search criteria. The search function searches for WEB sites having information matching the topic language, returns URLs for WEB sites found, and associates the URLs with the topic language. In some cases there is a hyperlink generator for creating hyperlinks to the WEB sites returned, and the system displays the hyperlinks with a display of the video presentation. In a preferred embodiment the video presentation is provided in a first window in the display, thumbnails are displayed in a second window, each thumbnail representing a new topic, and the hyperlinks are displayed in a third window. The hyperlinks are displayed in the third window when the video presentation in the first window is in the particular topic related to the hyperlinks, or when a user does a mouseover of a thumbnail representing the topic to which the hyperlinks are related.

Claims

1. A system for finding URLs for sites having information related to topics in a video presentation, comprising:

an extractor extracting closed-caption (CC) text from the video presentation;

a parser parsing the CC text for topic language; and

a search function using the topic language from the parser as a search criteria;

characterized in that the search function searches for WEB sites having information matching the topic language, returns URLs for WEB sites found, and associates the URLs with the topic language.

2. The system of

claim 1

further comprising a hyperlink generator for creating hyperlinks to the WEB sites returned, and displaying the hyperlinks with a display of the video presentation.

3. The system of

claim 2

wherein the video presentation is provided in a first window in the display, thumbnails are displayed in a second window, each thumbnail representing a new topic, and the hyperlinks are displayed in a third window.

4. The system of

claim 3

wherein the hyperlinks are displayed in the third window when the video presentation in the first window is in the particular topic related to the hyperlinks.

5. The system of

claim 3

wherein the hyperlinks are displayed in the third window when a user does a mouseover of a thumbnail representing the topic to which the hyperlinks are related.

6. A method for finding URLs for sites having information related to topics in a video presentation, comprising steps of:

(a) extracting closed-caption (CC) text from the video presentation;

(b) parsing the CC text for topic language;

(c) using the topic language from the parser as a search criteria in a search engine;

(d) returning URLs for WEB sites matching the search criteria; and

(e) associating the returned URLs with the topic language.

7. The method of

claim 6

further comprising a step for generating hyperlinks to WEB sites returned, and displaying the hyperlinks with a display of the video presentation.

8. The method of

claim 7

wherein the video presentation is provided in a first window in the display, thumbnails are displayed in a second window, each thumbnail representing a new topic, and further comprising a step for displaying the hyperlinks in a third window.

9. The method of

claim 7

comprising a further step for displaying the hyperlinks in the third window when the video presentation in the first window is in the particular topic related to the hyperlinks.

10. The system of

claim 7

comprising a further step for displaying the hyperlinks in the third window when the user does a mouseover relative to one of the thumbnails representing a particular topic.