Method and apparatus for fast metadata generation, delivery and access for live broadcast program

• US 20030177503A1
• Filed: 02/19/2003
• Published: 09/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Scenera, Inc.
• Original Assignee: VMark, Inc. (VALID Soluciones Tecnológicas SA)
• Inventors: Chung, Min Gyo, Kim, Hyeokman, Sull, Sanghoon, Yoon, Ja-Cheon
• Granted Patent: US 7,548,565 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/112
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/71 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/7844 using original textual content or text extracted from visual content or transcript of audio data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/7847 using low-level visual features of the video content
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4092 Image resolution transcoding, e.g. by using client-server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/41 Flat as opposed to hierarchical combination, e.g. library of tapes or discs, CD changer, or groups of record carriers that together store one title
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D

Abstract

Techniques for fast indexing of live video broadcasts are provided which incorporate both efficient manual processing and automatic indexing steps to generate semantically meaningful and practically usable highlight hierarchy of broadcast television programs in real-time. In one technique, a list of predefined keywords is provided, describing the highlights, and the manual marking process can be implemented by just a few mouse clicks. A technique is provided for grouping highlights into a semantic hierarchy in real-time. A technique is provided for efficiently generating highlight metadata on live broadcast programs, using a coarse-to-fine indexing methodology in order for a operator to quickly generate highlight summaries of live broadcast programs.

Claims

1. Method of providing metadata service, comprising:

from a broadcaster, broadcasting broadcast streams comprising TV and audio programs to a user having a receiving device; and

analyzing the broadcast streams, generating associated metadata comprising highlights, and delivering the metadata to the user'"'"'s receiving device.

2. Method, according to claim 1, wherein:

the step of analyzing the broadcast streams and generating associated metadata is performed at a metadata service provider receiving the broadcast streams from the broadcaster.

3. Method, according to claim 1, wherein:

the step of delivering the metadata to the user'"'"'s receiving device is performed in a stream separate from the broadcast stream through a back channel comprising at least one of Internet, Intranet, PSTN, cable modem, and satellite.

4. Method, according to claim 1, wherein:

the step of delivering the metadata to the user'"'"'s receiving device is performed by delivering the metadata to a multiplexer of the broadcaster through a feedback channel; and

broadcasting the metadata together with the video streams.

5. Method, according to claim 1, wherein:

the step of analyzing the broadcast streams and generating associated metadata is performed before broadcasting.

6. Method according to claim 1, wherein:

the step of delivering the metadata to the user'"'"'s receiving device is performed by multiplexing the metadata with the video stream.

7. Method, according to claim 1, wherein:

the metadata of a broadcast program is inserted into an electronic programming guide (EPG) data field and sent to the user.

8. Method, according to claim 1, wherein:

a time-index contained in the metadata is represented by broadcasting time local to the user'"'"'s receiving device.

9. Method, according to claim 1, wherein:

a time-index contained in the metadata is represented by media time defined as the relative time from the start time that is described in an EPG for the broadcast program.

10. Method, according to claim 1, wherein the user'"'"'s receiving device comprises a digital set-top box (STB) with digital video recorder (DVR) capability.

11. Method of generating highlights for an audio/video program, in real time, comprising:

performing an indexing process comprising coarse indexing followed by fine indexing;

the step of coarse indexing of a highlight marker comprising capturing desirable highlights by marking time stamps of highlights in real time while viewing the video program;

the step of delivering the captured highlights to a main indexer; and

the step of fine indexing of the main indexer comprises refining the coarse indexing by attaching exact time intervals to the captured highlight.

12. Method, according to claim 11, further comprising:

providing a plurality of highlight templates;

the step of coarse indexing of the highlight marker comprises, before the start of the indexing process, selecting any number of related highlight templates from various templates in a highlight template database and loading the selected highlight templates into the highlight marker;

using the highlight marker to attach relevant highlight themes selected from the loaded highlight templates to the captured highlights;

using the highlight marker to optionally make short textual descriptions of the captured highlights; and

then delivering the time stamp information, the attached highlight themes and the optional short descriptions about the captured highlights to the main indexer for fine indexing.

13. Method, according to claim 11, said step of fine indexing of the main indexer further comprising:

after receiving the captured highlights, associating the captured highlight information to the video stream by obtaining the exact time intervals of the captured highlights; and

attaching textual descriptions to the captured highlights.

14. Method, according to claim 12, said step of fine indexing of the main indexer further comprising:

using the highlight themes of the captured highlights, inserting them into appropriate positions of a highlight hierarchy being built corresponding to the highlight templates.

15. Method of random accessing a broadcast program, comprising:

receiving, at the receiving unit, the MPEG transport stream from the broadcasting network; and

simultaneously recording and playing back the MPEG transport stream, and reading information required for random accessing by analyzing the MPEG transport stream; and

random accessing the recorded or being recorded MPEG transport stream according to the broadcasting time.

16. Method, according to claim 15, wherein simultaneously recording and playing back the MPEG transport stream comprising:

extracting a broadcasting time and its byte position from the MPEG transport stream that is being recorded or was recorded;

generating byte-offset table that contains a broadcasting times and its byte positions; and

storing the byte-offset table in a storage.

17. Method, according to claim 15, wherein random accessing the recorded or being recorded MPEG transport stream according to the broadcasting time, further comprising:

reading the stored byte-offset table;

seeking the position of the recorded MPEG transport stream using byte-offset table that contains the byte position and its corresponding the broadcasting time;

18. Method, according to claim 15, further comprising:

random accessing the recorded or being recorded MPEG transport stream according to the broadcasting time, further comprising;

extracting a broadcasting time and its byte position from the MPEG transport stream that is being recorded or was recorded; and

seeking a byte position according to a broadcasting time from the MPEG transport stream.

19. Method, according to claim 18, wherein seeking a byte position according to a broadcasting time, further comprising:

predicting the required position by multiplying the relative time by constant bit rate and adding the result to the start position of the recorded MPEG transport stream, if the broadcast signal is broadcast with a constant bit rate; and

refining the byte position by adding or subtracting according to the difference time between the required broadcasting time and the broadcasting time contained in the transport packet located at that position.