Methods and apparatus for interactive network sharing of digital video content

• US 20040125133A1
• Filed: 12/30/2002
• Published: 07/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford Management Co.)
• Original Assignee: Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford Management Co.)
• Inventors: Hoffert, Eric, Mills, Michael I., Rosen, Joseph H., Pea, Roy D., Dauber, Kenneth
• Granted Patent: US 8,307,273 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/751
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• 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 16/94 Hypermedia Hyperlinking G06F40/134
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9558 Details of hyperlinks; Management of linked annotations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/06 with both visual and audible presentation of the material to be studied
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47205 for manipulating displayed content, e.g. interacting with MPEG-4 objects, editing locally
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• 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 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments

Abstract

The present invention provides electronic methods and apparatus for interactively authoring, sharing and analyzing digital video content. Methods for authoring include displaying visual data, defining each traversal as a time-based sequence of frames and annotating and storing a record of the traversal and its associated audio records. Defining the traversal includes interactively panning the visual data by positioning an overlay window relative to the visual data and zooming in or out by resizing the overlay window. In alternative embodiments, the visual data may be displayed in a rectangular layout or a cylindrical layout. The methods are practiced using an integrated graphical interface, including an overview region displaying the visual data, a detail region displaying current data within the overlay window, and a worksheet region displaying a list of previously stored annotated traversal records. In a further aspect, the worksheet region list of annotated traversal records is published in a web document accessible via network using a standard HTML browser, and further annotations may be added by a community of network users. Analytical methods are also provided in which data markers corresponding to traversal records are plotted against an interactive abstract map enabling users to shift between levels of abstraction in exploring the video record.

Claims

1. An interactive, electronic method of sharing user perspectives on visual data, the method comprising:

publishing a web page comprising a listing of one or more traversal records and one or more associated annotations, each of the traversals comprising a time-based sequence of frames, each frame being a spatial subset of the visual data;

playing back, for a user, a selected one of the traversals in response to the user browsing the web page and interactively selecting said record; and

adding to the annotations on the web page in response to said user browsing the web page and interactively submitting an addition.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the web page includes a region for displaying a currently selected traversal.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the web page is published on the Internet.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the web page is published on a private intranet.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the annotations is visually coded to indicate its author.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the listed traversal records include at least one compound traversal record specifying a combination of a plurality of traversals, and wherein playing back further comprises adjacently playing back the contents of the corresponding plurality of traversals.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein adjacently playing back comprises playing back the plurality of traversals side-by-side.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein adjacently playing back comprises playing back the plurality of traversals in window-within-window format.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising publishing an index of said associated annotations.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said index is searchable using a web browser, and wherein said index enables access, for each of said annotations, to a web page listing the associated traversal records.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein playing back comprises streaming video for the selected traversal via network to the user.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein streaming comprises adapting a resolution of said streamed video based upon one or more adaptation factors selected from the following groups:

{network bandwidth, CPU capabilities, repealed user interaction, foveal point}.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein playing back comprises delivering video data for the selected traversal to the user from one or more caching devices deployed on a network connecting the user and the published web page.

14. An interactive, electronic apparatus of sharing user perspectives on visual data, the method comprising:

means for publishing a web page comprising a listing of one or more traversal records and one or more associated annotations, each of the traversals comprising a time-based sequence of frames, each frame being a spatial subset of the visual data;

means for playing back, for a user, a selected one of the traversals in response to the user browsing the web page and interactively selecting said record; and

means for adding to the annotations on the web page in response to said user browsing the web page and interactively submitting an addition.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the web page includes a region for displaying a currently selected traversal.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the web page is published on the Internet.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the web page is published on a private intranet.

18. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein each of the annotations is visually coded to indicate its author.

19. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the listed traversal records include at least one compound traversal record specifying a combination of a plurality of traversals, and wherein said means for playing back further comprise means for adjacently playing back the contents of the corresponding plurality of traversals.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said means for adjacently playing back comprise means for playing back the plurality of traversals side-by-side.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein said means for adjacently playing back comprise means for playing back the plurality of traversals in window-within-window format.

22. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising means for publishing an index of said associated annotations.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein said index is searchable using a web browser, and wherein said index enables access, for each of said annotations, to a web page listing the associated traversal records.

24. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said means for playing back comprise means for streaming video for the selected traversal via network to the user.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein said means for streaming comprise means for adapting a resolution of said streamed video based upon one or more adaptation factors selected from the following groups:

{network bandwidth, CPU capabilities, repealed user interaction, foveal point}.

26. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein said means for playing back comprise means for delivering video data for the selected traversal to the user from one or more caching devices deployed on a network connecting the user and the published web page.