Video aspect ratio manipulation

• US 20040212731A1
• Filed: 03/15/2004
• Published: 10/28/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Starz Entertainment, LLC (Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Starz Encore Group LLC (Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation)
• Inventors: Beyler, John C., Sie, John J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,802,288 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/445
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0442 Handling or displaying different aspect ratios, or changing the aspect ratio
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/045 Zooming at least part of an image, i.e. enlarging it or shrinking it
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234327 by decomposing into layers, e.g. base layer and one or more enhancement layers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234363 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for clients with a lower screen resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234372 for performing aspect ratio conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440263 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for displaying on a connected PDA
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440272 for performing aspect ratio conversion
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44231 Monitoring of peripheral device or external card, e.g. to detect processing problems in a handheld device or the failure of an external recording device configuring of peripheral devices in general G06F9/4411; reporting information sensed by appliance or service execution status of appliance services in a home automation network H04L12/2823; monitoring the status of connected device in data switched networks H04L43/0817
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4728 for selecting a Region Of Interest [ROI], e.g. for requesting a higher resolution version of a selected region
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6187 involving transmission via a telephone network, e.g. POTS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0122 the input and the output signals having different aspect ratios
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

According to the invention, a video distribution system is disclosed. The video distribution system distributes a video program in a first aspect ratio and includes information to convert the first aspect ratio to a second aspect ratio. Included in the video distribution system are a distribution point and a video converter that is located remotely from the distribution point. The video converter receives the information and the video program from the distribution point. The video converter uses the information to guide conversion between the first aspect ratio and the second aspect ratio.

Claims

1. A method for processing a video program having a first aspect ratio different from a second aspect ratio of a display, the method comprising the steps of:

specifying video conversion information for the video program at a first location, wherein the video conversion information can be used to modify the video program from the first aspect ratio to the second aspect ratio;

transmitting the video program having the first aspect ratio and the video conversion information to a second location geographically away from the first location; and

processing the video program with the video conversion information at the second location to conform with the second aspect ratio, whereby the video program can be viewed in the second aspect ratio.

2. The method for processing the video program having the first aspect ratio different from the second aspect ratio of the display as recited in claim 1, wherein the video conversion information dynamically changes throughout playback of the video program.

3. The method for processing the video program having the first aspect ratio different from the second aspect ratio of the display as recited in claim 1, wherein the specifying step comprises specifying video conversion information for a plurality of target aspect ratios.

4. The method for processing the video program having the first aspect ratio different from the second aspect ratio of the display as recited in claim 1, wherein the video conversion information specifies a portion of the video program for shrinking when conforming to the display.

5. The method for processing the video program having the first aspect ratio different from the second aspect ratio of the display as recited in claim 1, wherein the video conversion information specifies a portion of the video program to display as the second aspect ratio.

6. The method for processing the video program having the first aspect ratio different from the second aspect ratio of the display as recited in claim 1, wherein the processing step comprises non-linearly scaling a portion of the video program to produce the second aspect ratio.

7. The method for processing the video program having the first aspect ratio different from the second aspect ratio of the display as recited in claim 1, wherein the processing step comprises rotating or mirroring a portion of the video program to produce the second aspect ratio.

8. The method for processing the video program having the first aspect ratio different from the second aspect ratio of the display as recited in claim 1, wherein the processing step comprises processing a plurality of discreet portions of the video program to produce the second aspect ratio.

9. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the computer-implementable method for processing a video program of claim 1.

10. A video distribution system that distributes a video program in a first aspect ratio and includes information to convert the first aspect ratio to a second aspect ratio, the video distribution system comprising:

a distribution point; and

a video converter remote the distribution point, wherein;

the video converter receives the information and the video program from the distribution point; and

the video converter uses the information to guide conversion between the first aspect ratio and the second aspect ratio.

11. The video distribution system that distributes the video program in the first aspect ratio and includes information to convert the first aspect ratio to the second aspect ratio as recited in claim 10, further comprising a video display coupled to the video converter, wherein the video display uses the second aspect ratio.

12. The video distribution system that distributes the video program in the first aspect ratio and includes information to convert the first aspect ratio to the second aspect ratio as recited in claim 10, wherein the information guides conversion between the first aspect ratio and a third aspect ratio.

13. The video distribution system that distributes the video program in the first aspect ratio and includes information to convert the first aspect ratio to the second aspect ratio as recited in claim 10, wherein the information guides conversions that change at least once during the video program.

14. The video distribution system that distributes the video program in the first aspect ratio and includes information to convert the first aspect ratio to the second aspect ratio as recited in claim 10, wherein:

the information identifies a first cutout and a second cutout of a frame of the video program; and

the information indicates how the first and second cutouts are used in the second aspect ratio.

15. A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave, the computer data signal comprising:

first information that represents a video program in a first aspect ratio; and

second information that indicates how the first aspect ratio is converted to a second aspect ratio, wherein;

the computer data signal passes between a distribution point and a video converter; and

the distribution point is remotely located from the video converter.

16. The computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave as recited in claim 15, wherein the carrier wave is passed in at least one of a following manners:

wired, wirelessly, optically, terrestrially, and via satellite.

17. The computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave as recited in claim 15, wherein the second information indicates a first manipulation at a first temporal point in the video and a second manipulation at a second temporal point in the video.

18. The computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave as recited in claim 15, further comprising third information that indicates how the first aspect ratio is converted to a third aspect ratio.

19. The computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave as recited in claim 15, wherein a plurality of discreet portions of the video program are used to produce the second aspect ratio.