System and method for synchronizing streaming content with enhancing content using pre-announced triggers

• US 20050028195A1
• Filed: 09/03/2004
• Published: 02/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Sheldon, Isaac A., Feinleib, David A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,479,251 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43074 of additional data with content streams on the same device, e.g. of EPG data or interactive icon with a TV program
• 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 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4886 for displaying a ticker, e.g. scrolling banner for news, stock exchange, weather data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/088 the inserted signal being digital
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

A client-server architecture synchronizes streaming content with enhancing content via pre-announced triggers. The architecture includes server-based components to generate announcements containing information specifying how and when to receive upcoming triggers that will be transmitted at a later time. The server transmits the announcements to a general broadcast or multicast IP address. Client-based components monitor the IP address to receive and filter the announcements. Selected announcements are stored in a guide database in correlation with the streaming content programs to indicate that the programs are interactive. When a user tunes to an interactive program, the client opens a container HTML page that contains controls to receive the streaming content program and to extract the announcements from the guide database. The latter control monitors the IP address at the times specified in the selected announcements to receive the triggers corresponding to the interactive program. The server delivers the triggers at times synchronized to the streaming content. When triggers arrive, the client control processes the triggers to coordinate presentation of the enhancing content with the streaming content program. The triggers may further be used to carry items that fill a ticker being displayed with the program.

Claims

1. A method for synchronizing streaming content with enhancing content comprising:

receiving an announcement on a monitored address containing information specifying how and when to receive upcoming enhancing content and being a broadcast or a multicast, the announcement being sent at a time prior to sending the enhancing content, the enhancing content associated with the streaming content;

receiving the streaming content;

receiving the enhancing content according to the information contained in the announcement and at a time in synchronization with the streaming content; and

enhancing the streaming content with the enhancing content.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the announcement contains parameters selected from a group comprising:

a broadcast locator, a time when the corresponding enhancing content is to be sent, a protocol, an identity of the streaming content that the enhancing content enhances, and a page that contains a starting point for the enhancing content.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the enhancing content comprises triggers, and data files, the method further comprising:

receiving the data files; and

receiving the triggers at times in synchronization with the streaming content, the triggers causing operations involving the data files in order too timely introduce the enhancing content with the streaming content.

4. A method as recited in claim 3, wherein the enhancing content further comprises dependency files that contain instructions to present content contained in the data files, the method further comprising delivering the data files together with the dependency files in a cabinet (CAB) file format.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the receiving comprises receiving the streaming content and the enhancing content in a composite stream of one source.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the receiving comprises:

receiving the streaming content from a first source; and

receiving the enhancing content from a second source different from the first source.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising displaying the enhancing content as a ticker.

8. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the method as recited in claim 1.

9. A method for synchronizing streaming content with enhancing content comprising:

forming announcements containing information specifying a first address and a time at which to receive upcoming triggers;

sending the announcements by one of broadcast and multicast to a second address;

monitoring the second address to receive the announcements;

filtering the announcements to retain selected announcements;

monitoring the first address at the time specified in the selected announcements to receive the triggers; and

processing the triggers to coordinate presentation of the enhancing content with the streaming content.

10. A method as recited in claim 9, wherein the forming comprises creating an announcement to contain parameters selected from a group comprising:

a broadcast locator, a time when a corresponding trigger is to be broadcast, a broadcast protocol, an identity of the streaming content that the enhancing content enhances, and a page that contains a starting point for the enhancing content.

11. A method as recited in claim 9, wherein the processing comprises receiving the enhancing content according to a predetermined protocol and storing the enhancing content.

12. A method as recited in claim 9, wherein the processing comprises navigating within a container HTML page.

13. A method as recited in claim 9, wherein the processing comprises invoking a script within a container HTML page.

14. A method as recited in claim 9, further comprising sending the enhancing content together with the triggers.

15. A method as recited in claim 9, further comprising delivering the streaming content, the enhancing content, and the triggers from a same source.

16. A method as recited in claim 9, further comprising:

delivering the enhancing content from a first source; and

delivering the streaming content and the triggers from a second source different from the first source.

17. A method as recited in claim 9, further comprising displaying the enhancing content together with the streaming content.

18. A method as recited in claim 9, wherein the enhancing content comprises a ticker, and further comprising:

delivering triggers that contain items for the ticker;

displaying the ticker together with the streaming content; and

presenting the items from the triggers within the ticker.

19. Computer-readable media distributed at a content provider and a client and having computer-executable instructions for performing the method as recited in claim 9.

20. A method comprising:

displaying streaming content;

monitoring an announcement address to receive announcements pertaining to enhancing content for enhancing the streaming content, the announcements containing information that specify a trigger address and times at which to receive upcoming triggers;

filtering the announcements to retain selected announcements;

storing the selected announcements;

monitoring the trigger address at the times specified in the selected announcements to receive corresponding triggers; and

processing the triggers to cause one of the following events to occur;

(1) receive one or more data files having the enhancing content, or (2) utilize the enhancing content in the data files to enhance the streaming content.

21. A method as recited in claim 20, further comprising caching the data files.

22. A method as recited in claim 20, further comprising presenting the streaming content and the enhancing content using an HTML page.

23. A method as recited in claim 20, further comprising:

using information from the trigger to invoke a script; and

executing the script to enhance the streaming content.

24. A method as recited in claim 20, further comprising:

receiving triggers that contain items for a ticker;

displaying the ticker together with the streaming content; and

presenting the items from the triggers within the ticker.

25. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the method as recited in claim 20.

26. A method comprising:

monitoring an IP (Internet Protocol) address to receive triggers in synchronization with a streaming content, wherein enhancing content is associated with the streaming content;

receiving an announcement on a monitored address containing information specifying how and when to receive upcoming enhancing content, wherein each trigger contains at least one item to be displayed on a ticker;

forming an array of the items received in the triggers; and

displaying the array of the items within the ticker.

27. A method as recited in claim 26, further comprising receiving announcements at another IP address, the announcements being used to announce upcoming transmissions of the triggers.

28. A computer-readable system comprising computer-executable instructions for:

monitoring an announcement address to receive announcements pertaining to enhancing content for enhancing the streaming content, the announcements containing information that specify a trigger address and a time at which to receive upcoming triggers;

filtering the announcements to retain selected announcements;

monitoring the trigger IP address at the time specified in one of the selected announcements to receive a corresponding trigger; and

processing the trigger to cause utilization of the enhancing content to enhance the streaming content.

29. A computer-readable system comprising computer-executable instructions for performing:

monitoring an IP address to receive enhancing content, wherein the enhancing content is received according to instructions contained in the announcement, and wherein the enhancing content comprises triggers, each trigger containing at least one item; and

presenting a ticker that contains the items.

30. A system for synchronizing streaming content with enhancing content, comprising:

at least one content server;

a client;

the content server being configured to form announcements that contain information specifying an IP address and a time at which to receive upcoming triggers, the content server sending the announcements by at least one of broadcasting and multicasting to the client; and

the client being configured to receive the announcements and monitor the IP address at the time specified in the announcements to receive the triggers, the client processing the triggers to coordinate presentation of the enhancing content with the streaming content.

31. A system as recited in claim 30, wherein the announcements contain parameters selected from a group comprising:

a broadcast locator, a time when a corresponding trigger is to be broadcast, a broadcast protocol, an identity of the streaming content that the enhancing content enhances, and a page that contains a starting point for the enhancing content.

32. A system as recited in claim 30, wherein the client receives the enhancing content according to a predetermined protocol and caches the enhancing content.

33. A system as recited in claim 30, wherein the client uses information from the trigger to navigate within a container HTML page.

34. A system as recited in claim 30, wherein the client uses information from the trigger to invoke a script within a container HTML page.

35. A system as recited in claim 30, wherein the content server delivers the streaming content, the enhancing content, and the triggers.

36. A system as recited in claim 30, wherein the content server delivers the enhancing content and the triggers, and further comprising a second content server to deliver the streaming content.

37. A system as recited in claim 30, wherein the triggers contain items for a ticker and the client displays the ticker together with the streaming content.

38. A client software architecture, comprising:

a video control to play video content;

a listener to monitor an announcement IP (Internet Protocol) address to receive announcements pertaining to enhancing content for enhancing the video content, the announcements containing information that specify a trigger IP address and times at which to receive upcoming triggers;

the listener further monitoring the trigger IP address at the times specified by the announcements to receive corresponding triggers; and

a rendering component to present the video content and to enhance the video content with the enhancing content according to instructions received in the triggers.

39. A client software architecture as recited in claim 38, further comprising a storage to hold the announcements in correlation with an identity of the video content.

40. A client software architecture as recited in claim 38, further comprising a cache to hold the enhancing content.

41. A client software architecture as recited in claim 38, wherein the listener and video control are contained within an HTML page rendered by the rendering component.

42. A client software architecture as recited in claim 41, wherein the HTML page also has one or more scripts to process the instructions contained in the triggers.

43. A client software architecture, comprising:

a) a first code segment for monitoring a broadcast or multicast IP address to receive enhancing content including triggers according to information contained in an announcement, wherein each trigger contains at least one item for a ticker; and

b) a second code segment for rendering the ticker with the items received via the triggers.