Dynamic generation of video content for presentation by a media server

• US 20050210509A1
• Filed: 05/09/2005
• Published: 09/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Stefan Jones
• Original Assignee: Stefan Jones
• Inventors: Jones, Stefan
• Application Number:
  US11/124,728
• Publication Number:
  US 20050210509A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 17/004 for digital television systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/00 Methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23439 for generating different versions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4856 for language selection, e.g. for the menu or subtitles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4884 for displaying subtitles
• 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 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A method and apparatus is provided for dynamically generating digital video streams without an equivalent analog stream. The apparatus includes a configuration manager. The configuration manager presents configuration options to a user. User selections are recording as user preferences. The configuration manager is coupled to a media generator, which generates intermediate digital content based upon the user preferences. The media generator may be coupled to a local storage for storing electronic audio and visual information. The intermediate digital content is transferred to an encoder, which encodes the intermediate digital content to a digital format specified by in the user preferences.

Claims

1. A method for generating a digital video stream, comprising:

at a media generator, generating intermediate digital content based on data that

indicates what content in said digital video stream

without digitizing an analog video stream;

transferring intermediate digital content to an encoder; and

at said encoder, encoding said intermediate digital content into said digital video stream.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the following steps that precede said step of generating intermediate digital content at a media generator;

presenting a user with a list of available configuration options;

recording a set of user preferences which correspond to said list of available

configuration options selected by said user;

transferring said set of user preferences to a media generator.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said data that indicates what content to include in said digital video stream includes at least one member selected from the group consisting of:

a particular background color, a particular number of objects presented on screen, a particular color of objects presented on screen, a particular shape of objects presented on screen, a particular velocity of objects presented on screen, and a particular sound played during presentation.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said media generator is operatively connected to a local storage, said local storage storing electronic still images or video.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said step of generating intermediate digital content comprises said media generator retrieving digital pictures, video, or sound from said local storage.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of generating intermediate digital content includes said media generator generating at least one timestamp on one or more frames, wherein for each of said one or more frames said at least one timestamp indicates at least one member selected from the group consisting of:

time said frame is encoded, time said frame is served by a digital video server, and time said frame is displayed by a client.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of digitizing said segment of intermediate digital video into said digital video stream includes digitizing according to at least one member selected from the group consisting of:

the DVB standard, the ATSC standard, the MPEG-1 standard, the MPEG-2 standard, the AVI standard, the QuickTime standard, and the MPEG-4 standard.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of presenting a user with a list of available configuration options is performed by presenting the user with one or more web pages.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of transferring said set of user preferences to a media generator is performed over at least one member selected from the group consisting of:

the Internet and a proprietary Intranet.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of digitizing said segment of intermediate digital video into said digital video stream occurs in real time.

11. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for presenting dynamic content from a server to a client, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

at a media generator, generating intermediate digital content based on data that

indicates what content to include in said digital video stream without digitizing an analog video stream;

transferring intermediate digital content to an encoder; and

at said encoder, encoding said intermediate digital content into said digital video stream.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein execution of the one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to perform the following steps that precede said step of generating intermediate digital content at media generator:

presenting a user with a list of available configuration options;

recording a set of user preferences which correspond to said list of available

configuration options selected by said user;

transferring said set of user preferences to a media generator.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein said data that indicates what content to include in said digital video stream includes at least one member selected from the group consisting of:

a particular background color, a particular number of objects presented on screen, a particular color of objects presented on screen, a particular shape of objects presented on screen, a particular velocity of objects presented on screen, and a particular sound played during presentation.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein said media generator is operatively connected to a local storage, said local storage storing electronic still images or video.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein said step of generating intermediate digital content comprises said media generator retrieving digital pictures, video, or sound from said local storage.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein said step of generating intermediate digital content includes said media generator generating at least one timestamp on one or more frames, wherein for each of said one or more frames said at least one timestamp indicates at least one member selected from the group consisting of:

time said frame is encoded, time said frame is served by a digital video server, and time said frame is displayed by a client.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein said step of digitizing said segment of intermediate digital video into said digital video stream includes digitalizing according to at least one member selected from the group consisting of:

the DVB standard, the ATSC standard, the MPEG-1 standard, the MPEG-2 standard, the AVI standard, the QuickTime standard, and the MPEG-4 standard.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein said step of presenting a user with a list of available configuration options is performed by presenting the user with one or more web pages.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein said step of transferring said set of user preferences to a media generator is performed over at least one member selected from the group consisting of:

the Internet and a proprietary Intranet.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein said step of digitizing said segment of intermediate digital video into said digital video stream occurs in real time.

21-29. -29. (canceled)