XML metabase for the organization and manipulation of digital media
First Claim
1. An XML metabase including a group of organizational objects, rules and content stored in physical storage as a collection of node objects organized in a hierarchical structure emanating from a single root node comprising:
- A folder for organizing media assets, said media assets distributed across multiple devices and storage systems, and the metadata describing said media assets, said folder capable of hierarchical organization comprising a parent folder having child folders, each child folder having a unique name within the scope of its parent folder, said folder stored at a storage location described by said folder'"'"'s fully qualified path in within said hierarchy; and
A binder within one of said folders, said binder representing a media asset and containing all of the metadata related to said media asset, and also storing the locations of all known media essence renditions distributed across multiple devices and storage systems, said binder having a unique name within the scope of its parent folder, said binder stored at a storage location described by said binder'"'"'s fully qualified path within said hierarchy.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Described is the architecture and implementation of a metabase specifically designed for the organization, management and manipulation of digital media assets. In this context the term digital media refers to a sequence of digitally encoded video and/or audio samples. The metabase is a collection of node objects which can be implemented as XML elements and organized in a tree-like or hierarchical structure that emanates from a single root node, and stored in disk drive storage or internal cache storage as discussed subsequently. Two node objects used to form this structure are the folder and the binder.
68 Citations
5 Claims
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1. An XML metabase including a group of organizational objects, rules and content stored in physical storage as a collection of node objects organized in a hierarchical structure emanating from a single root node comprising:
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A folder for organizing media assets, said media assets distributed across multiple devices and storage systems, and the metadata describing said media assets, said folder capable of hierarchical organization comprising a parent folder having child folders, each child folder having a unique name within the scope of its parent folder, said folder stored at a storage location described by said folder'"'"'s fully qualified path in within said hierarchy; and
A binder within one of said folders, said binder representing a media asset and containing all of the metadata related to said media asset, and also storing the locations of all known media essence renditions distributed across multiple devices and storage systems, said binder having a unique name within the scope of its parent folder, said binder stored at a storage location described by said binder'"'"'s fully qualified path within said hierarchy.
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2. The XML metabase of claim 1 wherein said binder contains one or more content objects each describing a different aspect of said media asset, each content object having a name that is unique within the scope of its parent binder.
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3. The XML metabase of claim 2 wherein said content objects comprise:
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a label object containing structured metadata describing the entire media asset;
a track object containing structured metadata occurring specific points or during specific intervals within said media asset;
a media object describing a specific rendition of the media essence; and
a store object containing unstructured data associated with said media asset and produced by other applications outside said XML metabase.
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4. The XML metabase of claim 3 including a behavioral object applied to a node of said XML metabase and specifying the rules according to which said node operates.
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5. The XML metabase of claim 4 wherein said behavioral objects include at least one of:
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an access rule determining the permissions granted to a user or groups of users of the metabase;
a schema rule determining the label and track metadata templates that are automatically added to a binder;
a rendition rule determining additional versions of said media essence required by other systems, applications or devices;
a storage rule assigning pools of physical storage space to a specific folder; and
an expiration rule controlling how long a media asset remains within the metabase and the disposition of each rendition when the media asset expires.
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Specification