Method and apparatus for programme generation and classification

• US 20050289151A1
• Filed: 10/30/2003
• Published: 12/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Trevor Burke Technology Limited
• Original Assignee: Trevor Burke Technology Limited
• Inventors: Burke, Trevor
• Application Number:
  US10/531,880
• Publication Number:
  US 20050289151A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 21/23412 for generating or manipulating the scene composition of objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26603 for automatically generating descriptors from content, e.g. when it is not made available by its provider, using content analysis techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; 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 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4753 for user identification, e.g. by entering a PIN or password cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08
• 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 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• 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 21/8405 represented by keywords
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8541 involving branching, e.g. to different story endings
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8543 using a description language, e.g. Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Expert Group [MHEG], eXtensible Markup Language [XML] information retrieval of semistructured data, the underlying structure being taken into account, e.g. mark-up language structure data G06F16/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8549 Creating video summaries, e.g. movie trailer retrieval in video databases by using presentations in form of a video summary G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/858 Linking data to content, e.g. by linking an URL to a video object, by creating a hotspot
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/9201 : involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the video signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/162 : Authorising the user terminal, e.g. by paying; Registering the use of a subscription channel, e.g. billing

Abstract

A method for generating a programme for presentation to a user such that the presented programme is made up from a sequence of programme elements each of which is a programme clip taken from at least one distributed programme and each of which represents an event. Each programme element is classified on the basis of the event represented by the programme element. Each programme element is stored with at least one associated programme element classification code, and each classification code identifies a class to which the event represented by the associated programme element has been allocated. A programme is assembled for presentation to the user by selecting at least one programme classification code, and generating an assembled programme in the form of a sequence of programme elements associated with the at least one programme classification code. Programme elements are classified using a set of event classes including a plurality of subsets of the event classes. Classification of each programme element comprises a classification operator malting at least one selection from at least one of the subsets, said selection determining at least one of the subsets from which future selections can be made. The at least one selection generates the classification code associated with the programme element.

Claims

1. A method for generating a programme for presentation to a user such that the presented programme is made up from a sequence of programme elements each of which is a programme clip taken from at least one distributed programme and each of which represents an event, each programme element being classified on the basis of the event represented by the programme element, each programme element being stored with at least one associated programme element classification code, each classification code identifying a class to which the event represented by the associated programme element has been allocated, and a programme being assembled for presentation to the user by selecting at least one programme classification code and generating an assembled programme in the form of a sequence of programme elements associated with the at least one programme classification code, wherein programme elements are classified using a set of event classes including a plurality of subsets of the event classes, classification of each programme element comprises a classification operator making at least one selection from at least one of the subsets, said selection determining at least one of the subsets from which future selections can be made, and the at least one selection generating the classification code associated with the programme element.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of programme elements representing temporally adjacent events are classified by the classification operator, and classifications of temporally earlier events determine the at least one subset of event classes from which the classification operator may make selections.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the set of event classes contains classes having hierarchical relationships, and the subsets from which future selections can be made are determined by the hierarchical relationships.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one subset from which selections can be made is symbolically displayed to the classification operator.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein each of said event classes has an associated icon.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein selection of an event class comprises selection of an icon.

7. A method according to claim 5, wherein each of the said icons is a symbolic representation of events associated with a respective event class.

9. A method according to claim 1, further comprising operator selection of a subjective assessment of programme element value.

10. A method according to claim 1, further comprising selecting of a set of classes from a predetermined plurality of sets of classes.

11. A method according to claim 1, further comprising user selection of a latency value associated with said user selection.

12. A computer programme for carrying out the method of claim 1.

13. A carrier medium carrying computer readable program code configured to cause a computer to carry out the method of claim 1.

8. (canceled)

14. A method of classifying programme elements, each of which is a programme clip taken from at least one distributed programme, and each of which represents an event, wherein programme elements are classified using a set of event classes including a plurality of subsets of the event classes, classification of each programme element comprises receiving data indicating selection from at least one of the subsets, said selection determining at least one of the subsets from which future selections can be made, and the at least one selection generating a classification code associated with the programme element.

15. A method according to claim 14, wherein each programme element is classified on the basis of the event represented by the programme element.

16. A method according to claim 14, wherein each programme element is stored with at least one programme element classification code, and each programme element classification code identifies a class to which the event represented by the associated programme element has been allocated.

17. A method according to claim 14, wherein a plurality of programme elements representing temporary adjacent events are classified, and classifications of temporary earlier events determine the at least on subset of event classes from selections may be made.

18. A method according to claim 14, wherein the set event classes contains classes having hierarchical relationships, and the subset from which future selections can be made are determined by the hierarchical relationships.

19. A method according to claim 14, wherein the at least one subset from which selections can be made is symbolically displayed to the classification operator.

20. A method according to claim 14, wherein each of said event classes has an associated icon.

21. A method according to claim 20, wherein selection of an event class comprises of an icon.

22. A method according to claim 14, wherein each of said icons is a symbolic representation of events associated with a respective event class.

23. A method according to claim 14, further comprising receiving selection of a set of classes from a plurality of sets of classes.

24. A method according to claim 14, further comprising receiving selection data indicating selection of a subjective assessment of programme element value.

25. A computer programme for carrying out the method of claim 14.

26. A carry medium carrying computer readable program code configured to cause a computer to carry out the method of claim 14.