DVD MENU AUTHORING SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20070166009A1
• Filed: 02/27/2007
• Published: 07/19/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Brodersen, Rainer, Wallace, Gregory
• Granted Patent: US 8,180,194 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/241
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/213 Read-only discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2562 DVDs [digital versatile discs]; Digital video discs; MMCDs; HDCDs
• 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 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction

Abstract

A DVD authoring system in a processor-based system removes an author from consideration of the DVD Specification during authoring. According to a preferred embodiment, the authoring system provides an authoring engine having an interactive graphical authoring interface, a data management engine, an emulator, a compiler, a multiplexer and a simulator. Using summary authoring data, the compiler builds a skeleton-form PGC layout structure comprising control PGC abstractions and router PGC abstractions. The compiler then resolves the PGC abstractions according to source-target connections. During playback on a DVD player, the PGC abstractions form elements in a connection-switching abstraction superstructure. Accordingly, in response to DVD-consumer and other control events, a source PGC preferably determines target PGC information and then transfers control, via virtual connections through necessary router PGC abstractions, to a target PGC abstraction. The target PGC abstraction then correspondingly initiates playback of a movie chapter or displays a menu.

Claims

1. A method of making a multimedia program comprising the steps of:

selecting an arrangement of performance information containing a plurality performance elements;

creating a layout of a performance information access structure containing a plurality of access elements;

linking the performance elements and access elements with linking information to create linked performance and access elements; and

automatically generating programming data from the linked performance and access elements to construct said multimedia program.

2. A system for making a multimedia program comprising:

means for selecting an arrangement of performance information containing a plurality performance elements;

means for creating a layout of a performance information access structure containing a plurality of access elements;

means for linking the performance elements and access elements with linking information to create linked performance and access elements; and

means for automatically generating programming data from the linked performance and access elements to construct said multimedia program.