MEDIA ACCESS SYSTEM

• US 20070233738A1
• Filed: 04/03/2007
• Published: 10/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Digitalsmiths Corporation (Adeia, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Digitalsmiths Corporation (Adeia, Inc.)
• Inventors: Remsey, James A., Weinberger, Benjamin J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,668,869 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/78 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/7834 using audio features
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/7847 using low-level visual features of the video content

Abstract

Methods and systems for indexing video files, the method comprising selecting and loading a video into a video editing program, segmenting the video into short clips and creating an edit decision list (EDL) containing information corresponding to the short clips, importing the video and EDL, parsing the EDL, and automatically populating a database with names of the short clips and corresponding EDL information, and cataloging the video by establishing specific identifiers associated with the video, transcribing audio from each of the short clips and associating the transcribed audio with the respective short clip, associating visual identifiers with each short clip, extracting metadata from each short clip and associating the metadata with the respective short clip, storing the transcribed audio, visual identifiers, and metadata in the database, and indexing the database according to the specific identifiers.

Claims

1. A method for indexing video files, the method comprising:

selecting a video and loading the video into a video editing program;

segmenting the video into short clips and creating an edit decision list (EDL), the EDL containing information corresponding to the short clips;

importing the video and EDL, parsing the EDL, and automatically populating a database with names of the short clips and with corresponding EDL information; and

cataloging the video, the cataloging further comprising;

establishing specific identifiers associated with the video;

transcribing audio from each of the short clips and associating the transcribed audio with the respective short clip;

associating visual identifiers with each short clip;

extracting metadata from each short clip and associating the metadata with the respective short clip;

storing the transcribed audio, visual identifiers, and metadata in the database; and

indexing the database according to the specific identifiers.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the specific identifiers include at least one of:

actions, locations, air dates, subject matter, actors, persons, characters, and objects.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising retrieving data from the database by selecting a specific identifier or any combination of specific identifiers.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising importing the video and EDL using a web interface.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising importing the video and EDL using a standalone program.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the information contained in the EDL includes at least one of the following:

time codes, season numbers, and episode numbers.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising converting the video into a digital format.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the specific identifiers include at least one of the following:

actions, locations, air dates, subject matter, actors, persons, characters, and objects.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising a user defined specific identifier.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing specific identifiers occurs prior to cataloging the video.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of transcribing audio further comprises checking the transcript for errors, and ensuring information is formatted correctly.

12. A method for indexing video files, the method comprising:

selecting and loading a video into a video editing program;

segmenting the video into short clips and creating an edit decision list (EDL), the EDL containing information corresponding to the short clips;

importing the video and EDL, parsing the EDL, and automatically populating a database with names of the short clips and corresponding EDL information; and

cataloging the video, the cataloging further comprising establishing specific identifiers associated with the video, storing the specific identifiers in the database, storing the association between the specific identifiers and the video in the database, and indexing the database according to the specific identifiers.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising transcribing audio from each of the short clips, associating the transcribed audio with the respective short clip, storing the transcribed audio in the database, and storing the association between the transcribed audio and the respective short clip in the database.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising associating visual identifiers with each short clip, storing the visual identifiers in the database, and storing the association between the visual identifiers and the respective short clip in the database.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising extracting metadata from each short clip, associating the metadata with the respective short clip, storing the metadata in the database, and storing the association between the metadata and the respective short clip in the database.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the specific identifiers include at least one of:

actions, locations, air dates, subject matter, actors, persons, characters, and objects.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising retrieving data from the database by selecting a specific identifier or combination of specific identifiers.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising importing the video and EDL using a web interface.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising importing the video and EDL using a standalone program.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the information contained in the EDL includes at least one of the following:

time codes, season numbers, and episode numbers.

21. The method of claim 12, further comprising converting the video into a digital format.

22. The method of claim 12, wherein the specific identifiers include at least one of the following:

actions, locations, air dates, subject matter, actors, persons, characters, and objects.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising a user defined specific identifier.

24. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of transcribing audio further comprises checking the transcript for errors, and ensuring information is formatted correctly.

25. A media access system for indexing video files, the media access system comprising:

a video editing program configured for segmenting a video into short clips and creating an edit decision list (EDL);

a storage medium configured for containing an EDL;

at least one database configured for receiving names of short clips and corresponding EDL information, and specific identifiers associated with the video; and

a module for cataloging the video, the module configured for establishing the specific identifiers and indexing the database according to the specific identifiers.

26. The media access system of claim 25, further comprising a module configured for transcribing audio from each of the short clips, associating the transcribed audio with the respective short clip, and storing the transcribed audio in the database.

27. The media access system of claim 25, further comprising a module configured for associating visual identifiers with each short clip and storing the visual identifiers in the database.

28. The media access system of claim 25, further comprising a module configured for extracting metadata from each short clip, associating the metadata with the respective short clip, and storing the metadata in the database.