MPEG objects and systems and methods for using MPEG objects

• US 20080178249A1
• Filed: 01/11/2008
• Published: 07/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ActiveVideo Networks, Inc. (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ICTV, Inc.
• Inventors: Cloud, Glenn M., Gordon, Donald, Pavlovskaia, Lena Y., Lennartsson, Andreas, Landau, Airan
• Granted Patent: US 9,355,681 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/139
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04804 Transparency, e.g. transparent or translucent windows
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/01 Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer G06F3/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/16 Sound input; Sound output speech processing G10L
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/031 Electronic editing of digitised analogue information signals, e.g. audio or video signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/23 with coding of regions that are present throughout a whole video segment, e.g. sprites, background or mosaic
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/48 using compressed domain processing techniques other than decoding, e.g. modification of transform coefficients, variable length coding [VLC] data or run-length data motion estimation in a transform domain H04N19/547; processing of decoded motion vectors H04N19/513
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/527 Global motion vector estimation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23412 for generating or manipulating the scene composition of objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2343 involving reformatting operations of video signals for distribution or compliance with end-user requests or end-user device requirements video transcoding H04N19/40; media packet handling at the source H04L65/762
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2365 Multiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2368 Multiplexing of audio and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4347 Demultiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4348 Demultiplexing of additional data and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44012 involving rendering scenes according to scene graphs, e.g. MPEG-4 scene graphs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• 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

Abstract

An MPEG object is an object-oriented data structure that may be used in the creation of interactive MPEG video stream. The MPEG object data structure includes an MPEG object interface defining data received by the MPEG object and data output by the MPEG object. The MPEG object data structure further includes either one or more MPEG video elements or an association to one or more MPEG video elements. The MPEG video elements are preferably defined as MPEG slices that include a plurality of encoded macroblocks. Additionally, the data structure may provide a method for receiving input through the MPEG object interface and in response to input from the client device outputting an MPEG video element. In certain configurations, the MPEG object contains a method that maintains state data for the MPEG object. The state data may be used to select between a plurality of MPEG elements to output. In other configurations, the MPEG object includes a method that provides for the control of streaming MPEG content from a source external to the MPEG object.

Claims

1. A tool for creating interactive MPEG content, the tool comprising:

an editor having a scene window allowing a user to create a scene based upon placement of MPEG objects within the scene window;

an object tool bar allowing a user to add an MPEG object having at least one associated MPEG element and a corresponding method to the scene; and

a format processor for processing the scene into a format including display position information of each MPEG object so as to form a complete MPEG video frame.

2. The tool according to claim 1 wherein when an MPEG object is placed within the scene window, the editor snaps the resource to an MPEG macroblock boundary.

3. The tool according to claim 1, wherein when an MPEG object is added properties associated with the MPEG object are displayed.

4. The tool according to claim 3, wherein the selected properties are user modifiable.

5. The tool according to claim 4, wherein a user can create a user definable script if an object has a plurality of states.

6. The tool according to claim 5, wherein different MPEG video elements can be assigned to each state.

7. The tool according to claim 5, wherein different MPEG frames can be assigned to each state.

8. The tool according to claim 7 wherein the MPEG object represents a button.

9. The tool according to claim 1, wherein after a scene is defined, the editor creates an XML-based output file.

10. A tool for creating interactive MPEG content, the tool comprising:

a stitcher for receiving MPEG elements from multiple MPEG objects, arranging the MPEG elements in scan order according to content layout information to form an MPEG video frame, and

a multiplexor for outputting the MPEG video frame.

11. The tool according to claim 10 further comprising:

a processor for maintaining the content layout information and based upon a received signal over a network from a client device obtaining a new MPEG element causing the stitcher to insert the MPEG element into a subsequent MPEG video frame.

12. A method for producing interactive MPEG content for display on a client device, the method comprising:

accessing one or more MPEG objects wherein an MPEG object has associated visual MPEG content and at least one associated method;

implementing the method associated with the MPEG object producing an output;

in response to the output, stitching the visual MPEG content with other MPEG content to form a sequence of video frames.

13. The method according to claim 12 wherein the method allows for the maintenance of state information.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the method is implemented in response to a received signal from the user device.

15. An MPEG object data structure on a computer readable storage medium for use with a computer in communication with a client device for providing interactive MPEG video to the client device, the MPEG object data structure comprising:

an MPEG object interface defining data received by the MPEG object and data output by the MPEG object;

a plurality of MPEG video elements wherein each element relates to a different MPEG object state; and

a computer method for receiving input through the MPEG object interface from the client device indicative of an MPEG object state and in response outputting the MPEG video element related to the MPEG object state indicated in the input through the MPEG object interface.

17. An MPEG object data structure according to claim 15 further comprising:

a stitching directive including a pointer for use by a stitcher that points to a current MPEG video frame and is incremented with each new MPEG video frame.

16. An MPEG object data structure according to claim 16 wherein the MPEG video elements are located on a separate computer readable storage medium and the MPEG object data structure further comprises:

a computer method for retrieving the MPEG video elements from the separate computer readable storage medium.

18. An MPEG object data structure according to claim 16 further comprising:

a method for synchronizing audio data with each MPEG video frame.

19. An MPEG object data structure on a computer readable storage medium for use with a computer in communication with a client device for providing interactive MPEG video to the client device, the MPEG object data structure comprising:

an MPEG object interface defining data received by the MPEG object and data output by the MPEG object;

a computer method for receiving input through the MPEG object interface from the client device indicative of a request for streaming MPEG video content;

a computer method for requesting the streaming MPEG video content from a source external to the computer; and

a computer method for outputting the MPEG video content through the MPEG object interface.

20. An MPEG object data structure according to claim 19, further comprising:

a computer method for requesting streaming audio content from a source external to the computer.

21. An MPEG object data structure according to claim 20 wherein the audio content is MPEG audio content.

22. An MPEG object data structure according to claim 19 wherein the computer method for outputting the MPEG video content outputs the MPEG video content to a stitcher.

23. An MPEG object data structure according to claim 22, wherein the computer method for outputting also outputs size information for the MPEG video content.

24. A method for preparing MPEG video content for use in an interactive communications network, the method comprising:

maintaining a current state of an MPEG object within a memory;

receiving a request for a change in state of the MPEG object from a client device within the interactive communications network;

accessing an MPEG element associated with the MPEG object and representative of the change in state; and

stitching the MPEG element representative of the change in state into a data sequence representative of an MPEG frame based in part on the current state of the MPEG object.

25. The method according to claim 24, further comprising:

establishing an interactive session with a client device associated with a display.

26. The method according to claim 24, wherein the MPEG object includes one or more computer methods.

27. The method according to claim 24 further comprising:

forwarding the MPEG frame to the client device requesting the change in state

28. The method according to claim 24 further comprising:

obtaining a mark-up language file providing state information for an MPEG object and position information about one or more MPEG elements representative of a state.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the step of stitching is based in part upon the position information within the MPEG frame for the MPEG element.

30. The method according to claim 24, further comprising:

providing an MPEG object to from a first session processor to a second session processor.