Digital media metadata management

• US 20080222201A1
• Filed: 03/08/2007
• Published: 09/11/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Chen, Gang, Davis, Darren R., Hildreth, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 8,166,076 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/104.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/58 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually

Abstract

Network-side and client-side systems and techniques for managing metadata items describing digital media content available from a number of digital media content sources are described. Disparate metadata items are collected and transcribed based on a common format. The common format facilitates computerized cataloging, searching, and presentation of relevant metadata and/or digital content via a wide variety of client-side devices. The common format includes: a portion for storing descriptive data derived from the original metadata items; a portion for storing data specific to the digital media content source supplying the original metadata; and a services specifier portion used for accessing specific digital media content. The common format may be used to identify relationships between transcribed items of metadata based on virtually unlimited selection criteria, and to facilitate the creation and presentation to users of data sets of related metadata and/or digital media content.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium encoded with computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, perform a method for managing metadata associated with digital media content, the method comprising:

identifying a first digital media content source and a second digital media content source;

identifying a first set of metadata items associated with digital media content distributable via the first digital media content source, the metadata items within the first set of metadata having a first format;

identifying a second set of metadata items associated with digital media content distributable via the second digital media content source, the metadata items within the second set of metadata items having a second format different from the first format;

transcribing the metadata items within the first set of metadata items and the second set of metadata items in accordance with a common format, the common format serving as a universal medium for exchange of information about digital media content from different digital media content sources;

based on the common schema, identifying a relationship between at least one transcribed metadata item originating from the first set of metadata items and at least one transcribed metadata item originating from the second set of metadata items;

based on the identified relationship, arranging for inclusion of the at least one transcribed metadata item originating from the first set of metadata items and the at least one transcribed metadata item originating from the second set of metadata items in a data set; and

arranging for access to the data set to provide a personal media experience to a user.

2. The computer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein the first digital media content source and the second digital media content source comprise network-side or client-side media distribution services.

3. The computer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein the digital media content distributable via the first digital media content source and the second digital media content source comprise broadcast or downloadable content.

4. The computer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein the first set of metadata items and the second set of metadata items include time-based metadata items or non-time-based metadata items or both.

5. The computer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein the method step of identifying the first and second digital media content sources comprises

identifying a first protocol usable for communication with the first digital media content source, and

identifying a second protocol usable for communication with the second digital media content source,

and wherein the method step of identifying the first and second sets of metadata items comprises

establishing a first communication session with the first digital media content source via the first protocol,

establishing a second communication session with the second digital media content source via the second protocol,

receiving the first set of metadata items via the first communication session, and

receiving the second set of metadata items via the second communication session.

6. The computer-readable medium according to claim 5, wherein the method step of establishing the first communication session comprises using a first pluggable protocol adapter for establishing the first communication session;

and wherein the step of establishing the second communication session comprises using a second pluggable protocol adapter for establishing the second communication session.

7. The computer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein the method performed by the computer-executable instructions stored on the computer-readable medium further comprises:

based on the transcribed metadata items within the first set of metadata items or the second set of metadata items, identifying a third digital media content source; and

using the common format, identifying digital media content distributable via the third digital media content source,

the digital media content distributable via the third digital media content source selected from the group consisting of;

additional metadata items associated with the digital media content distributable via the first digital media content source or the second digital media content source; and

advertising content.

8. The computer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein the common format comprises an envelope format for representing metadata items associated with numerous types of digital media objects, the envelope format specifying a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion,

the first portion for storing descriptive data associated with a particular digital media object, the descriptive data derived from one or more metadata items obtained from a particular digital media content source and encoded in a manner as to be available to all clients,

the second portion for storing data specific to zero or more digital media content sources that provided the metadata items from which the descriptive data stored in the first portion was derived, and

the third portion for identifying services usable to obtain additional functionality for the particular digital media object.

9. The computer-readable medium according to claim 8, wherein the method step of identifying a relationship comprises identifying a relationship based on filter criteria applied to descriptive data stored in accordance with the first portion of the format, the filter criteria selected from the group consisting of:

user characteristics, user communities, user preferences, user profiles, client-side device characteristics, geographic locations, and times.

10. The computer-readable medium according to claim 9, wherein the filter criteria are predetermined or dynamically determined.

11. The computer-readable medium according to claim 9, wherein the method performed by the computer-executable instructions stored on the computer-readable medium further comprises:

arranging the transcribed metadata items into a plurality of subsets of transcribed first and second metadata items based on the filter criteria; and

storing the plurality of subsets in a computer-readable memory,

the plurality of subsets stored at single location or in a distributed fashion.

12. The computer-readable medium according to claim 11, wherein the computer-readable memory is selected from the group consisting of:

a client-side temporary or persistent memory, or network-side temporary or persistent memory.

13. A computer-readable medium encoded with computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, perform a method for managing metadata associated with digital media content, the method comprising:

arranging for access to a set of metadata items, the set of metadata items associated with digital media content distributable by a first digital media content source via a first communication network and digital media content distributable by a second digital media content source via a second communication network, the set of metadata items represented in accordance with a predetermined format, the predetermined format having

a first portion for storing descriptive data associated with particular digital media content, the descriptive data derived from metadata items obtained from a particular digital media content source providing the particular digital media content, and

a second portion for storing data specific to the particular digital media content source that provided the metadata items from which the descriptive data stored in the first portion was derived;

filtering the descriptive data stored in accordance with the first portion of the predetermined format to identify a subset of the set of metadata items; and

arranging for presentation of the subset to a user via a user interface.

14. The computer-readable medium according to claim 13, wherein the predetermined format further comprises

a third portion for storing identifiers to services usable to obtain additional functionalities for the particular digital media content associated with the descriptive data in the first portion.

15. The computer-readable medium according to claim 13, wherein the method step of arranging for presentation of the subset to a user comprises

identifying a characteristic associated with a client-side device operating environment, and

arranging for presentation of the subset based on the characteristic.

16. The computer-readable medium according to claim 13, wherein the method performed by the computer-executable instructions stored on the computer-readable medium further comprises:

storing the subset in a temporary or persistent computer-readable memory;

receiving a user selection of a metadata item within the subset; and

based on data stored in accordance with the predetermined format, arranging to obtain digital media content, associated with the selected metadata item, from one or more digital media content sources specified in accordance with the predetermined format.

17. The computer-readable medium according to claim 13, wherein the method step of filtering comprises filtering based on dynamic or predetermined criteria.

18. A system, comprising:

a communication interface;

a computer-readable storage medium; and

a processor responsive to the computer-readable storage medium, to the communication interface, and to computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions executable by the processor to;

form a set of metadata items, the set of metadata items including at least one metadata item associated with an original metadata item collected from a first digital media content source via a first network and at least one metadata item associated with an original metadata item collected from a second digital media content source via a second network, each metadata item in the set of metadata items formatted in accordance with a common format and having

a first portion for storing descriptive data derived from the original metadata item, and

a second portion for storing data specific to the digital media content source from which the original metadata item was collected, and

a third portion for storing identifiers to services usable to obtain additional services associated with the digital media content associated with descriptive data stored in the first portion; and

based on the common format, arrange for presentation of the set of metadata items to a user via the communication interface.

19. The system according to claim 18, wherein the system comprises a client-side operating environment.

20. The system according to claim 18, wherein the system comprises a network-side operating environment.