VIDEO SIGNAL CONTENT INDEXING AND LINKING TO INFORMATION SOURCES

• US 20090022473A1
• Filed: 07/22/2008
• Published: 01/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Overlay TV Holdings Limited
• Original Assignee: Overlay Tv Inc.
• Inventors: COPE, Tyler Andrew, Reynolds, Joshua James
• Granted Patent: US 8,141,112 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/278
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/70 of video data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/75 Clustering; Classification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0464 Positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/10 Mixing of images, i.e. displayed pixel being the result of an operation, e.g. adding, on the corresponding input pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/12 Overlay of images, i.e. displayed pixel being the result of switching between the corresponding input pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/10 Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23412 for generating or manipulating the scene composition of objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234318 by decomposing into objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/237 Communication with additional data server
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2542 for selling goods, e.g. TV shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4725 using interactive regions of the image, e.g. hot spots details of information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47815 Electronic shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/854 Content authoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8583 : by creating hot-spots
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 : involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal

Abstract

A method for identifying object images in a display of a video signal, storing object identification information in an overlay directory, and extracting object information relevant to identified objects from respective information databases is disclosed. Overlay directories from several video signals and associated object information are assembled in an overlay server accessed by computers directly or through a telecommunication network. Object images are selected by users of authoring computers accessing the overlay server. An overlay directory for a video recording indicates temporal and spatial coordinates of images of selected objects, a network address of a video source providing the video recording, descriptions of the selected objects, and addresses of servers providing detailed information of the selected objects. The objects may include commercial products, services, or educational material. The disclosed method therefore may be used for advertising or general information dissemination purposes.

Claims

1. A computer readable medium having stored thereon a computer-executable program operable in a host computer to cause the host computer to:

produce a visual display of a signal received at said host computer from a video source;

determine a pointing time corresponding to a manually selected position within an image of an object within said visual display;

determine coordinates of a first spatial contour produced by encircling said object within said visual display using a pointing device;

create an overlay directory specific to said signal, said overlay directory indicating;

a network address of said video source;

a description of said selected object;

said pointing time; and

said coordinates of said selected position.

2. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein said computer-executable program further causes said host computer to include in said overlay directory information provided by a user of said host computer, said information comprising:

a description of said selected object; and

a list of network sites providing further information on said selected object.

3. The computer readable medium of claim 1, further comprising computer-executable instructions to cause the host computer to:

determine a respective pointing time corresponding to a manually selected position within each of successive images of said selected object;

determine, for each of said successive appearances, a respective pointing time and coordinates of a respective encircling spatial contour; and

append said overlay directory to include;

said respective pointing time; and

said coordinates of said respective encircling spatial contour.

4. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein said first spatial contour is defined by end points of a diagonal of a rectangle.

5. The computer readable medium of claim 1, further comprising computer-executable instructions executed to cause the host computer to link to a video-overlay server to communicate said overlay directory.

6. A method performed by a computer for generating an overlay directory for a video signal, said computer connected to a network, the method comprising:

displaying static icons of candidate objects on a screen of said computer;

producing a display of said video signal on said screen;

creating a template of said overlay directory; and

in response to pointing to both a position within an object image in said display and a respective static icon;

recording a pointing time at which said computer detects said pointing, said pointing time being a time indication of said computer;

stopping said display of said video signal at end of a frame of said video signal containing said pointing time;

determining coordinates of a spatial contour overlapping said object image using a pointing device;

storing manually acquired information including network addresses of sites relevant to said object image;

entering said pointing time, coordinates, and manually acquired information in said template at an entry corresponding to said respective static icon; and

resuming said display of said video signal.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising steps of:

initializing an array having an entry for each of said static icons, with each entry set to zero; and

setting an entry, in said array, corresponding to said respective static icon to 1.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

determining an interruption period as the difference between said stopping and said resuming of said display;

in response to pointing to both a position within each successive object image in said display and a related static icon;

recording a successive pointing time at which said computer detects said pointing, said successive pointing time being said time indicator of said computer minus said interruption period;

interrupting said display of said video signal at end of a frame of said video signal containing said successive pointing time;

determining successive coordinates of a spatial contour overlapping said each successive image using a pointing device;

increasing a value of an entry, in said array, corresponding to said related static icon by 1;

where said value equals 1, entering said successive pointing time, successive coordinates, and manually acquired information in said template at an entry corresponding to said related static icon, said manually acquired information including network addresses of sites relevant to said successive object image;

where said value is greater than 1, entering said successive pointing time and successive coordinates in said template at an entry corresponding to said related static icon;

resuming said display of said video signal; and

adding a time interval between said interrupting and said resuming to said interruption period.

9. The method of claim 6 further comprising a step of selecting said spatial contour from a set of standardized contours.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said spatial contour encircles said image.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein said spatial contour has a predetermined size independent of a size of said image.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein said spatial contour is of a rectangular shape and said coordinates of said spatial contour comprise coordinates of two diagonal points defining said rectangular shape.

13. The method of claim 6 further comprising steps of:

acquiring a global object directory from a video-overlay server; and

verifying that said candidate objects belong to said global object directory.

14. A method performed by a computer for generating an overlay directory for a video signal, said computer connected to a network, the method comprising:

displaying on a screen of said computer static icons, each associated with an identifier of an object from a set of designated objects;

producing a display of said video signal on said screen;

null-initializing tracking records having a one-to-one correspondence to said designated objects;

in response to a user of said computer pointing to a succession of images and corresponding icons relevant to said designated objects;

determining a pointing time and pointing position for each image; and

appending said pointing time and pointing position to a tracking record corresponding to said each image;

displaying contents of said tracking records and for each tracking record having at least one entry;

determining an object identifier corresponding to said each tracking record;

receiving further information relevant to said object identifier; and

inserting said each tracking record and said further information in a section of said overlay directory corresponding to said object identifier.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising steps of:

determining a frame number of said video signal corresponding to said pointing time, said video signal being organized into frames; and

appending said frame number to a respective tracking record.

16. The method of claim 14 further comprising a step of acquiring said set of designated objects from said user of said computer.

17. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

acquiring a global object directory from a video-overlay server; and

extracting said set of designated objects from said global object directory according to instructions of said user of said computer.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein the step of receiving further information comprises a step of linking said computer to a search engine.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein the step of receiving further information comprises steps of:

receiving network addresses of servers providing information on a designated object corresponding to said object identifier;

receiving relevant information from said servers; and

appending annotations to said relevant information, said annotation provided by said user of said computer.

20. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

determining said pointing time from a reading of a time indicator of said computer; and

determining said pointing position as a position of a single point on a screen of said computer.