Interactive Video Insertions, And Applications Thereof

• US 20100050082A1
• Filed: 08/13/2009
• Published: 02/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Disney Enterprises Incorporated (The Walt Disney Company)
• Original Assignee: PVI Virtual Media Services, LLC (Altice USA, Inc.)
• Inventors: DiGiovanni, Joseph, House, Gregory, Gefen, Smadar, Katz, Sheldon, Kennedy, Howard
• Granted Patent: US 8,665,374 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/719
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/431 Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/434 Disassembling of a multiplex stream, e.g. demultiplexing audio and video streams, extraction of additional data from a video stream; Remultiplexing of multiplex streams; Extraction or processing of SI; Disassembling of packetised elementary stream demultiplexing of data packets for data networks, e.g. RTP/UDP H04L65/00
• 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 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4728 for selecting a Region Of Interest [ROI], e.g. for requesting a higher resolution version of a selected region
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/488 Data services, e.g. news ticker systems specially adapted for using meteorological information in broadcast systems H04H60/71
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8126 involving additional data, e.g. news, sports, stocks, weather forecasts
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/816 involving special video data, e.g 3D video
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/272 Means for inserting a foreground image in a background image, i.e. inlay, outlay
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2723 Insertion of virtual advertisement; Replacing advertisements physical present in the scene by virtual advertisement data processing systems or methods specially adapted for marketing G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44504 Circuit details of the additional information generator, e.g. details of the character or graphics signal generator, overlay mixing circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen

Abstract

Embodiments of this invention relate to controlling insertion of visual elements integrated into video. In an embodiment, a method enables control of insertions in a video. In the embodiment, control data is received from a user input device. Movement of at least one point of interest in a video is analyzed to determine video metadata. Finally, a visual element is inserted into a video according to the control data, and the visual element changes or moves with the video as specified by the video metadata to appear integrated with the video.

Claims

1. A method for enabling control of insertions in a video, comprising:

(a) receiving control data from a user input device;

(b) receiving video metadata describing a change in at least one point of interest in the content of the video; and

(c) inserting a visual element into the video as specified by the control data, wherein the visual element changes or moves with the video as specified by the video metadata determined in (b) to appear integrated with the video,

wherein the control data at least in part specifies when or how the visual element is integrated in the displayed video.

2. The method of claim 1, and further comprising:

(d) providing the video with the visual element inserted in (c) to a video display device for display to a user controlling the user input device,

whereby the user controls how the visual element is integrated in the displayed video.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

(d) prior to the inserting of (c), selecting the visual element according to the control data,

wherein the inserting (c) comprises inserting the visual element selected in (d).

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

(e) retrieving the selected visual element from a source via a communication channel.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving (a) comprises receiving control data that specifies an object in the foreground of the video,

wherein the video metadata received in (b) comprises data describing the movement of the foreground object specified in the control data, and

wherein the inserting (c) comprises inserting the visual element at a location in the video corresponding to the location of the specified foreground object in the video.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the data describing the movement of the specified foreground object includes at least one of the group consisting of location data, velocity data, trail data, pose data, dimension data, and classification data.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the analyzing (b) further comprises determining occlusion information describing an occlusion of the object specified in the control data, and

wherein the inserting (c) comprises altering the visual element according to the occlusion information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the analyzing (b) comprises determining a three-dimensional model corresponding to content of the video and further comprising:

(d) rendering the visual element into a location in the three-dimensional model.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the receiving (a) comprises receiving control data that specifies a position in the three-dimensional model, and

wherein the rendering (d) comprises rendering the visual element to appear at the specified position in the three-dimensional model.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the video is formatted as compressed video.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual element is at least one of the group consisting of images, advertisements, text, video, and a rendered three dimensional object.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the video is three-dimensional video.

13. A system for enabling control of insertions in a video, comprising:

a user input processing module configured to receive control data from a user input device;

a video analysis module configured to receive video metadata describing a change in at least one point of interest in the content of the video; and

a mixer module configured to insert a visual element into a video as specified by the control data, wherein the visual element changes or moves with the video as specified by the video metadata determined in (b) to appear integrated with the video,

wherein the control data at least in part specifies when or how the visual element is integrated in the displayed video.

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

a video display device configured to display the video with the visual element to the user controlling the user input device,

whereby the user controls the visual element in the displayed video.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the user input processing module comprises:

a visual element selector module configured to select the visual element according to the control data,

wherein the mixer module is configured to insert the selected visual element.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the visual element selector module is configured to retrieve the selected visual element from a source via a communication channel.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the control data specifies an object in the foreground of the video,

wherein the video metadata includes data describing movement of the foreground object specified in the control data, and

wherein the mixer module is configured to insert the visual element at a location in the video corresponding to the location of the specified foreground object in the video.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the data describing the movement of the specified foreground object includes at least one of the group consisting of location data, velocity data, trail data, pose data, dimension data, and classification data.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the video analysis module is configured to determine occlusion information describing an occlusion of the object specified in the control data, and further comprising:

a render module configured to alter the visual element according to the occlusion information.

20. The system of claim 13, wherein the video analysis module is configured to determine a three-dimensional model corresponding to content of the video, and further comprising:

a render module configured to alter the visual element into a location in the three-dimensional model.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the receiving (a) comprises receiving control data that specifies a position in the three-dimensional model, and

wherein the rendering (d) comprises rendering the visual element to appear at the specified position in the three-dimensional model.

22. The system of claim 13, wherein the video is formatted as compressed video.

23. The system of claim 13, wherein the video is three-dimensional video.

24. The system of claim 13, wherein the visual element is at least one of the group consisting of images, advertisements, text, video, and a rendered three dimensional object.

25. A set top box for enabling control of insertions in a video, comprising:

a user input processing module configured to receive control data from a user input device;

a video analysis module configured to receive video metadata describing a change in at least one point of interest in the content of the video; and

a mixer module configured to insert a visual element into a video as specified by to the control data, wherein the visual element changes or moves with the video as specified by the video metadata,

wherein the control data at least in part specifies when or how the visual element is integrated in the displayed video.

26. A system for enabling control of insertions in a video, comprising:

a web server configured to receive control data via a communication channel; and

a television distribution device coupled to the web server, comprising;

a video analysis module configured to analyze movement of at least one object in a video to determine video metadata describing a change in at least one point of interest in the content of the video; and

a mixer module configured to insert a visual element into a video as specified by the control data, wherein the visual element changes or moves with the video as specified by the video metadata,

wherein the control data at least in part specifies when or how the visual element is integrated in the displayed video.

27. A method for enabling control of insertions in a video, comprising:

(a) receiving viewer data corresponding to a viewer of the video;

(b) generating control data based on viewer data according to at least one rule defined by a user different from the viewer;

(c) receiving video metadata describing a change in at least one point of interest in the content of the video;

(d) inserting a visual element into the video according to the control data, wherein the visual element changes or moves with the video as specified by the video metadata determined in (c) to appear integrated with the video; and

(e) providing the video with the visual element inserted in (c) to a video display device for display to the viewer,

whereby the at least one user-defined rule specifies how the visual element is integrated into the video displayed to the viewer.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the viewer data includes at least one of the group consisting of a viewer location, a program time, viewer profile data and survey data.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the viewer data indicates that the viewer has requested to fast forward through at least a portion of an advertisement in the video, further comprising:

(f) selecting the visual element according to the advertisement.

30. A method for enabling control of insertions in a video, comprising:

(a) receiving control data from a user input device;

(b) analyzing the video to determine video metadata describing a change in at least one point of interest in the content of the video; and

(c) inserting a visual element into the video as specified by the control data, wherein the visual element changes or moves with the video as specified by the video metadata determined in (b) to appear integrated with the video,

wherein the control data at least in part specifies when or how the visual element is integrated in the displayed video.

31. A method for enabling display of insertions in a video, comprising:

(a) receiving control data from a user input device;

(b) receiving video metadata describing a change in at least one point of interest in the content of a clean feed video;

(c) combining a visual element with the clean feed video to create a dirty feed video, wherein the visual element changes or moves with the video as specified by the video metadata determined in (b) to appear integrated with the video;

(d) selecting either the clean feed video or dirty feed video according to the control data; and

(e) providing at least a portion of the video selected in (d) to a video display device for display to the user.