Interface Strategies for Creating and Invoking Marks

• US 20110047574A1
• Filed: 10/29/2010
• Published: 02/24/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Tecot, Edward M., Vertelney, Laurie J., Hegg, Shannon C., Darnell, Michael J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,336,073 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/41
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus

Abstract

Strategies are described for adding a mark to media content at a source location in response to the activation of a marking mechanism, and then resuming the presentation of the media content at a second location based on the mark. The source location may be the same as the destination location, or the source location may differ from the destination location. In the latter case, the source location can correspond to a first room in a home that provides a first media processing mechanism, and the destination location can correspond to a second room in the home that provides a second media processing mechanism. The marking mechanism can correspond to a mark button provided by a remote control. Various user interface displays facilitate the adding of the mark and the resuming of the presentation, including various timelines displays, mark panel displays, thumbnail displays, etc.

Claims

1. A method for presenting audio/video information, the method comprising:

presenting the audio/video information using a first processing mechanism;

receiving, while presenting the audio/video information using the first processing mechanism, a user-submitted command, the command activated by operation of a button assigned a function of marking, the user-submitted command associated with the first processing mechanism;

adding, in response to the user-submitted command, a mark that is associated with the audio/video information, using a marking mechanism of the first processing mechanism;

transferring the audio/video information from the first processing mechanism to a second processing mechanism, the second processing mechanism being physically distinct from the first processing mechanism;

displaying a visual indicator of the mark at the second processing mechanism, the displaying comprising;

displaying, within a thumbnail display region, a thumbnail image of a frame of the audio/video information presented using the first processing system, the frame taken from the audio/video information being displayed at a point in time that the mark was created, the thumbnail image accompanied, upon selection, by a text legend indicating time remaining on a fixed period of time, after which the thumbnail image will be removed;

displaying, in a larger region, a larger sized version of a thumbnail image selected from among thumbnail images in the thumbnail display region;

removing the thumbnail image from the thumbnail display region at conclusion of the fixed period of time; and

displaying an access point to allow access to thumbnail images removed after the fixed period of time; and

presenting the audio/video information using the second processing mechanism based on the mark added using the first processing mechanism, the presenting in response to operation of a button associated with the second processing mechanism, the button assigned a function of marking.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the mark is stored as a component of the audio/video information.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first processing mechanism is contained in a first area in a building and the second processing mechanism is contained in a second area in the building.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the audio/video information comprises a media content program.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising deleting the mark in response to a user-submitted selection of the visual indicator of the mark and a user-submitted command to delete the mark.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the adding the mark precludes the creation of another mark if that other mark occurs at the same time, or within a very small time interval as the first-mentioned mark.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein part of the audio/video information is a video image taken from the audio/video information which is associated with the mark.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the displaying the visual indicator of the mark comprises presenting the visual indicator of the mark at a display position along a timeline, where the display position conveys a juncture at which the mark occurs within the audio/video information.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

receiving an indication of a user-submitted presentation command; and

in response to the user-submitted presentation command, invoking a currently selected visual indicator.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the displaying involves presenting multiple visual indicators of multiple respective marks at multiple respective display positions along the timeline, where the multiple positions convey respective junctures at which the multiple marks occur within the audio/video information.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising navigating among the multiple visual indicators to select any one of the multiple visual indicators.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the navigating comprises:

receiving an indication of a first user-submitted navigation command;

in response to the first user-submitted navigation command, selecting a temporally succeeding visual indicator with respect to a currently selected visual indicator;

receiving an indication of a second user-submitted navigation command; and

in response to the second user-submitted navigation command, selecting a temporally prior visual indicator with respect to the currently selected visual indicator.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the presenting is invoked by the activation of an input selection item associated with the audio/video information containing the mark, wherein the input selection item appears in a display that corresponds to at least one of:

a mark panel display;

a thumbnail display;

a menu display;

a program guide display; and

a program-specific information display corresponding to the audio/video information.

14. A computer readable memory device, including machine readable instructions for implementing the adding and the presenting of claim 1.

15. A method for presenting audio/video information, comprising:

receiving instructions generated in response to activation of a marking mechanism during display of a first program, the activation responsive to operation of a button assigned to the marking mechanism;

displaying a mark panel display in response to the instructions, the mark panel display comprising a thumbnail image of a frame of the first program, the frame taken from the first program at a point in time that the mark was created by operation of the button assigned to the marking mechanism;

adding second and subsequent thumbnail images of frames of second and subsequent programs to the mark panel display, the second and subsequent thumbnail images each resembling a respective picture being displayed by the second and subsequent programs at a point in time that second and subsequent marks are created by second and subsequent operations of the button assigned to the marking mechanism;

displaying, in a larger region, a larger sized version of a thumbnail image selected from among thumbnail images in the mark panel display;

removing the thumbnail images after a fixed period of time;

displaying an access point to allow access to thumbnail images removed after the fixed period of time; and

invoking, by operation of the button assigned to the marking mechanism and by selection of a displayed thumbnail image, a particular program associated with the selected displayed thumbnail image, to display the particular program from a point indicated by the displayed thumbnail image.

16. A computer readable medium including machine readable instructions for implementing the method of claim 15.

17. A system comprising:

a first processing mechanism, the first processing mechanism comprising;

a first memory;

a first processor;

presentation logic stored in the first memory and executed by the first processor to present audio/video information;

marking logic, stored in the first memory and executed by the first processor to create a mark associated with audio/video information currently being presented, the mark being embedded in the audio/video information and comprising a visual indicator of the mark at a display position that is related to a time at which the mark is associated with the audio/video information, the marking logic operating in response to user selection of a button assigned to a marking function associated with the first processing mechanism; and

a second processing mechanism, physically distinct from the first processing mechanism, the second processing mechanism comprising;

a second memory;

a second processor;

communication logic stored in the second memory and executed by the second processor to receive the audio/video information with the embedded mark;

displaying logic, stored in the second memory, to display a mark panel display, the mark panel display comprising a thumbnail image of a frame of a first program, the frame taken from the first program being displayed at a point in time that the mark was created by operation of the button assigned to the marking function;

displaying logic, stored in the second memory, to display in a larger region, a larger sized version of a thumbnail image selected from among thumbnail images in the mark panel display;

removing logic, stored in the second memory, to remove the thumbnail image after a fixed period of time;

access point logic, stored in the second memory, to allow access to thumbnail images removed after the fixed period of time at which the thumbnail images are removed from the mark panel display; and

presentation logic stored in the second memory and executed by the second processor to present the audio/video information based on the mark created by the marking logic of the first processing mechanism, the presenting logic operating in response to operation of a button assigned to a marking function associated with the second processing mechanism.