METHOD OF DIGITAL CONTENT VERSION SWITCHING AND CORRESPONDING DEVICE

• US 20130120662A1
• Filed: 11/15/2012
• Published: 05/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Madison Patent Holdings (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Thomson Licensing (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: Houdaille, Remi, Burklin, Helnut
• Application Number:
  US13/677,387
• Publication Number:
  US 20130120662A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/705
• 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 21/23439 for generating different versions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6377 directed to server one-way streaming services wherein the source is controlled by the destination H04L65/613
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6437 Real-time Transport Protocol [RTP]
• 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 21/8547 involving timestamps for synchronizing content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/268 Signal distribution or switching

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of management of digital content switching and in particular to the optimization of digital content version switching in order to ensure smooth switching between different versions of digital content during rendering. Different versions are for example: an uncensored version and a censored version, a cinema version and a TV-series adaptation version of a same digital content, a version with inserted publicity and a version without, a trailer version and a cinema version, different language-dubbed versions.

Claims

1. A method of digital content version switching, wherein the method comprises the following steps:

rendering of a first version of digital content;

transmission of a request to seek a corresponding rendering point in at least one alternate digital content version that is an alternate version of said first version, said request comprising information representative of a rendering point in said first version and an identifier of said first version;

reception of an identifier of said at least one alternate version and of associated information representative of said corresponding rendering point in said at least one alternate version;

transmission of a request to receive at least one component of a chosen alternate version, chosen from said at least one alternate digital content version of which an identifier is received in the reception step, and rendering of said at least one component of said chosen alternate version at said corresponding rendering point in replacement of rendering of at least one component of said first version.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said request to seek a corresponding rendering point in at least one alternate digital content version that is an alternate version of said first version further comprises information representative of a type of said identifier of said first version.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said information representative of said rendering point in said first version is a time code.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said information representative of a rendering point in said first version is metadata.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said identifier of said first version is an extracted sequence of said first version of digital content.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said request to seek a corresponding rendering point in at least one alternate digital content version that is an alternate version of said first version further comprises information representative of a type of alternate version desired.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein said request to seek a corresponding rendering point in at least one alternate digital content version that is an alternate version of said first version further comprises at least one identifier of an alternate version for which a corresponding rendering point is requested.

8. A client device for digital content version switching, the client device comprising:

means for rendering of a first version of digital content;

means for transmission of a request to seek a corresponding rendering point in at least one alternate digital content version that is an alternate version of said first version, said request comprising information representative of a rendering point in said first version and an identifier of said first version;

means for reception of an identifier of said at least one alternate version and of associated information representative of said corresponding rendering point in said at least one alternate version;

means for transmission of a request to receive at least one component of a chosen alternate version, chosen from said at least one alternate digital content version of which an identifier is received by the means for reception, and the means for rendering rendering said at least one component of said chosen alternate version at said corresponding rendering point in replacement of rendering of at least one component of said first version.