VIDEO AND AUDIO TAGGING FOR ACTIVE SPEAKER DETECTION

• US 20140168352A1
• Filed: 12/19/2012
• Published: 06/19/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Leorin, Simone, Verthein, William George
• Granted Patent: US 9,065,971 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/14.08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 Conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/155 involving storage of or access to video conference sessions tracking arrangements for later retrieval of a computer conference content or participants activities H04L12/1831

Abstract

A videoconferencing system is described that is configured to select an active speaker while avoiding erroneously selecting a microphone or camera that is picking up audio or video from a connected remote signal. A determination is made whether an audio signal is above a threshold level. If so, then a determination is made as to whether a tag is present in that audio signal. If so, that signal is ignored. If not, a camera is directed toward the sound source identified by the audio signal. A determination is made whether a tag is present in the video signal from that camera. If so, the camera is redirected. If not, local tag(s) are inserted into the audio signal and/or the video signal. The tagged signal(s) are transmitted. Thus, system will ignore sound or video that has an embedded tag from another videoconferencing system.

Claims

1. A transmitter system for a videoconferencing system, comprising:

a tag generator to generate at least one of an audio tag or a video tag;

a combiner to at least one of (i) combine a received audio signal with the audio tag to produce a tagged audio signal or (ii) combine a received video signal with the video tag to produce a tagged video signal; and

a transmitter to transmit (i) the tagged audio signal and the received video signal, (ii) the received audio signal and the tagged video signal, or (iii) the tagged audio signal and the tagged video signal.

2. The transmitter system of claim 1 and further comprising a control system to receive a plurality of audio signals, to select one of the received audio signals to be combined with the audio tag, wherein the control system selects an audio signal which does not contain an audio tag from another videoconferencing system.

3. The transmitter system of claim 1 and further comprising a control system to receive a plurality of video signals, to select one of the received video signals to be combined with the video, wherein the control system selects a video signal which does not contain a video tag from another videoconferencing system.

4. The transmitter system of claim 1 wherein the control system embeds additional information into at least one of the video tag or the audio tag.

5. The transmitter system of claim 4 wherein the additional information comprises at least one of a company name, a time, a date, a room location, a model number of the transmitter system, a, manufacturer of the transmitter system, a serial number of the transmitter system, a software version of the transmitter system, trademark information, copyright information, a confidentiality designation, ownership information, protocol information, or a transmission standard.

6. The transmitter system of claim 1 wherein distortion of the received audio signal caused by the audio tag is below a predetermined level.

7. The transmitter system of claim 1 wherein distortion of the received video signal caused by the video tag is below a predetermined level.

8. A method for operating a videoconferencing system, the method comprising:

receiving an audio signal;

receiving a video signal;

generating at least one of an audio tag or a video tag;

at least one of (i) combining the audio signal with the audio tag to produce a tagged audio signal or (ii) combining the video signal with the video tag to produce a tagged video signal; and

transmitting (i) the tagged audio signal and the video signal, (ii) the audio signal and the tagged video signal, or (iii) the tagged audio signal and the tagged video signal.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein there are a plurality of audio signals and further comprising selecting an audio signal for transmission which does not contain an audio tag from another videoconferencing system.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein there are a plurality of video signals and further comprising selecting a video signal for transmission which does not contain a video tag from another videoconferencing system.

11. The method of claim 8 and further comprising embedding additional information into at least one of the video tag or the audio tag.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the additional information comprises at least one of a company name, a time, a date, a room location, a model number of a transmitter system, a manufacturer of a transmitter system, a serial number of a transmitter system, a software version of a transmitter system, trademark information, copyright information, a confidentiality designation, ownership information, protocol information, or a transmission standard.

13. The method of claim 8 wherein distortion of the audio signal caused by the audio tag is below a predetermined level.

14. The method of claim 8 wherein distortion of the video signal caused by the video tag is below a predetermined level.

15. A computer storage medium having computer executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

generate at least one of an audio tag or a video tag;

at least one of (i) combine a received audio signal with the audio tag to produce a tagged audio signal or (ii) combine a received video signal with the video tag to produce a tagged video signal; and

transmit (i) the tagged audio signal and the received video signal, (ii) the received audio signal and the tagged video signal, or (iii) the tagged audio signal and the tagged video signal.

16. The computer storage medium of claim 15 wherein the computer storage medium further comprises computer executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to detect audio tags from a remote videoconferencing system in a plurality of received audio signals, and to select an audio signal which does not contain an audio tag for combination with the generated audio tag.

17. The computer storage medium of claim 15 wherein the computer storage medium further comprises computer executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to detect video tags from a remote videoconferencing system in a plurality of received video signals, and to select a video signal which does not contain a video tag for combination with the generated audio tag.

18. The computer storage medium of claim 15 wherein the computer storage medium further comprises computer executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to embed additional information into at least one of the generated video tag or the generated audio tag.

19. The computer storage medium of claim 18 wherein the additional information comprises at least one of a company name, a time, a date, a room location, a model number of the transmitter system, a, manufacturer of the transmitter system, a serial number of the transmitter system, a software version of the transmitter system, trademark information, copyright information, a confidentiality designation, ownership information, protocol information, or a transmission standard.

20. The computer storage medium of claim 15 wherein the computer storage medium further comprises computer executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to combine the received audio signal with the audio tag to produce a tagged audio signal in a manner wherein distortion in the tagged audio signal is less than a predetermined level or combine the received video signal with the video tag to produce a tagged video signal wherein distortion in the tagged video signal is less than a predetermined level.