TIMELINE SYNCHRONIZATION CONTROL METHOD FOR MULTIPLE DISPLAY VIEWS

• US 20160019935A1
• Filed: 07/21/2015
• Published: 01/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Avigilon Corporation (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: ADAM, Matthew J., CHENG, Courtney Anne A.
• Granted Patent: US 9,659,598 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43072 of multiple content streams on the same device
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47217 for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8547 involving timestamps for synchronizing content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A video surveillance system and methods for operating that sets the timeline for multiple views of video data from different cameras to playback separately from one another or to be linked so as to synchronize their playback. Placement and selection of a playback cursor to a particular point in a timeline of master view will cause linked views to automatically move to and synchronize to the same point in their associated timelines, and when the video data is being transmitted from multiple cameras to cause the cameras displaying the linked views to update so that the video data associated with each camera is updated to the selected point in time from the linked master view. Timeline resolutions for linked views are not affected by linking or unlinking views.

Claims

1. A video camera playback controlling system, comprising:

a plurality of video cameras, wherein each video camera is configured to collect video data over a timeline;

a computerized system coupled to the plurality of video cameras, wherein the computerized system is configured to;

receive the collected video data from the plurality of video cameras;

group the collected video data of two or more video cameras into one or more views, the one or more views comprising a first view and a second view;

wherein the collected video data of each video camera in the first view is associated with a first timeline and the collected video data of each video camera in the second view is associated with a second timeline;

wherein the first timeline is independent of the second timeline if the first view and the second view are not linked; and

wherein the first timeline is synchronized with the second timeline if the first view and the second view are linked; and

a display for displaying the collected video data.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first and second timelines for the collected video data for each video camera in the first and second views are each associated with a timeline resolution and wherein the timeline resolutions associated with the first and second views do not change when the first view is linked to the second view.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein when the first view is linked to the second view, the timeline resolutions associated with the first and second view do not change when the link is removed and the first view and the second view are unlinked.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first view or the second view includes at least a first subview and a second subview, wherein the first subview is associated with the collected video data of a first video camera and the second subview is associated with the collected video data of a second video camera.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the first subview is associated with a first subview timeline and the second subview is associated with a second subview timeline.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the first subview timeline is linkable with the second subview timeline such that adjusting a playback cursor associated with the first or second subview timeline adjusts a playback cursor associated with the other of the first or second subview timeline.

7. A method of controlling a playback of a plurality of video cameras, comprising:

associating a first playback state with a first view, the first view including video data collected from two or more video cameras among the plurality of video cameras over a first timeline;

associating a second playback state with a second view, the second view including video data collected from two or more video cameras among the plurality of video cameras over a second timeline;

linking the first view to the second view to synchronize the first playback state with the second playback state; and

maintaining the first playback state independent of second playback state when the first view is unlinked from the second view.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first timeline has a first timeline resolution, wherein the second timeline has a second timeline resolution, and wherein the first timeline resolution is independent of the second timeline resolution regardless of whether the first view is linked to the second view.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein linking the first view to the second view comprises:

disabling the first playback state and associating the first view with a global playback state;

linking the first view to the second view to create linked views; and

upon receiving a playback time selection for the global playback state, sending an update to the second view to set a playback time for the second view to the playback time for the global playback state.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein linking the first view to the second view to create the linked views comprises synchronizing playback of the first timeline with the second timeline.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein synchronizing playback of the first timeline with the second timeline comprises disabling the second playback state and associating the second view with the global playback state.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein sending an update includes scrolling or adjusting the second timeline to match the first timeline.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the first timeline includes a first timeline resolution and the second timeline includes a second timeline resolution, and further comprising maintaining the first timeline resolution independent of the second timeline resolution when the first view is linked to the second view.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

associating a third playback state with a third view, the third view including video data collected from two or more video cameras among the plurality of video cameras over a third timeline;

disabling the first playback state and associating the first view with a global playback state;

linking the third view to the first view to create linked views; and

upon receiving a second playback time selection for the global playback state, sending an update to the third view to set a playback time for the third view to the second playback time for the global playback state.

16. The method of claim 7, wherein the first and second playback states each comprise at least one of a playback time, a playback mode, or a playback speed.

17. The method of claim 7, further comprising displaying via a user interface:

a first area for displaying the collected video data associated with the first view, wherein playback of the collected video data associated with the first view is controllable by one or more controllers associated with the first timeline;

a second area for displaying the collected video data associated with the second view, wherein playback of the collected video data associated with the second view is controllable by one or more controllers associated with the first timeline or the second timeline if the first view is linked to the second view, and wherein playback of the collected video data associated with the second view is controllable by one or more controllers associated with the second timeline if the first view is not linked with the second view.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

receiving, by the user interface, one or more selection events associated with the one or more controllers associated with the first or second timelines; and

changing the collected video data displayed in the first area or the second area in response to receiving the one or more selection events.

13. The method of 9, further comprising unlinking the linked views by disassociating the second view with the global playback state and enabling the second playback state.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium including instructions, that upon execution by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform the operations of:

obtaining video data collected from two or more video cameras;

associating the obtained video data collected from at least one of the two or more video cameras with a first timeline;

associating the obtained video data collected from at least another of the two or more video cameras with a second timeline;

linking the first timeline with the second timeline in response to receiving a first selection event;

changing a first playback state associated with the first or second timeline based on receiving a second selection event; and

changing a second playback state associated with the other of the first or second timelines to correspond to the changed first playback state based on the first selection event.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19, where the instructions cause the computing device to perform the additional functions of:

unlinking the first timeline and the second timeline in response to receiving a third selection event;

changing at least one of the first or second playback state independently of the other of the first or second playback states in response to a receiving a fourth selection event.