Method and apparatus for nonsequential multimedia data interchange in a data processing system
First Claim
1. A method in a data processing system for interchanging multimedia data, at least a portion of which is encoded, said method comprising the steps of:
- establishing a sequential data stream;
subdividing said sequential data stream into a plurality of consecutive sections;
disposing within each of said plurality of consecutive sections a plurality of multimedia data samples, at least one multimedia data sample comprising a collection of data and a control structure for specifying a manner of interpreting said collection of data;
creating a collection index associated with said sequential data stream, said collection index identifying a location for each of said plurality of multimedia data samples within said sequential data stream wherein said plurality of multimedia data samples may be arranged in a nonsequential manner within said sequential data stream; and
transmitting said collection index and said sequential data stream within said data processing system.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The method and apparatus may be utilized for the efficient interchange of multimedia data in a data processing system. A sequential data stream is established which includes multiple variable length consecutive sections, each of which includes multiple data samples. Each data sample preferably includes a collection of data and a control structure or header which is utilized to specify a manner of interpreting the collection of data. The control structure preferably includes information regarding the size of the collection of data, the resolution and duration of the collection of data, the manner of data collection employed and the encoding technique utilized, if any. In the depicted embodiment a track collection index is transmitted in conjunction with the sequential data stream and utilized to identify the physical location of various track samples within the data stream. Additionally, a track sequence index is provided which may be utilized to identify the logical order in which the data samples are to be utilized in each selected track to create a multimedia presentation. This sequential data stream, track collection index and track sequence index are then transmitted throughout a distributed data processing system utilizing various personal computers or intelligent work stations, permitting multimedia data to be efficiently interchanged.
21 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A method in a data processing system for interchanging multimedia data, at least a portion of which is encoded, said method comprising the steps of:
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establishing a sequential data stream; subdividing said sequential data stream into a plurality of consecutive sections; disposing within each of said plurality of consecutive sections a plurality of multimedia data samples, at least one multimedia data sample comprising a collection of data and a control structure for specifying a manner of interpreting said collection of data; creating a collection index associated with said sequential data stream, said collection index identifying a location for each of said plurality of multimedia data samples within said sequential data stream wherein said plurality of multimedia data samples may be arranged in a nonsequential manner within said sequential data stream; and transmitting said collection index and said sequential data stream within said data processing system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A data processing system for interchanging multimedia data, at least a portion of which is encoded, said data processing system comprising:
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means for creating a sequential data stream including a plurality of consecutive sections, each consecutive section including a plurality of multimedia data samples, at least one multimedia data sample comprising a collection of data and a control structure for specifying a manner of interpreting said collection of data; means for creating a collection index associated with said sequential data stream, said collection index identifying a location for each of said plurality of multimedia data samples within said sequential data stream wherein said plurality of multimedia data samples may be arranged in a nonsequential manner within said sequential data stream; and means for transmitting said collection index and said sequential data stream within said data processing system. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification