Audio synchronization system

• US 5,655,144 A
• Filed: 08/12/1994
• Issued: 08/05/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Object Technology Licensing Corporation
• Inventors: Dilts, Michael Russell, Denman, Matthew L., Milne, Steve H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dickens, Sabrina
• Application Number:
  US08/289,980
• Time in Patent Office: 1,089 Days
• Field of Search: 352/12, 395/806, 395/807, 395/326, 395/348, 395/349, 395/2.2
• US Class Current: 715/202
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0066 using a MIDI interface
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/368 displaying animated or moving pictures synchronized with the music or audio part
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/325 Synchronizing two or more audio tracks or files according to musical features or musical timings synchronised lyrics, e.g. for karaoke G10H2220/011
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234318 by decomposing into objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43072 of multiple content streams on the same device

Abstract

A method and system for providing synchronization of the timing of various multimedia events, including an audio event is disclosed. Clock objects are defined in the storage and associated with an internal or external source of current time. The clock objects are able to be displayed on the display, but can be hidden once their linkages are defined. One or more multimedia objects representative of audio, visual or other multimedia events, including an audio object, are defined and linked to a particular clock object or clock objects. Then, a processor synchronizes the multimedia objects, including a MIDI data object, with the associated clock object or objects. Finally, the various multimedia events are performed in synchronization with their associated clocks. The multimedia objects, including the audio object, may include external multimedia sources managed by the computer system.

Claims

1. A system for synchronizing a graphic presentation comprising a graphic sequence of digitized graphic frames to an audio presentation comprising an audio sequence of digitized sound samples, said system operating in a computer with a storage, an analog converter for generating sounds from each of said digitized sound samples, and a display for displaying each of said graphic frames, said system comprising:

(a) an audio player object resident in said storage and having

an audio player clock which computes an audio player time number, and

a player method responsive to said audio player time number for providing sound samples from said audio sequence to said analog converter; and

(b) a graphic player object resident in said storage and having

a graphic player clock which computes a graphic player time number as a function of said audio player time number,

a mapping method which is responsive to said audio player time number for providing to said display a graphic frame of said graphic frame sequence which corresponds to said graphic player time number.

2. A system as recited in claim 1 further comprising a time source object responsive to said position in said audio sequence of sound samples being converted in said analog converter for generating a current time number which represents a sound sample currently being converted in said analog converter and wherein said audio player clock is responsive to said current time number for computing said audio player time number.

3. A system as recited in claim 2 wherein said audio player object includes a method for rendering an audio player icon on said display and said graphic player object includes a method for rendering a graphic player icon on said display.

4. The system as recited in claim 3, including processing means for initiating said synchronizing through an iconic operation involving an audio player icon and a graphic player icon.

5. The system as recited in claim 4, including processing means for initiating said synchronizing by double-clicking on an icon representing said audio player object.

6. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein said audio player clock includes a method which computes said audio player time number based on a position in said audio sequence of sound samples being converted in said analog converter.

7. The system as recited in claim 1, including means for synchronizing a plurality of graphic player objects with a single audio player object.

8. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of said audio and graphic player objects are external to said computer.

9. The system as recited in claim 2, including means for adjusting a number of sound samples used to compute said current time number.

10. The system as recited in claim 2, including a time source external to said system for obtaining said current time number.

11. The system as recited in claim 2, including a plurality of time sources external to said system for obtaining said current time number.

12. The system as recited in claim 2, including means for decreasing said current time number to cause said converter to convert audio samples in a direction to proceed backward through said audio sequence.

13. The system as recited in claim 3, including means for linking said audio player object to said graphic player object via a geometric figure joining two icons representing said two objects on said display.

14. The system as recited in claim 13, wherein said geometric figure is a line segment displayed on said display.

15. The system as recited in claim 4, including processing means for drop-launching one of an audio player icon and a graphic player icon onto another icon to initiate said synchronizing.

16. A method for synchronizing a graphic presentation comprising a graphic sequence of digitized graphic frames to an audio presentation comprising an audio sequence of digitized sound samples, said method operating in a computer with a storage, an analog converter for generating sounds from each of said digitized sound samples, and a display for displaying each of said graphic flames, said method comprising the steps off:

(a) constructing an audio player object in said storage, said audio player object having

an audio player clock which computes an audio player time number, and

a player method responsive to said audio player time number for providing sound samples from said audio sequence to said analog converter;

(b) constructing a graphic player object in said storage, said graphic player object having

a graphic player clock which computes a graphic player time number as a function of said audio player time number,

a mapping method which is responsive to said audio player time number for providing to said display a graphic frame of said graphic frame sequence which corresponds to said graphic player time number; and

(c) connecting said audio player object to said graphic player object.

17. A method as recited in claim 16 further comprising the steps of:

(d) constructing a time source object responsive to said position in said audio sequence of sound samples being converted in said analog converter for generating a current time number which represents a sound sample currently being converted in said analog converter; and

(e) connecting said audio player object to said time source object so that said audio player clock is responsive to said current time number for computing said audio player time number.

18. A method as recited in claim 17 wherein step (a) comprises the step of:

(a1) rendering an audio player icon on said display.

19. A method as recited in claim 18 wherein step (b) comprises the step of:

(b1) rendering a graphic player icon on said display.

20. The method as recited in claim 19, including the step of initiating the synchronizing through an iconic operation involving an audio player icon and a graphic player icon.

21. The method as recited in claim 20, including the step of initiating the synchronizing by double-clicking on an icon representing said audio player object.

22. The method as recited in claim 16, comprising a step of computing said audio player time number based on a position in said audio sequence of sound samples being converted in said analog converter.

23. The method as recited in claim 16, including the step of synchronizing a plurality of graphic player objects with a single audio player object.

24. The method as recited in claim 16, including the step of adjusting a number of sound samples used to compute said current time number.

25. The method as recited in claim 16, including the step of obtaining said current time number from an external time source.

26. The method as recited in claim 16, including the step of querying a plurality of external time sources for obtaining said current time number.

27. The method as recited in claim 16, including the step of decreasing said current time number to cause said converter to convert audio samples in a direction to proceed backward through said audio sequence.

28. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein at least one of said audio and graphic player objects is constructed external to the computer.

29. The method as recited in claim 16, including the steps of displaying said audio player object on said display, displaying said graphic player object on said display, and linking said displayed audio player object to said graphic player object via a geometric figure joining two icons representing said audio player object and said graphic player object on said display.

30. The method as recited in claim 29, wherein the geometric figure is a line segment displayed on said display.

31. The method as recited in claim 20, including the step of drop-launching one of an audio player icon and a graphic player icon onto another icon to initiate said synchronizing.

32. A computer program product for synchronizing a graphic presentation comprising a graphic sequence of digitized graphic frames to an audio presentation comprising an audio sequence of digitized sound samples, said computer program product operating in a computer with a storage, an analog converter for generating sounds from each of said digitized sound samples, and a display for displaying each of said graphic frames, said computer program product comprising a computer usable medium including computer readable program code thereon including:

(a) program code for constructing an audio player object in said storage, said audio player object having

an audio player clock which computes an audio player time number, and

a player method responsive to said audio player time number for providing sound samples from said audio sequence to said analog converter; and

(b) program code for constructing a graphic player object in said storage, said graphic player object having

a graphic player clock which computes a graphic player time number as a function of said audio player time number,

a mapping method which is responsive to said audio player time number for providing to said display a graphic frame of said graphic frame sequence which corresponds to said graphic player time number.

33. A computer program product as recited in claim 32 wherein the program code further comprises:

(c) program code for constructing a time source object responsive to said position in said audio sequence of sound samples being converted in said analog converter for generating a current time number which represents a sound sample currently being converted in said analog converter; and

(d) program code for connecting said audio player object to said time source object so that said audio player clock is responsive to said current time number for computing said audio player time number.

34. A computer program product as recited in claim 32 wherein the program code for constructing an audio player object comprises program code for rendering an audio player icon on said display.

35. A computer program product as recited in claim 32 wherein the program code for constructing a graphic player object comprises program code for rendering a graphic player icon on said display.