Variable-content-video provider system

• US 5,696,869 A
• Filed: 09/19/1994
• Issued: 12/09/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nissim Corp.
• Original Assignee: Nissim Corp.
• Inventors: Abecassis, Max
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, THAI Q
• Application Number:
  US08/307,910
• Time in Patent Office: 1,177 Days
• Field of Search: 358/335, 358/311, 360/13, 360/14.1, 360/14.2, 360/14.3, 360/33.1, 348/6, 348/7-8, 348/12-13, 380/10, 380/20
• US Class Current: 386/290
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/02 Control of operating function, e.g. switching from recording to reproducing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/022 Control panels
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/04 Arrangements for preventing, inhibiting, or warning against double recording on the same blank or against other recording or reproducing malfunctions
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/12 by sensing distinguishing features of or on records, e.g. diameter end mark
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• 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: G11B 7/14 specially adapted to record on, or to reproduce from, more than one track simultaneously
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/10 Arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or the distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/46 for recognising users' preferences
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234318 by decomposing into objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4542 Blocking scenes or portions of the received content, e.g. censoring scenes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 : Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 : End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 : End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4755 : for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 : Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 : for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 : involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• 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 21/8405 : represented by keywords
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/4448 : for frame-grabbing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 : on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 : by receiver means only
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17336 : Handling of requests in head-ends
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8227 : the additional signal being at least another television signal

Abstract

A video delivery system and methodology for storing a plurality of videos and video segment maps, each of the video segment maps defining a plurality of video segments of a corresponding video, the plurality of video segments comprising non-sequential parallel, transitional, and overlapping video segments; receiving from a remote video retriever a request for a video, the request providing for a keyword; establishing video content preferences of the remote video retriever; selecting video segments responsive to an application of the video content preferences to a video segment map of the requested video; retrieving the selected video segments; and providing the retrieved video segments to the remote video retriever.

Claims

1. A method of providing videos comprising the steps of:

storing a plurality of previously edited videos and content maps defining a plurality of video segments of a corresponding video;

receiving from a remote video retriever a request for a video;

retrieving video segments responsive to content preferences of a viewer and a content map of the requested video without requiring editing by said viewer; and

providing, said video retriever, the retrieved video segments as a continuous version of the requested video, said continuous version being different in length than the length of the requested video.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said content maps define video segments responsive to a content-category relating to violence.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the requested video includes within at least one non-sequential video segment.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said content maps define video segments responsive to a content-category relating to violence, and wherein the requested video includes within at least one non-sequential video segment.

5. A method of providing videos comprising the steps of:

storing a plurality of previously edited videos each having a content map defining a plurality of video segments;

receiving from a remote video retriever a request for a video; and

transmitting the requested video to said remote video retriever enabling said remote video retriever to play, responsive to content preferences of a viewer and the content map and without requiring editing by said viewer, a continuous version of the requested video that is different in length than the length of the requested video.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the requested video includes within at least one non-sequential video segment.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the content map defines video segments responsive to a content-category relating to violence.

8. A video provider system comprising:

memory means for storing a plurality of previously edited videos each having a content map defining a plurality of video segments;

receiving means for receiving from a remote video retriever a request for a video;

retrieving means for retrieving video segments responsive to content preferences of a viewer and a content map of the requested video without requiring editing by said viewer; and

providing means for providing, said video retriever, the retrieved video segments as a continuous version of the requested video, said continuous version being different in length than the length of the requested video.

9. The video provider system of claim 8, wherein a content map defines segments responsive to a content-category relating to violence.

10. The video provider system of claim 8, wherein the requested video includes within at least one non-sequential video segment.

11. The video provider system of claim 8, wherein a content map defines segments responsive to a content-category relating to violence, and wherein the requested video includes within at least one non-sequential video segment.

12. A video provider system comprising:

memory means for storing a plurality of previously edited videos each having a content map defining a plurality of video segments;

receiving means for receiving from a remote video retriever a request for a video; and

providing means for providing the requested video to said remote video retriever enabling said remote video retriever to play, responsive to content preferences of a viewer and the content map and without requiring editing by said viewer, a continuous version of the requested video that is different in length than the length of the requested video.

13. The video provider system of claim 12, wherein the requested video includes within at least one non-sequential video segment.

14. The video provider system of claim 12, wherein the content map defines video segments responsive to a content-category relating to violence.

15. A video provider system comprising:

memory means for storing a plurality of previously edited videos and content maps, each of said content maps defining a plurality of video segments of a corresponding video;

receiving means for receiving from a remote video retriever a request for a video; and

providing means for providing the requested video and a content map to said remote video retriever enabling said video retriever to play, responsive to content preferences of a viewer and the content map and without requiring editing by said viewer, a continuous version of the requested video that is different in length than the length of the requested video.

16. The video provider system of claim 15, wherein at least one of the videos includes within at least one non-sequential video segment.

17. The video provider system of claim 15, wherein the content map defines video segments responsive to a content-category relating to violence.