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Information provider apparatus enabling selective playing of multimedia information by interactive input based on displayed hypertext information

  • US 5,809,512 A
  • Filed: 07/23/1996
  • Issued: 09/15/1998
  • Est. Priority Date: 07/28/1995
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. An information provider apparatus comprising data input/output means including data input means (111) operable by a user for inputting operating commands, and data display means (112) for displaying a plurality of types of monomedia data including at least video data and text data, said operating commands being generated by hyperlink selection in accordance with a page of hypertext data which is currently being displayed by said data display means (112);

  • data storage means for storing hypertext data and data of at least one hypervideo clip, said hypervideo data clip data being formed of subject matter data and scenario data, said subject matter data comprising data of a plurality of monomedia data items which include a video clip that has been preassigned as a reference video clip of said hypervideo clip, said scenario data including information specifying times of starting playing of respective ones of said monomedia data items other than said reference video clip, said starting times being specified in terms of frame numbers of said reference video clip;

    means responsive to said operating commands for reading out, from said data storage means, said scenario data and subject matter data of a hypervideo clip which is specified by said operating commands; and

    means forcontinuously supplying said reference video clip data of the specified hypervideo clip to said data display means (112) to be displayed thereby, as said reference video clip data are read out from said data storage means, and for maintaining a count of elapsed frame numbers of said reference video clip,selectively generating data transfer commands to acquire from said data storage means specific subject matter data of said specified hypervideo clip other than said reference video clip, at times determined in accordance with said said count of frame numbers in conjunction with said scenario data, andcontinuously supplying said specific subject matter data to said data data display means (112) as said specific subject matter data are read out from said data storage means, with video data of said subject matter data being transferred to said data display means (112) at a transmission rate which permits real-time transfer and continuous-motion display of the contents of said video data.

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