Apparatus and method for selectively viewing video information

• US 5,859,662 A
• Filed: 05/23/1996
• Issued: 01/12/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: MediaTek, Inc.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Day, Paul Reuben, Cragun, Brian John
• Primary Examiner(s): Harvey, David E.
• Application Number:
  US08/652,087
• Time in Patent Office: 964 Days
• Field of Search: 348/906, 348/907, 348/460, 348/461, 348/465, 348/468, 348/6, 348/1, 348/5, 348/7, 348/552, 348/571, 348/12, 348/13, 348/553, 348/725
• US Class Current: 725/137
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/7844 using original textual content or text extracted from visual content or transcript of audio data
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/41 Flat as opposed to hierarchical combination, e.g. library of tapes or discs, CD changer, or groups of record carriers that together store one title
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/415 Redundant array of inexpensive disks [RAID] systems
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/002 Programmed access in sequence to a plurality of record carriers or indexed parts, e.g. tracks, thereof, e.g. for editing; transfer of record carriers from magazine G11B15/68, G11B17/10; G11B17/22
• 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: H04N 21/4135 external recorder interface circuits between an apparatus for recording television signals and a television receiver H04N5/775
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4143 embedded in a Personal Computer [PC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• 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 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4884 for displaying subtitles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8405 represented by keywords
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8455 involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/445 : for displaying additional information H04N5/50 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 : Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0882 : for the transmission of character code signals, e.g. for teletext circuits for the digital non-picture data signal H04N7/035
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0884 : for the transmission of additional display-information, e.g. menu for programme or channel selection
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 : Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

A television presentation and editing system uses closed captioning text to locate items of interest. A closed captioning decoder extracts a closed captioning digital text stream from a television signal. A viewer specifies one or more keywords to be used as search parameters. A digital processor executing a control program scans the closed captioning digital text stream for words or phrases matching the search parameters The corresponding segment of the television broadcast may then be displayed, edited or saved. In one mode of operation, the television presentation system may be used to scan one or more television channels unattended, and save items which may be of interest to the viewer. In another mode of operation, the system may be used to assist editing previously stored video by quickly locating segments of interest.

Claims

1. An apparatus for facilitating the use of a video presentation, comprising:

means for receiving a transmitted composite data signal, said transmitted composite data signal being comprised of a plurality of component data signals that represent said video presentation, at least one of said plurality of component data signals comprising, at least in part, digitized text;

means for specifying information content of interest to a user of said video presentation;

means for interpreting said digitized text into a text stream, said text stream representing information about said video presentation but not predefined characterization(s) of said video presentation;

means for searching said text stream for occurrences of text representing said information content of interest to a user of said video presentation; and

means for extracting one or more video segments from said transmitted composite data signal, each of said segments corresponding to an occurrence of text that corresponds to said segment and representing said information content of interest.

2. The apparatus for facilitating the use of a video presentation of claim 1, wherein said means for specifying information content of interest to a user comprises means for specifying one or more key words, and wherein said means for searching said text stream comprises means for searching said text stream for occurrences of said one or more key words.

3. The apparatus for facilitating the use of a video presentation of claim 2, wherein said means for specifying information content of interest to a user comprises means for specifying a plurality of key words, linked by one or more logical relationships.

4. The apparatus for facilitating the use of a video presentation of claim 1, wherein said means for interpreting said digitized text comprises means for extracting textual data from information carried in a vertical blanking interval of said transmitted composite data signal.

5. The apparatus for facilitating the use of a video presentation of claim 4, wherein said means for interpreting said digitized text comprises:

means for extracting a closed captioning signal from said transmitted composite signal, and

means for interpreting said closed captioning signal into said text stream.

6. A method for locating video data, comprising the steps of:

inputting to an automatic locating device one or more search parameters representing information content of interest;

interpreting digitized text into a text stream said digitized text being at least a portion of one of a plurality of component data signals that make up a composite data signal, said composite data signal representing a video presentation, said text stream representing information about said video presentation but not predefined characterization(s) of said video presentation

automatically searching, with said automatic locating device, said text stream for occurrences of text matching said one or more search parameters; and

identifying one or more segments of said video presentation, each said segment corresponding to an occurrence of text derived from said segment and matching said one or more search parameters.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said step of interpreting digitized text comprises extracting textual data from information carried in a vertical blanking interval of said composite data signal.

8. The method for locating video data of claim 6, wherein said one or more search parameters comprise one or more key words.

9. The method for locating video data of claim 8, wherein said one or more search parameters comprise a plurality of key words, linked by one or more logical relationships.

10. An apparatus for editing a video presentation, said video presentation comprising a plurality of images intended for sequential display, said apparatus comprising:

a video storage for storing said video presentation;

a text derivation device for deriving a stream of textual data from said video presentation, said textual data representing information being conveyed by said plurality of images, but not predefined characterization(s) of said video presentation;

means for specifying one or more search parameters, said search parameters representing information contained in some portion of said video presentation;

means for searching said stream of textual data for occurrences of textual data matching said one or more search parameters, each of said one or more search parameters comprising one or more key words;

means, responsive to said searching means, for identifying one or more images represented by textual data matching said one or more search parameters;

means for displaying said images identified by said identifying means to an operator of the editing apparatus; and

means for interactively editing said displaying images.

11. The video editing apparatus of claim 10, wherein said one or more search parameters comprise a plurality of key words, linked by one or more logical relationships.