Playing a version of and from within a video by means of downloaded segment information

• US 6,067,401 A
• Filed: 12/11/1997
• Issued: 05/23/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nissim Corp.
• Original Assignee: Nissim Corp.
• Inventors: Abecassis, Max
• Primary Examiner(s): Chevalier, Robert
• Application Number:
  US08/988,943
• Time in Patent Office: 894 Days
• Field of Search: 386/46, 386/83, 386/124, 386/95, 386/92, 386/40, 386/1, 386/125, 348/7, 348/6, 348/12, 260/72
• US Class Current: 386/344
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/338 using television networks
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/47 involving branching, e.g. choosing one of several possible scenarios at a given point in time
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/63 by the player, e.g. authoring using a level editor
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/95 Storage media specially adapted for storing game information, e.g. video game cartridges
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/409 Data transfer via television network
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/63 for controlling the execution of the game in time
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/632 by branching, e.g. choosing one of several possible story developments at a given point in time
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/807 Role playing or strategy games
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/735 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/78 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• 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 2220/2587 Laser Discs; Optical disc using analog recording
• 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 60/37 : for identifying segments of broadcast information, e.g. scenes or extracting programme ID
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/46 : for recognising users' preferences
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/48 : for recognising items expressed in broadcast information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/59 : of video recognising characters or patterns in general G06F18/00, G06V20/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/65 : for using the result on users' side
• 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 21/426 : Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• 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 21/8456 : by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• 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 7/17354 : in an intermediate station common to a plurality of user terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8227 : the additional signal being at least another television signal

Abstract

A system comprising the means for, and a method of comprising the steps of, preestablishing a content preference with respect to a level of explicitness in each of plurality of content categories; downloading, by means of a communication, segment information for a video comprising a linear sequence of frames readable from a spiral track of an optical disc, the segment information directly defining at least one segment of the video with respect to a level of explicitness in at least one content category; selecting segments of the video by applying the preestablished content preference to the segment information; and playing, by means of a random accessing and buffering and from within the linear sequence of frames, a seamless version of the video less in length than the length of the video, the playing not requiring an alternate video source and comprising retrieving the selected segments and seamlessly skipping a retrieval of an at least one segment by buffering at least a portion of a segment.

Claims

1. A video system comprising:

preferencing means for preestablishing a content preference with respect to a level of explicitness in each of plurality of content categories;

communication means for downloading segment information for a video comprising a linear sequence of frames readable from a spiral track of an optical disc, the segment information directly defining at least one segment of the video with respect to a level of explicitness in at least one content category;

selecting means for selecting segments of the video by applying the preestablished content preference to the segment information; and

random access and buffering means for playing from within the linear sequence of frames a seamless version of the video less in length than the length of the video, the playing not requiring an alternate video source and comprising retrieving the selected segments and seamlessly skipping a retrieval of an at least one segment by buffering at least a portion of a segment.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the segment information is downloaded to the optical disc.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the video is downloaded to the optical disc from a remote video source.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the preestablishing is individualized for each of a plurality of viewers and is subject to a password control.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein a modification to the preestablished content preference is responsive to a permission specific with respect to a level of explicitness in each of the plurality of content categories.

6. A video system comprising:

preferencing means for preestablishing a content preference responsive to a rating system;

communication means for downloading segment information for a video comprising a linear sequence of frames readable from a spiral track of an optical disc, the segment information directly defining at least one segment of the video responsive to the rating system;

selecting means for selecting segments of the video by applying the preestablished content preference to the segment information; and

random access and buffering means for playing from within the linear sequence of frames a seamless version of the video less in length than the length of the video, the playing not requiring an alternate video source and comprising retrieving the selected segments and seamlessly skipping a retrieval of an at least one segment by buffering at least a portion of a segment.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the segment information is downloaded to the optical disc.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein the video is downloaded to the optical disc from a remote video source.

9. The system of claim 6 wherein the preestablishing is individualized for each of a plurality of viewers and is subject to a password control.

10. The system of claim 6 wherein the preestablishing is individualized for each of a plurality of viewers and is subject to a password control;

and wherein the video is downloaded to the optical disc from a remote video source.

11. A video playing method comprising the steps of:

preestablishing a content preference with respect to a level of explicitness in each of plurality of content categories;

downloading, by means of a communication, segment information for a video comprising a linear sequence of frames readable from a spiral track of an optical disc, the segment information directly defining at least one segment of the video with respect to a level of explicitness in at least one content category;

selecting segments of the video by applying the preestablished content preference to the segment information; and

playing, by means of a random accessing and buffering and from within the linear sequence of frames, a seamless version of the video less in length than the length of the video, the playing not requiring an alternate video source and comprising retrieving the selected segments and seamlessly skipping a retrieval of an at least one segment by buffering at least a portion of a segment.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the segment information is downloaded to the optical disc.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the video is downloaded to the optical disc from a remote video source.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the preestablishing is individualized for each of a plurality of viewers and is subject to a password control.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein a modification to the preestablished content preference is responsive to a permission specific with respect to a level of explicitness in each of the plurality of content categories.

16. A video playing method comprising the steps of:

preestablishing a content preference responsive to a rating system;

downloading, by means of a communication, segment information for a video comprising a linear sequence of frames readable from a spiral track of an optical disc, the segment information directly defining at least one segment of the video responsive to the rating system;

selecting segments of the video by applying the preestablished content preference to the segment information; and

playing, by means of a random accessing and buffering and from within the linear sequence of frames, a seamless version of the video less in length than the length of the video, the playing not requiring an alternate video source and comprising retrieving the selected segments and seamlessly skipping a retrieval of an at least one segment by buffering at least a portion of a segment.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the segment information is downloaded to the optical disc.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the video is downloaded to the optical disc from a remote video source.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the preestablishing is individualized for each of a plurality of viewers and is subject to a password control.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein the preestablishing is individualized for each of a plurality of viewers and is subject to a password control;

and wherein the video is downloaded to the optical disc from a remote video source.