Disc having a code for preventing an interference with a playing of a video segment

• US 6,304,715 B1
• Filed: 12/10/1997
• Issued: 10/16/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nissim Corp.
• Original Assignee: Nissim Corp.
• Inventors: Abecassis, Max
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, THAI Q
• Application Number:
  US08/988,172
• Time in Patent Office: 1,406 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.576, H04/N.592, H04/N.979, H04/N.5783, H04/N.5781, 386/6-8, 386/45, 386/68, 386/69, 386/70, 386/95, 386/125, 386/126
• US Class Current: 386/278
• 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 system for, or method of, playing a video provided by an optical disk, the video including within at least one segment excluded from at least one playing of the video and at least one other segment excluded from at least one other playing of the video, wherein the at least one segment and the at least one other segment may be parallel, overlapping, or transitional segments, comprising means for, or the steps of, responsive to a viewer'"'"'s preference with respect to each of a plurality of content categories and responsive to segment information, interface, and system control codes provided by the optical disk, selectively retrieving segments, buffering at least a portion of a segment, and playing, from the video, a continuous version of the video differing in length than the length of the video.

Claims

1. A laser readable disc for use in conjunction with a playback apparatus having a random access capability and a plurality of control functions for selectively playing separately addressed video segments, said laser readable disc comprising:

at least one spiral track storing a video program comprising a plurality of separately addressable video segments;

video segment address information directly defining said plurality of separately addressable video segments; and

at least one segment code, in addition to said address information, for preventing at least one of said control functions of said apparatus from interfering with a playing of at least one of said plurality of separately addressable video segments.

2. The laser readable disc of claim 1 wherein the prevented control function is a segment skip function.

3. The laser readable disc of claim 1 wherein the prevented control function is a fast-forward function.

4. The laser readable disc of claim 1 wherein said at least one segment code prevents at least one of said control functions from skipping a playing of a commercial included with said video program.

5. The laser readable disc of claim 1 wherein said at least one segment code prevents at least one of said control function from fast-forwarding a playing of a commercial included with said video program.

6. A laser readable disc for use in conjunction with a playback apparatus having a random access capability and a plurality of control functions for selectively playing separately addressed video segments, said laser readable disc comprising:

at least one spiral track storing a video program comprising a plurality of separately addressable video segments including video segments for variably playing at least one scene of the video program;

a user interface particular to said video program for enabling a user to establish a content preference;

segment address information directly defining said plurality of separately addressable video segments;

and at least one segment code, in addition to said address information for preventing at least one of said control function of said apparatus from interfering with a playing of at least one of said plurality of separately addressable video segments.

7. The laser readable disc of claim 6 wherein said at least one segment code prevents at least one of said control functions from skipping a playing of a commercial included with said video program.

8. The laser readable disc of claim 6 wherein said at least one segment code prevents at least one of said control functions from fast-forwarding a playing of a commercial included with said video program.

9. The laser readable disc of claim 6 wherein said video segments for variably playing at least one scene of the video program are responsive to at a level of detail;

and wherein at least one of said control function is a segment skip function.

10. The laser readable disc of claim 6 wherein said video segments for variably playing at least one scene of the video program are responsive to at a level of detail;

and wherein at least one of said control function is a fast-forward function.

11. A laser readable disc for use in conjunction with a playback apparatus having processing, random accessing, and buffering capabilities and a plurality of control function for selectively playing separately addressed video segments, said laser readable disc comprising:

at least one spiral track storing a video program comprising a plurality of separately addressable video segments including parallel video segments for variably playing at least one scene of the video program;

a user interface particular to said video program for enabling a user of said video program to establish a content preference;

segment address information directly defining said plurality of separately addressable video segments; and

at least one segment code, in addition to said address information, for preventing at least one of said control function of said apparatus from interfering with a playing of at least one of said plurality of separately addressable video segments;

whereby said playback apparatus without requiring an alternative program source or for said user to create said segment information, and responsive to said at least one segment code and said content preference, plays, by means of a processing, random accessing, and buffering, a seamless version of, and from within said video program, the playing seamlessly skipping over a retrieval of at least a portion of a parallel video segment included within the video program.

12. The laser readable disc of claim 11 wherein the prevented control function is a segment skip function.

13. The laser readable disc of claim 11 wherein the prevented control function is a fast-forward function.

14. The laser readable disc of claim 11 wherein said at least one segment code prevents at least one of said control functions from skipping a playing of a commercial included with said video program.

15. The laser readable disc of claim 11 wherein said at least one segment code prevents at least one of said control functions from fast-forwarding a playing of a commercial included with said video program.

16. The laser readable disc of claim 11 wherein at least one set of parallel segments, included within said video program, provide for at least two versions of a scene with different levels of sex;

wherein at least another set of parallel segments, included within said video program, provide for at least two versions of another scene with different levels of violence; and

wherein said at least one segment code prevents at least one of said control functions from skipping a playing of a commercial included with said video program.

17. The laser readable disc of claim 11 wherein at least one set of parallel segments, included within said video program, provide for at least two versions of a scene with different levels of sex;

wherein at least another set of parallel segments, included within said video program, provide for at least two versions of another scene with different levels of violence; and

wherein said at least one segment code prevents at least one of said control functions from fast-forwarding a playing of a commercial included with said video program.