Method and system for describing functionality of an interactive multimedia application for use on an interactive network

• US 6,415,303 B1
• Filed: 06/06/1996
• Issued: 07/02/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Comcast MO Group Incorporated (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: MediaOne Group Inc. (Comcast Corporation), US West, Inc. (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Welter, Peter J., Raman, Prabu, Meier, John R., Kasica, Donald
• Primary Examiner(s): BREENE, JOHN E
• Application Number:
  US08/659,429
• Time in Patent Office: 2,217 Days
• Field of Search: 395/806, 395/807, 395/762, 395/774, 345/302
• US Class Current: 715/202
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/10 Requirements analysis; Specification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/70 Software maintenance or management
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8543 using a description language, e.g. Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Expert Group [MHEG], eXtensible Markup Language [XML] information retrieval of semistructured data, the underlying structure being taken into account, e.g. mark-up language structure data G06F16/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8545 for generating interactive applications

Abstract

A method is disclosed for describing functionality of an interactive multimedia application for use on an interactive network. The method includes the step of storing at least one composite description in an ASCII text file. The composite description describes a single multimedia presentation. The composite description includes at least one composite item selected from the group consisting of text, box, font, graphic, video, audio, animation and list. A system is also disclosed for implementing the steps of the method.

Claims

1. For use in a multimedia application development computer system, a method for describing functionality of a multimedia application for use on an interactive network employing a client-server architecture, the method comprising:

receiving signals via the computer system, the signals representing a plurality of composites;

storing the plurality of composites in ASCII text file, each composite having a plurality of composite items including audio and video, each composite describing a sequence and a position of a plurality of multimedia assets to be executed by a player wherein the composite description includes at least one internal event handler used by the player to transition to different composites and modify the composite items in a composite when an interval event occurs, at least two of the plurality of composites being linked by an action.