Method and apparatus for generating a multimedia document

• US 6,457,027 B1
• Filed: 04/01/1997
• Issued: 09/24/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: ATI Technologies ULC (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ATI Technologies Incorporated (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.)
• Inventors: Orr, Stephen Jonathan
• Primary Examiner(s): ROBINSON, GRETA LEE
• Application Number:
  US08/831,079
• Time in Patent Office: 2,002 Days
• Field of Search: 707/500, 707/513, 707/900, 707/501, 707/514, 707/523, 707/501.1, 707/500.1, 707/104.1, 707/102, 345/302, 382/207
• US Class Current: 715/255
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9558 Details of hyperlinks; Management of linked annotations
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A method and apparatus for generating a multimedia document that includes video image samples and associated audio is accomplished by decoding video signals into decoded video representations, sampling the decoded video representations at a rate below the motion video frame rate, and storing the video samples as a video document. For example, a JPEG document. In addition to creating video documents, the present method and apparatus also digitizes received audio signals and stores the digitized audio as an audio document. For example, as an AIFF (audio interchange file format audio format audio document, a WAV (which is used with Windows™) audio document, or a RealAudio™ (which is the Internet standard for delivering continuous audio) audio document. Once the video document(s) and audio document(s) are created, they are mapped together and stored as a multimedia document, which may be a hypertext document, such as an HTML document.

Claims

1. A method for generating a multimedia document, the method comprising the steps of:

a) receiving a stream of video images and associated audio data to be put in a form to generate the multimedia document;

b) sampling the stream of video images to produce a plurality of sampled video images to be used to generate the multimedia document;

c) sampling the associated audio data to produce digitized audio to be used to generate the multimedia document;

d) mapping the plurality of sampled video images with the digitized audio to produce mapped video images and digitized audio; and

e) storing the mapped video images and digitized audio as a multimedia document and storing the mapped video images and digitized audio as a hypertext document.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprises, within step (a), the stream of video images and the associated audio data is received from at least one of:

a video cassette recorder, a video camera, a laser disc player, and broadcast video.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprises, within step (b), sampling the stream of video images at a predetermined frame rate or user defined frame rate, wherein the predetermined frame rate and the user defined frame rate are below a motion video frame rate.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprises, within step (d), mapping associated text with the mapped video images and digitized audio.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprises, within step (c), sampling the associated audio data using at least one of:

an audio interchange file format audio format, WAV audio format, Real Audio™

audio format.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprises the step of viewing the multimedia document on at least one of:

a local computer, through a local web browser, a publication on an intranet, or a publication on Internet for world wide web browsing.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprises, within step (e), storing the multimedia document as at least one of:

a series of pictures with associated audio for each picture in the series of pictures, wherein the associated audio is activated by selecting the picture, and a series of video image icons and associated audio icons, wherein selection of an audio icon initiates a corresponding audio presentation.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprises storing the multimedia document to further include an associated text icon.

9. A method for generating a multimedia document, the method comprising the steps of:

a) receiving a stream of video images and associated audio data to be put in a form to generate the multimedia document;

b) sampling the stream of video images to produce a plurality of sampled video images to be used to generate the multimedia document;

c) sampling the associated audio data to produce digitized audio to be used to generate the multimedia document;

d) mapping the plurality of sampled video images with the digitized audio to produce mapped video images and digitized audio; and

e) storing the video images of the mapped video images and digitized audio as a multimedia document, hypertext document, and as a hypertext markup language document.

10. A method for generating a multimedia document, the method comprising the steps of:

a) receiving a stream of video images and associated audio data to be put in a form to generate the multimedia document;

b) sampling the stream of video images to produce a plurality of sampled video images to be used to generate the multimedia document;

c) sampling the associated audio data to produce digitized audio to be used to generate the multimedia document;

d) mapping the plurality of sampled video images with the digitized audio to produce mapped video images and digitized audio; and

e) storing the mapped video images and digitized audio as a multimedia document and including within the multimedia document a plurality of reference pointers, each of which points to at least one video document and at least one audio document.

11. A circuit for generating a multimedia document comprising:

a) a decoder operably coupled to receive video signals and to produce decoded video representations therefrom put in a form to generate the multimedia document;

b) an audio processing circuit operably coupled to receive audio signals and to produce digitized audio therefrom put in a form to generate the multimedia document;

c) an audio processing circuit operably coupled to receive the digitized audio and convert the digitized audio into an audio format document;

d) an video processing circuit operably coupled to receive the decoded video representations and to convert the decoded video representations into a video format document; and

e) a multimedia document circuit operably coupled to reference the video format document and the audio format document to produce a multimedia document, the multimedia document circuit comprises;

a processor; and

a digital storage medium, wherein the digital storage medium stores programming instructions that, when read by the processor, causes the processor to include a plurality of reference pointers within the multimedia document, each of which points to at least one video document and at least one audio document.

12. The circuit of claim 11 further comprises a tuner operably coupled to provide at least one of:

the video signals and the audio signals.

13. The circuit of claim 11 further comprises a video input port within the decoder and an audio input port within the audio digitizer, wherein the video input port and the audio input port are operably coupled to receive the video and audio signals, respectively, from at least one of a video camera, a video cassette recorder, a laser disc player, and a digital video disc player.

14. The circuit of claim 11 further comprises, within the audio processing circuit, a processor and digital storage medium, wherein the digital storage medium stores programming instructions that, when read by the processor, causes the processor to convert the digitized audio into at least one of a WAV audio format document, an audio interchange file format document, and a RealAudio™

audio format document.

15. The circuit of claim 11 further comprises, within the video processing circuit, a processor and digital storage medium, wherein the digital storage medium stores programming instructions that, when read by the processor, causes the processor to convert the decoded video into a hypertext document.

16. A digital storage medium that stores programming instructions that, when read by a processor, causes the processor to generate a multimedia document, the digital storage medium comprises:

first means for storing programming instructions that, when read by the processor, causes the processor to sample a stream of video images to produce a plurality of sampled video images;

second means for storing programming instructions that, when read by the processor, causes the processor to sample associated audio data to produce digitized audio, wherein the associated audio data is associated with the stream of video images;

third means for storing programming instructions that, when read by the processor, causes the processor to map the plurality of sampled video images with the digitized audio to produce mapped video images and digitized audio; and

fourth means for storing programming instructions that, when read by the processor causes the processor to store the mapped images and digitized audio as a multimedia document and that, when read by the processor causes the processor to include a plurality of reference pointers within the multimedia document, each of which points to at least one video document and at least one audio document.

17. A method for generating a multimedia document, the method comprising the steps of:

a) receiving a stream of video images, associated audio data, and associated text data to be put in a form to generate the multimedia document;

b) sampling the stream of video images to produce a plurality of sampled video images to be used to generate the multimedia document;

c) sampling the associated audio data to produce digitized audio to be used to generate the multimedia document;

d) mapping the plurality of sampled video images, the digitized audio, and the associated text together to produce mapped video images, digitized audio, and text; and

e) storing the mapped video images, digitized audio, text, and a plurality of reference pointers as a multimedia document, wherein each reference pointer of the plurality of reference pointers points to at least one video document and at least one audio document.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprises, within step (a), receiving the associated text as one of:

closed captioned and user generated.