Randomly and continuously playing fragments of a video segment

• US 6,504,990 B1
• Filed: 06/03/1999
• Issued: 01/07/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: CustomPlay, LLC
• Original Assignee: Max Abecassis
• Inventors: Abecassis, Max
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, THAI Q
• Application Number:
  US09/325,203
• Time in Patent Office: 1,314 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.576, H04/N.592, H04/N.5781, H04/N.979, H04/N.964, 386/1, 386/45, 386/33, 386/35, 386/94, 386/46, 386/111, 386/112, 386/69, 386/70, 386/125, 386/126, 360/60, 360/32, 380/201, 348/700, 348/701, 348/702
• US Class Current: 386/283
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/02 Control of operating function, e.g. switching from recording to reproducing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2562 DVDs [digital versatile discs]; Digital video discs; MMCDs; HDCDs
• 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 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440281 by altering the temporal resolution, e.g. by frame skipping television signal recording using magnetic recording on tape for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate H04N5/783
• 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 21/4542 Blocking scenes or portions of the received content, e.g. censoring scenes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4753 for user identification, e.g. by entering a PIN or password cryptographic authentication protocols H04L9/32; networks authentication protocols H04L63/08
• 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 21/84 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 21/854 Content authoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/141 between two video terminals, e.g. videophone telephonic communication systems combined with television receiver for reception of entertainment or information matter H04M11/085
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/52 : Systems for transmission of a pulse code modulated video signal with one or more other pulse code modulated signals, e.g. an audio signal or a synchronizing signal assembling of a multiplex stream by combining a video stream with other content or additional data, remultiplexing of multiplex streams, insertion of stuffing bits into the multiplex stream, assembling of a packetised elementary stream at server side H04N21/236; disassembling of a multiplex stream, remultiplexing of multiplex streams, extraction or processing of Service Information, disassembling of packetised elementary stream at client side H04N21/434

Abstract

A method of, and a system capable of, playing at least a portion of at least one video segment of a video, the method comprising the steps of, and the system comprising processing, random accessing, and buffering means for, enabling a user to define for a fragmented playing, at least one video segment within a video; fragmenting the at least one video segment responsive to a significant change in the comparative content of frames within the at least one video segment, responsive to a preestablished preference for a minimum duration of a fragment; and/or responsive to a plurality of camera angles included within the at least one video segment; and randomly and continuously playing, responsive to the fragmenting, at least a plurality fragments of the at least one video segment for a period of time longer than a linear playing time of the at least one video segment of the video; and wherein the defining may be either directly by identifying a beginning and an ending point, or indirectly by identifying at least one of a plurality of previously defined video segments of the video; wherein said randomly and continuously playing utilizes overlapping fragments; wherein at least one audio element of a plurality of audio elements is linearly played during a randomly and continuously playing of at least a plurality fragments; and/or wherein, responsive to a preestablished content preference, the randomly and continuously playing skips a playing of at least a portion of the at least one video segment.

Claims

1. A method of playing at least a portion of at least one video segment of a video, the method comprising the steps of:

enabling a user to define, for a fragmented playing, at least one video segment within a video;

contemporaneously fragmenting said at least one video segment into a plurality of fragments responsive to a preestablished preference for a minimum duration of a fragment, and without requiring said user or information that may be provided with said video to directly define said plurality of fragments;

randomly and continuously playing, responsive to said fragmenting, at least two fragments of said plurality of fragments of said at least one video segment for a period of time longer than a linear playing time of said at least one video segment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said user defines said at least one video segment by identifying at least one of a plurality of previously defined video segments of said video;

and wherein said contemporaneously fragmenting is responsive to I-frames that represent potentially suitable points that define at least one of said plurality of fragments, and which are identified by a playing of said at least one video segment.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said plurality of fragments include overlapping fragments.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, responsive to a preestablished video content preference, said randomly and continuously playing skips a playing of at least a portion of at least one of said at least one video segment.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one audio element of a plurality of audio elements is linearly played during said randomly and continuously playing.

6. A method of playing at least a portion of at least one video segment of a video, the method comprising the steps of:

enabling a user to define, for a fragmented playing, at least one video segment within a video;

contemporaneously fragmenting said at least one video segment into a plurality of fragments responsive to a substantial change in the comparative video data between frames within said at least one video segment, and without requiring said user or information that may be provided with said video to directly define said plurality of fragments;

randomly and continuously playing, responsive to said fragmenting, at least two fragments of said plurality of fragments of said at least one video segment for a period of time longer than a linear playing time of said at least one video segment.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said plurality of fragments include overlapping fragments.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein, responsive to a preestablished video content preference, said randomly and continuously playing skips a playing of at least a portion of at least one of said at least one video segment.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein at least one audio element of a plurality of audio elements is linearly played during said randomly and continuously playing.

10. A method of playing at least a portion of at least one video segment of a video, the method comprising the steps of:

enabling a user to define, for a fragmented playing, at least one video segment within a video;

contemporaneously fragmenting said at least one video segment into a plurality of fragments responsive to a plurality of camera angle segments included within said at least one video segment, responsive to a preestablished preference for a minimum duration of a fragment, and without requiring said user or information that may be provided with said video to directly define said plurality of fragments;

randomly and continuously playing, responsive to said fragmenting, at least two fragments of said plurality of fragments of said at least one video segment for a period of time longer than a linear playing time of said at least one video segment.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said plurality of fragments include overlapping fragments.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein, responsive to a preestablished video content preference, said randomly and continuously playing skips a playing of at least a portion of at least one of said at least one video segment.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein at least one audio element of a plurality of audio elements is linearly played during said randomly and continuously playing.

14. A system capable of playing at least a portion of at least one video segment of a video, the system comprising processing, random accessing, and buffering means for:

enabling a user to define, for a fragmented playing, at least one video segment within a video;

contemporaneously fragmenting said at least one video segment into a plurality of fragments responsive to a preestablished preference for a minimum duration of a fragment, and without requiring said user or information that may be provided with said video to directly define said plurality of fragments;

randomly and continuously playing, responsive to said fragmenting, at least two fragments of said plurality of fragments of said at least one video segment for a period of time longer than a linear playing time of said at least one video segment.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein said plurality of fragments include overlapping fragments.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein, responsive to a preestablished video content preference, said randomly and continuously playing skips a playing of at least a portion of at least one of said at least one video segment.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein at least one audio element of a plurality of audio elements is linearly played during said randomly and continuously playing.

18. A system capable of playing at least a portion of at least one video segment of a video, the system comprising processing, random accessing, and buffering means for:

enabling a user to define, for a fragmented playing, at least one video segment within a video;

contemporaneously fragmenting said at least one video segment into a plurality of fragments responsive to a substantial change in the comparative video data between frames within said at least one video segment, and without requiring said user or information that may be provided with said video to directly define said plurality of fragments;

randomly and continuously playing, responsive to said fragmenting, at least two fragments of said plurality of fragments of said at least one video segment for a period of time longer than a linear playing time of said at least one video segment.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein said plurality of fragments include overlapping fragments.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein, responsive to a preestablished video content preference, said randomly and continuously playing skips a playing of at least a portion of at least one of said at least one video segment.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein at least one audio element of a plurality of audio elements is linearly played during said randomly and continuously playing.

22. A system capable of playing at least a portion of at least one video segment of a video, the system comprising processing, random accessing, and buffering means for:

enabling a user to define, for a fragmented playing, at least one video segment within a video;

contemporaneously fragmenting said at least one video segment into a plurality of fragments responsive to a plurality of camera angle segments included within said at least one video segment, and without requiring said user or information that may be provided with said video to directly define said plurality of fragments;

randomly and continuously playing, responsive to said fragmenting, at least two fragments of said plurality of fragments of said at least one video segment for a period of time longer than a linear playing time of said at least one video segment.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein said plurality of fragments include overlapping fragments.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein, responsive to a preestablished video content preference, said randomly and continuously playing skips a playing of at least a portion of at least one of said at least one video segment.

25. The system of claim 22, wherein at least one audio element of a plurality of audio elements is linearly played during said randomly and continuously playing.