Advancing playback of video data based on parameter values of video data

• US 7,035,526 B2
• Filed: 02/09/2001
• Issued: 04/25/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Green, Dustin
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HUY THANH
• Application Number:
  US09/780,283
• Publication Number:
  US 20020110358A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,901 Days
• Field of Search: 386/46, 386/68, 386/69, 386/70, 386/95, 386/98, 386/111, 386/125
• US Class Current: 386/329
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8455 involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape

Abstract

A digital video data system automatically skips the playback of recorded video data to a position that corresponds to a transition between segments of the video data. Positions that are candidates for being segment transitions are identified by quantifying the rate of change of one or more parameters of the video data at multiple positions and determining positions for which the rate of change is locally maximal. Parameters such as luminance, I-frame frequency, and frame size tend to change most rapidly at segment transitions. Information relating to the change in the parameter values is stored with recorded video data so that it can be used to identify segment transitions during playback of the video data. During playback, and in response to user input, the system selects a position where the rate of change of parameter values is locally maximal and skips playback to that position.

Claims

1. In a video encoder that encodes video data in a compressed format in preparation for transmitting the video data to an entertainment system, wherein the encoded video data is characterized by parameters that vary as a function of time within the video data, a method of supplementing the video data with information identifying candidates for segment transitions between segments of the video data, the method comprising:

encoding the video data in the compressed format;

including, with the video data, information representing the change in the value of a parameter by performing, for each position of plurality of positions that are candidates for segment transitions, the acts of;

calculating a preceding local average value of the parameter in a portion of the video data preceding the position;

calculating a following local average value of the parameter in a portion of the video data following the position;

generating a local avenge difference by calculating the absolute value of the difference between the preceding local average value and the following local average value; and

inserting information relating to the local average difference into the video data; and

transmitting the video data and the information representing the change in the value of the parameter to a decoder included in an entertainment system such that the entertainment system van skip playback of the video data to a segment transition in the video data.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the parameter is selected from a group of parameters consisting of:

frame size;

luminance of an image encoded in the video data; and

overall quantization scale used to encode the color of the image.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein:

the video data is encoded using a compression format that uses interframe decoding and includes periodic intraframes used in interframe decoding; and

the parameter represents a frequency of the intraframes in the video data.

4. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the act of identifying positions in the video data that are candidates for segment transitions comprises the act of comparing values representing the change in the values of multiple parameters of the video data, including performing, for each of the multiple parameters, the acts of:

calculating a preceding local average value of the parameter in a portion of the video data preceding the position;

calculating a following local average value of the parameter in a portion of the video data following the position;

generating a local average difference value by calculating the absolute value of the difference between the preceding local average value and the following local average value; and

identifying local maxima in the local average difference values over time.