Data processing method and storage medium, and program for causing computer to execute the data processing method

• US 7,134,074 B2
• Filed: 02/16/2001
• Issued: 11/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/25/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Munetsugu, Toshihiko, Araki, Shoichi, Etoh, Minoru, Emura, Koichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Sanjiv
• Application Number:
  US09/785,063
• Publication Number:
  US 20020002564A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,090 Days
• Field of Search: 715/513, 715/500.1, 715/516, 707/104, 369/30, 372/50
• US Class Current: 715/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/739 in form of a video summary, e.g. the video summary being a video sequence, a composite still image or having synthesized frames
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/78 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/7834 using audio features
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/216 Rewritable discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2562 DVDs [digital versatile discs]; Digital video discs; MMCDs; HDCDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2575 DVD-RAMs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• 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 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26216 involving the channel capacity, e.g. network bandwidth admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; establishing a schedule or organising the servicing of application requests taking into account QoS H04L67/61
• 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: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching

Abstract

A context of media content is represented by context description data having a hierarchical stratum. The highest hierarchical layer is formed from a single element representing content. The lowest hierarchical layer is formed from an element representing a segment of media content which corresponds to a change between scenes or audible tones. The remaining hierarchical layers are formed from an element representing a scene or a collection of scenes. A score corresponding to the context of a scene of interest is appended, as an attribute, to each of the remaining hierarchical layers. A score relating to time information and a context is appended, as an attribute, to individual elements in the lowest hierarchical layer. In a selection step, the context of the media content is expressed, and one or more scenes are selected based on the score. In an extraction step, only data pertaining to the selected scenes are extracted.

Claims

1. A data processing apparatus for processing media content comprised of a plurality of scenes, said apparatus comprising:

an input unit operable to input content description data, said content description data including;

a data structure portion including a plurality of segments each for describing one of said plurality of scenes of media content, and

an attribute portion that is attribute information of the media contents, said attribute portion including;

a context attribute having a value for describing a context of one of said segments;

a plurality of importance attributes each associated with one of said segments and having a value representing a degree of contextual importance of said corresponding one of said segments; and

link information showing linkage to at least one corresponding segment;

and

an output unit operable to output at least one of said segments based on at least one of said importance attributes.

2. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the segments are hierarchically described in the data structure portion.

3. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said content description data further includes supplemental information regarding context.

4. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the media content correspond to video and/or audio data.

5. The data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said context attributes and a plurality of importance attributes are associated with one segment by said link information.

6. A data processing apparatus for processing media content comprised of a plurality of scenes, said apparatus comprising:

an input unit for inputting context description data for describing said plurality of scenes, said context description data including;

a hierarchically arranged data structure portion for describing the structure of said media content, said data structure portion including at least one section element and a plurality of segment elements as children of said at least one section element, each of said segment elements for describing a corresponding one of said plurality of scenes; and

a hierarchically arranged attribute portion including;

a plurality of viewpoint elements each including at least one keyword for representing a particular viewpoint of said media content,

one or more scores as a child for each of said plurality of viewpoints, each of said scores being an attribute associated with one or more of said segment elements for representing a degree of contextual importance of said parent viewpoint with respect to the scenes corresponding to said one or more segment elements, wherein

portions of said attribute portion are linked to corresponding portions of said data structure portion;

means for inputting said media content;

selection means for selecting one or more of said plurality of segments according to a desired one or more of said viewpoints based upon said scores; and

extraction means for outputting the one or more of said plurality of scenes corresponding to said selected one or more segments.

7. The data processing apparatus of claim 6, wherein said context description data further includes a plurality of additional segment elements, a plurality of additional viewpoints, and a plurality of additional scores.

8. The data processing apparatus of claim 7, wherein said segment elements are hierarchically arranged using a plurality of section elements each having one or more of said segment elements as children.

9. The data processing apparatus of claim 6, wherein said context description data is expressed in a language that is executable by a browser application.

10. The data processing apparatus of claim 6, wherein said viewpoint is associated with said segment element by linking said viewpoint to said score.

11. A data processing apparatus comprising:

an input unit for inputting previously generated context description data that describes a plurality of scenes of the media contents of one or more media files, said context description data including;

a plurality of segment elements each for describing one of said plurality of scenes;

a plurality of viewpoints each being an attribute associated with one or more of said segment elements and each including at least one keyword for further describing the contents of the scenes described by the associated one or more of said segment elements, and

a plurality of scores, each being an attribute associated with one of said segment elements representing a degree of contextual importance of one of said viewpoints that is associated with said one of said segment elements with respect to the scene described by said one of said segment elements; and

selection means for selecting one of said segment elements based on an analysis of said viewpoints and/or said scores.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said context description data further includes a plurality of section elements each having either a remaining one or more of said plurality of section elements as children, or having one or more of said plurality of segment elements as children, but not both.

13. The data processing apparatus of claim 12, wherein each of said plurality of section elements is associated with one or more of said scenes.