System and method for providing an interactive, visual complement to an audio program

• US 7,275,256 B1
• Filed: 02/06/2002
• Issued: 09/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Music Choice
• Original Assignee: Music Choice
• Inventors: Del Beccaro, David J., Farber, Stuart H., Steinberg, Robert M., Tancredi, Christina B., Yurman, Ronald M., Rosenberg, Jeremy C., Giannetti, Kelley L., O'Neill, Donna M.
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, NGOC K
• Application Number:
  US10/066,793
• Time in Patent Office: 2,057 Days
• Field of Search: 707/10, 707/104.1, 709217-219, 709/203, 709/104.1, 709/10, 709/231, 725114-118, 725143-148
• US Class Current: 725/143
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/86 Arrangements characterised by the broadcast information itself
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2368 Multiplexing of audio and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26258 for generating a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlist, or scheduling item distribution according to such list retrieval of multimedia data based on playlists G06F16/40
• 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: H04N 21/439 Processing of audio elementary streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4394 involving operations for analysing the audio stream, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in audio streams arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of audio in broadcast systems H04H60/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440236 by media transcoding, e.g. video is transformed into a slideshow of still pictures, audio is converted into text
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8113 comprising music, e.g. song in MP3 format
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8133 specifically related to the content, e.g. biography of the actors in a movie, detailed information about an article seen in a video program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/816 involving special video data, e.g 3D video

Abstract

A system and method for providing an interactive, visual complement to one or more audio programs. In one aspect, the system comprises an audio subsystem for generating an audio signal corresponding to a sound recording. The system also comprises a video subsystem for generating a video image specification based, at least in part, on the sound recording. In one aspect, the audio signal and video image specification are transmitted to an audio/video signal transmission system. The transmission system receives the video image specification and generates a video signal that conforms to the video image specification. The video signal and the audio signal are transmitted to at least one consumer receiver. In this way, the system provides a visual complement to an audio program.

Claims

1. A system for providing a visual complement to an audio service, comprising:

a first transmission system configured to transmit data to a second transmission system, wherein the second transmission system is configured to transmit the data to one or more audio/video receivers;

an audio subsystem configured to select sound recordings according to a playlist and transmit, according to the playlist, the selected sound recordings to the first transmission system for relay to the second transmission system; and

a video subsystem, wherein

the audio subsystem is further configured to transmit to the video subsystem a trigger message after selecting a sound recording, wherein the trigger message comprises an identifier associated with the selected sound recording, and

the video subsystem is configured to generate a video image specification that is based, at least in part, on pre-defined configuration data and information included in the trigger message, and is configured to generate the video image specification in response to receiving the trigger message, wherein the video subsystem is configured to transmit the video image specification so that it is received by the second transmission system, and the second transmission system is configured to generate a video image conforming to the video image specification and transmit the video image along with a sound recording received from the first transmission system to the one or more audio/video receivers.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a storage unit for storing visual media assets, wherein the second transmission system is able to retrieve visual media assets from the storage unit.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the video image specification comprises a visual media asset identifier.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the second transmission system is configured to retrieve from the storage unit the visual media asset identified by the visual media asset identifier and use the visual media asset in generating the video image after receiving the video image specification.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the pre-defined configuration data comprises a plurality of identifiers, each of which is associated with a sound recording, and associates a set of visual media asset identifiers with each of the plurality of identifiers.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the pre-defined configuration data further comprises one or more queues of visual media asset identifier sets and further associates one or more of the queues with one or more of the plurality of identifiers.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein at least one of said one or more queues includes a visual media asset identifier set that is associated with a time duration.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a video image generator coupled to the video subsystem, wherein the video subsystem is configured to provide the video image specification to the video image generator, the video image generator is configured to generate a video image conforming to the video image specification and transmit the video image so that it is received by the second transmission system, and the second transmission system is configured to transmit the video image to the one or more audio/video receivers.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising a storage unit for storing visual media assets, wherein the video image generator is able to retrieve visual media assets from the storage unit.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the video image specification comprises a visual media asset identifier.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the video image generator is configured to retrieve from the storage unit the visual media asset identified by the visual media asset identifier and use the visual media asset in generating the video image after receiving the video image specification.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the video image specification is contained within an HTML document and the video image is an MPEG video presentation.

13. A system for providing a visual complement to an audio service, comprising:

a first transmission system that is configured to transmit data to a second transmission system, wherein the second transmission system is configured to transmit the data to one or more audio/video receivers;

an audio subsystem that is configured to select sound recordings according to a playlist and transmit, according to the playlist, the selected sound recordings to the first transmission system for relay to the second transmission system; and

a video subsystem, wherein

the audio subsystem is further configured to transmits to the video subsystem a trigger message after selecting a sound recording, wherein the trigger message comprises an identifier associated with the selected sound recording,

the video subsystem is configured to generate a video image based, at least in part, on pre-defined configuration data and transmit the video image to the first transmission system for relay to the second transmission system after receiving the trigger message, and

the second transmission system is configured to transmit the video image to the one or more audio/video receivers.

14. The system of claim 13, further comprising a storage unit for storing visual media assets, wherein the video subsystem is able to retrieve visual media assets from the storage unit.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein, after receiving the trigger message comprising the identifier, the video subsystem is configured to determine, based, at least in part, on the pre-defined configuration data, a set of visual media asset identifiers.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein one or more of the visual media asset identifiers are associated with a screen position.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the video subsystem is configured to retrieve from the storage unit the visual media assets identified by the set of visual media asset identifiers and use the visual media assets and the image position associated with the one or more visual media assets in generating the video image.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the video image is an MPEG video presentation.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein the pre-defined configuration data comprises a plurality of identifiers, each of which is associated with a sound recording, and associates a set of visual media asset identifiers with each of the plurality of identifiers.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the pre-defined configuration data further comprises one or more queues of visual media asset identifier sets and further associates one or more of the queues with one or more of the plurality of identifiers.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein at least one of said one or more queues includes a visual media asset identifier set that is associated with a time duration.