Software engine for combining video or audio content with programmatic content

• US 7,448,021 B1
• Filed: 08/28/2000
• Issued: 11/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Rovi Technologies Corporation (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Sonic Solutions (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Lamkin, Allan, Collart, Todd, Blair, Jeff
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Tuan A
• Application Number:
  US09/649,215
• Time in Patent Office: 2,990 Days
• Field of Search: 717114-117, 717168-178, 717/100, 717/107, 709201-231, 709322-323, 709/250, 715/501.1, 715/500.1, 715/523, 707/10, 345/717, 345/744, 345/747, 345/719, 369/60.1
• US Class Current: 717/115
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/329 on a disc [VTOC]

Abstract

A system and method for combining video/audio content with programmatic content perform the following steps: generating authoring output comprising a definition for a variable, and further comprising a representation of the video/audio content; selecting a source file, the source file comprising the variable; searching the source file for the variable, and replacing the variable with the definition for the variable; generating programmatic content in response to the searching; and generating an image as a function of the programmatic content and the representation of the audio/video content.

Claims

1. A method for combining video/audio content with programmatic content comprising:

generating authoring output comprising one or more definitions for one or more variables, and further comprising a representation of the video/audio content corresponding to video/audio content to be displayed, the representation of the video/audio content defining how the video/audio content is to be displayed;

selecting one or more source files that correspond with at least one of the one or more definitions of the generated authoring output, where each of the one or more source files comprises at least one of the one or more variables;

searching an instance of each of the one or more source files for said at least one variable, and with each instance of the one or more source files replacing said at least one variable with the corresponding definition for said at least one variable within that instance of the source file such that the instance of the source file contains the corresponding definition for said at least one variable;

generating programmatic content in accordance with each of the selected one or more source files each comprising the corresponding definition in response to the searching and replacing;

generating an image as a function of the programmatic content and the representation of the video/audio content; and

combining the image with the video/audio content.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing said image to a storage medium.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting said image through a transmission medium.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said searching includes searching said source file at build time.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said searching includes searching said source file at run time in reproducing the video/audio content.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said searching includes searching in response to a software engine executed on a browser.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein said searching includes searching in response to the insertion of a DVD into a hardware device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the instance of the source file is a copy of the source file.

8. A system comprising a processor and memory, where in the memory stores program instructions that at least in part support means for combining video/audio content with programmatic content, the system comprising:

means for selecting one or more source files that correspond with at least one of one or more definitions of an authoring output, wherein the authoring output comprises the one or more definitions for one or more variables and further comprises a representation of the video/audio content corresponding to video/audio content to be displayed, the representation of the video/audio content defining how the video/audio content is to be displayed, and wherein each of the one or more source files comprises at least one of the one or more variables;

means for searching an instance of each of the one or more source files for said at least one variable, and for replacing within each instance of the one or more source files said at least one variable with the corresponding definition for said at least one variable within that said instance of the source file;

means for generating programmatic content in accordance with each of the selected one or more source files, each comprising the corresponding definition, in response to the searching and replacing;

means for generating an image as a function of the programmatic content and the representation of the audio/video content; and

means for combining the image with the video/audio content.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the instance of the source file is a copy of the source file.

9. A computer program product stored on a computer-readable medium for use in combining video/audio content with programmatic content comprising:

code to select one or more source files that correspond with at least one of one or more definitions of an authoring output, wherein the authoring output comprising the one or more definitions for one or more variables, and further comprising a representation of the video/audio content corresponding to video/audio content to be displayed, the representation of the video/audio content defining how the video/audio content is to be displayed, and wherein each of the one or more source files comprises at least one of the one or more variables;

code to parse each of the one or more source files searching for said at least one variable, to replace in each instance of the one or more source files said at least one variable with a corresponding definition for said at least one variable within that instance of the source file, and to generate programmatic content in accordance with each of the selected one or more source files, each of said one or more selected source files comprising the corresponding one or more definitions, in response to the parsing and replacing;

code to generate an image as a function of the programmatic content and a representation of the audio/video content, the representation of the audio/video content defining how the video/audio content is to be displayed; and

code to format and combine the image with the video/audio content.