On-line conference recording system

• US 7,464,137 B2
• Filed: 06/08/2006
• Issued: 12/09/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Zhu, Min, Wei, Songxiang, Pong, Altred Lian Fui
• Primary Examiner(s): BAROT, BHARAT
• Application Number:
  US11/450,939
• Publication Number:
  US 20070022159A1
• Time in Patent Office: 915 Days
• Field of Search: 709203-205, 709227-228, 709/248, 707 9- 10, 715740-741, 715/751
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1831 Tracking arrangements for later retrieval, e.g. recording contents, participants activities or behavior, network status

Abstract

The system, method, and article of manufacture of the present invention allow for recording an on-line meeting (also referred to as an “on-line conference”) and saving the recording as a meeting recording file. Additionally, the saved meeting recording file may be played back and/or edited. Moreover, a user may open a meeting recording file during an on-line meeting, and all attendees of the on-line meting can see, as well as hear, the recording content.

Claims

1. A computer system for recording an on-line meeting in a distributed collaborative environment, the computer system comprising:

a first computer;

a second computer connected to the first computer via a computer network;

a computer program executable by the first computer, wherein the computer program comprises computer instructions for capturing user input and application output during an on-line meeting at the first computer; and

a computer program executable by the second computer, wherein the computer program comprises computer instructions for capturing user input and application output during the on-line meeting at the second computer, storing the captured user input and application output in a meeting recording file comprising segments, and editing the meeting recording file comprising reordering segments of the meeting recording file or inserting one of the segments of the meeting recording file into another meeting recording file.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the computer program executable by the first computer further comprises computer instructions for:

sharing the stored meeting recording file during another on-line meeting.

3. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the computer program executable by the second computer further comprises computer instructions for:

pausing playback of the shared meeting recording file at the second computer;

resuming playback of the shared meeting recording file at the second computer; and

synching up playback of the shared meeting recording file at the second computer with playback of the shared meeting recording file at the first computer.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the computer program executable by the first computer further comprises computer instructions for:

merging two or more of the segments into a single segment.

5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the computer program executable by the first computer further comprises computer instructions for:

splitting one of the segments into two or more segments.

6. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the computer program executable by the first computer further comprises computer instructions for:

displaying a timeline representing time within a recording in the meeting recording file.

7. The computer system of claim 6, wherein the computer program executable by the first computer further comprises computer instructions for:

placing one or more markers on the timeline of the recording, wherein each marker indicates a position on the timeline.

8. The computer system of claim 7, wherein the computer program executable by the first computer further comprises computer instructions for:

inserting a new segment in the recoding at a position indicated by one of the markers.

9. The computer system of claim 7, wherein the computer program executable by the first computer further comprises computer instructions for:

defining a segment between two of the markers, wherein one of the markers indicates a starting position of the defined segment and the other marker indicates an ending position of the defines segment.

10. The computer system of claim 7, wherein the computer program executable by the first computer further comprises computer instructions for:

spliffing one of the segments into two segments at a position indicated by one of the markers.

11. The computer system of claim 7, wherein the computer program executable by the first computer further comprises computer instructions for:

displaying a list of the markers;

selecting one of the markers from the list; and

jumping to the selected marker on the timeline.

12. The computer system of claim 6, wherein the computer program executable by the first computer further comprises computer instructions for:

displaying a list of the segments in the recording;

selecting one of the segments from the list; and

jumping to the selected segment on the timeline.

13. The computer system of claim 6, wherein the computer program executable by the first computer further comprises computer instructions for:

generating snapshots of images taken during the recording; and

placing the snapshots on the timeline in an order in which the corresponding images were taken.

14. The computer system of claim 6, wherein the computer program executable by the first computer further comprises computer instructions for:

displaying a shuttle wheel that allows a user of the first computer to advance or backtrack through the recording.

15. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the computer program executable by the second computer further comprises computer instructions for:

storing the captured user input and application output in a meeting recording file; and

editing the meeting recording file.

16. The computer system of claim 15, wherein the computer program executable by the second computer further comprises computer instructions for:

sharing the stored meeting recording file during another on-line meeting.

17. A method for recording an on-line meeting in a distributed collaborative environment, the method comprising:

coupling a first computer to a second computer via a computer network;

at the first computer, capturing user input and application output during an on-line meeting at the first computer; and

at the second computer, capturing user input and application output during the on-line meeting at the second computer, storing the captured user input and application out-put in a meeting recording file comprising segments, and editing the meeting recording file comprising reordering segments of the meeting recording file or inserting one of the segments of the meeting recording file into another meeting recording file.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

at the first computer,

storing the captured user input and application output in a meeting recording file; and

editing the meeting recording file.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

sharing the stored meeting recording file during another on-line meeting.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

sharing the stored meeting recording file during another on-line meeting.

21. An apparatus for recording an on-line meeting in a distributed collaborative environment, the apparatus comprising:

means for coupling a second computer to a first computer;

means for capturing, at the second computer, user input and application output during the on-line meeting;

means for storing the captured user input and application output in a meeting recording file comprising segments; and

means for editing the meeting recording file, at least in part by, reordering segments of the meeting recording file or inserting one of the segments of the meeting recording file into another meeting recording file.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising:

means for sharing the stored meeting recording file during another on-line meeting.