Multidimensional timeline browsers for broadcast media

• US 7,539,659 B2
• Filed: 06/15/2007
• Issued: 05/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Pritchett, Thaddeus C., Wong, Curtis G., Horvitz, Eric J., Sather, Dale A., Reneris, Kenneth, Batrouny, Talal Ali
• Primary Examiner(s): Vincent; David R
• Assistant Examiner(s): BUSS, BENJAMIN J
• Application Number:
  US11/764,028
• Publication Number:
  US 20080313127A1
• Time in Patent Office: 711 Days
• Field of Search: 725/46, 706/45, 706/62, 707/231, 707/E17.028, 707/E17.009
• US Class Current: 706/62
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/437 Administration of user profiles, e.g. generation, initialisation, adaptation, distribution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/447 Temporal browsing, e.g. timeline
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/48 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/329 on a disc [VTOC]
• 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 21/466 Learning process for intelligent management, e.g. learning user preferences for recommending movies services using the results of monitoring in broadcast systems H04H60/61
• 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 21/8405 represented by keywords
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or method that effectuates selective viewing of multimedia audio and/or visual content. The disclosed system can include a component that obtains multimedia audio or visual content from a broadcast server, categorizes the multimedia audio or visual content, and associates index tags to categorized multimedia audio or visual content. The index tags are utilized to provide a facility to search or summarize the categorized multimedia audio or visual content, wherein the resultant searches and summarizations can be displayed on a display associated with the component.

Claims

1. A system implemented on a machine that effectuates selective viewing of multimedia audio or visual content, comprising:

a component that obtains the multimedia audio or visual content via an interface, categorizes the multimedia audio or visual content, associates one or more index tags to the categorized multimedia audio or visual content, and generates respective summaries of the categorized multimedia audio or visual content for display to respective users, the respective summaries generated based at least in part on a respective subset of memory stimuli employing a respective subset of mnemonic devices for each respective user, the one or more index tags associated with the respective summaries, the respective summaries displayed on a visual display associated with the component.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the component elicits responses from at least one of the respective users regarding the at least one respective user'"'"'s likes or dislikes associated with the multimedia audio or visual content.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the elicited responses employed to construct or update a respective memorability model associated with the at least one respective user, the respective memorability model, comprising a respective subset of memory stimuli, is updated based at least in part on sensibilities of the at least one respective user as the sensibilities evolve over time.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the component searches storage media associated with the component for digital files associated with landmark events pertinent to at least one of the respective users.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the landmark events relate to situations that have taken place during presentation of prior multimedia audio or visual content.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the landmark events relate to situations that take place during presentation of the multimedia audio or visual content.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein the landmark events relate to situations that occur external from the multimedia audio or visual content and selectively unique to at least one of the respective users.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the index tags includes metadata that imposes a hierarchical structure.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the metadata includes information solicited from the respective users, data deduced through utilization of artificial intelligence, or information retrieved from one or more databases.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the index tags employed to search previously persisted multimedia audio or visual content to locate multimedia audio or visual fragments based at least in part on a respective memorability model, comprising a respective subset of memory stimuli, of at least one of the respective users, the multimedia audio or visual fragments utilized to stimulate the at least one respective user'"'"'s recollection of a multimedia audio or visual segment missed by the at least one respective user.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the categorized multimedia audio or visual content persisted to associated storage media.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein based at least in part on the respective subsets of memory stimuli, metadata included with the one or more index tags and associated with fragments of the multimedia audio or visual content, the respective summaries are respectively and specifically adapted to the respective users.

13. A method implemented on a machine that effectuates viewing of multimedia content, comprising:

receiving multimedia content from a broadcast service;

analyzing the multimedia content based at least in part on a first memorability model employing a first subset of mnemonic devices specific to a user, and at least one other memorability model employing at least one other subset of mnemonic devices specific to at least one other user;

associating index data with the multimedia content based at least in part on the first memorability model and the at least one other memorability model; and

utilizing the index data to concurrently playback the multimedia content, generate and display a first subset of synopsis information and at least one other subset of synopsis information that are each related to the multimedia content, wherein the first subset of synopsis information is based at least in part on the first memorability model and the at least one other subset of synopsis information is based at least in part on the at least one other memorability model.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

obtaining input from at least one of the first user or the at least one other user regarding the multimedia content.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

searching affiliated storage to identify digital files associated with landmark events unique to at least one of the first user or the at least one other user, respectively.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the landmark events pertain to situations that occur during playback of the media content.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the landmark events relate to events specific to the first user.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the events specific to the first user include proximity to the at least one other user during playback of the media content.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the index data includes a schema that includes information received from at least one of the first user or the at least one other user, inferred by artificial intelligence techniques, or obtained from databases.

20. A system that effectuates selective viewing of audio/visual content, comprising:

means for retrieving audio/visual content;

means for constructing and utilizing a first memorability model associated with a first user, and at least one other memorability model associated with at least one other user to analyze the audio/visual content, the first memorability model is constructed based at least in part on a first subset of memory stimuli employing a first subset of mnemonic devices and the at least one other memorability model is constructed based at least in part on at least one other subset of memory stimuli employing at least one other subset of mnemonic devices; and

means for selectively playing respective fragments of the audio/visual content based at least in part on the first memorability model, or the at least one other memorability model.