Distributed presentations employing inputs from multiple video cameras located at multiple sites and customizable display screen configurations
First Claim
1. A computer network-based distributed presentation system for displaying one or more video streams output by multiple video cameras located at multiple presentation sites, comprising:
- a first video camera located at one of the presentation sites, the first video camera capable of outputting a first video stream to a computing network, the first video stream comprising a first view of the one presentation site where the first camera is located;
a second camera located at another one of the presentation sites, the second video camera capable of outputting a second video stream to the computing network, the second video stream comprising a second view of the another one presentation site where the second camera is located;
a first general purpose computing device located at a first presentation site of the presentation sites;
a first display screen located at the first presentation site, the first display screen being capable of simultaneously displaying the first and second video streams in respective first and second display sectors of the first display screen and which is controlled by said first computing device;
a second general purpose computing device located at a second presentation site, different from the first presentation site, of the presentation sites;
a second display screen located at the second presentation site, the second display screen being capable of simultaneously displaying the first and second video streams in respective third and fourth sectors of the second display screen and which is controlled by said second computing device;
a first display director module executable by the first computing device, wherein the first device is directed by the first display director module to;
based on first local user preferences, automatically determine on an on-going basis which of the first and second video streams output to the computer network are to be downloaded for display on the first display screen at the first presentation site where the first display director is running and select which of the first and second sectors of the first display screen the downloaded video stream or streams are to be displayed;
based on the first local user preferences, automatically control the first display screen so as to display the video stream or streams downloaded by the first computing device in the sectors selected by the first display director; and
a second display director module executable by the second computing device, wherein the second computing device is directed by the second display director to;
based on second local user preferences, different from the first local user preferences, determine, independent of the first display director module, on the on-going basis which of the first and second video streams output to the computer network are to be downloaded for display on the second display screen at the second presentation site, where the second display director is running and select which of the third and fourth sectors of the second display screen the downloaded video streams or streams are to be displayed;
based on the second local user preferences, control the second display screen so as to display the video stream or streams downloaded by the second computing device in the sectors selected by the second display director, such that one or both of the video stream or streams downloaded by the second computing device and the sector selected by the second display director are different than one or both of the video stream or stream downloaded by the first computing device and the sectors selected by the first display director.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A computer network-based distributed presentation system and process is presented that controls the display of one or more video streams output by multiple video cameras located across multiple presentation sites on display screens located at each presentation site. The distributed presentation system and process provides the ability for a user at a site to customize the screen configuration (i.e., what video streams are display at any one time and in what format) for that site via a two-layer display director module. In the design layer of the module, a user interface is provided for a user to specify display priorities dictating what video streams are to be displayed on the screen over time. These display priorities are then provided to the execution layer of the module which translates them into probabilistic timed automata and uses the automata to control what is displayed on the display screen.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A computer network-based distributed presentation system for displaying one or more video streams output by multiple video cameras located at multiple presentation sites, comprising:
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a first video camera located at one of the presentation sites, the first video camera capable of outputting a first video stream to a computing network, the first video stream comprising a first view of the one presentation site where the first camera is located; a second camera located at another one of the presentation sites, the second video camera capable of outputting a second video stream to the computing network, the second video stream comprising a second view of the another one presentation site where the second camera is located; a first general purpose computing device located at a first presentation site of the presentation sites; a first display screen located at the first presentation site, the first display screen being capable of simultaneously displaying the first and second video streams in respective first and second display sectors of the first display screen and which is controlled by said first computing device; a second general purpose computing device located at a second presentation site, different from the first presentation site, of the presentation sites; a second display screen located at the second presentation site, the second display screen being capable of simultaneously displaying the first and second video streams in respective third and fourth sectors of the second display screen and which is controlled by said second computing device; a first display director module executable by the first computing device, wherein the first device is directed by the first display director module to; based on first local user preferences, automatically determine on an on-going basis which of the first and second video streams output to the computer network are to be downloaded for display on the first display screen at the first presentation site where the first display director is running and select which of the first and second sectors of the first display screen the downloaded video stream or streams are to be displayed; based on the first local user preferences, automatically control the first display screen so as to display the video stream or streams downloaded by the first computing device in the sectors selected by the first display director; and a second display director module executable by the second computing device, wherein the second computing device is directed by the second display director to; based on second local user preferences, different from the first local user preferences, determine, independent of the first display director module, on the on-going basis which of the first and second video streams output to the computer network are to be downloaded for display on the second display screen at the second presentation site, where the second display director is running and select which of the third and fourth sectors of the second display screen the downloaded video streams or streams are to be displayed; based on the second local user preferences, control the second display screen so as to display the video stream or streams downloaded by the second computing device in the sectors selected by the second display director, such that one or both of the video stream or streams downloaded by the second computing device and the sector selected by the second display director are different than one or both of the video stream or stream downloaded by the first computing device and the sectors selected by the first display director. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A computer-implemented two-layer display director process for controlling the display of multiple video streams output to a computer network from video cameras located at multiple distributed sites on a display screen which is capable of simultaneously displaying one or more video streams, each video stream displayed in a different display sector of the screen, the process comprising:
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using a computer with a memory and processor executing instructions stored on the memory to perform the following process actions, in the first layer, providing a user interface for a user to specify display priorities dictating what video streams are to be displayed on the screen over time, and providing the display priorities to the second layer of the display director process; and in the second layer, translating the user-specified display priorities into probabilistic times automata; and in the second layer, automatically using the automata to control what is displayed on the display screen over time and where on the screen it is displayed based on at least one member of the group comprising;
a time a video stream is displayed and view state changes in the video stream. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A computer-implemented two-layer display director process for controlling the display of multiple video streams output to a computer network from video cameras located at multiple distributed sites on a display screen which is capable of simultaneously displaying one or more video streams in display sectors of the screen, comprising:
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using a computer with a memory and processor executing instructions stored on the memory to perform the following process actions, in the first layer, providing a user interface for a user to specify display priorities dictating what video streams are to be displayed on the screen over time, and providing the display priorities to the second layer of the display director process; and in the second layer, translating the user-specified display priorities into probabilistic times automata and using the automata to control what is displayed on the display screen over time and where on the screen it is displayed, wherein said translating comprises, generating a series of state and transition tuples, wherein each state tuple describes a display configuration comprising what views are displayed, where they are displayed on the display screen and for how long, and what views are currently available from the various cameras at all the sites, and wherein each state tuple S takes the form S=<
View_List Selection_List, SL, Max, Mm>
, where the View_List field comprises a list of the possible views combinations of the video cameras present across all the sites, the Selection_List field comprises a list of the cameras whose views are found in the View_List field and whose outputs are selected for display on the display screen, the SL field specifies the screen configuration layout to be used in displaying the views output by the selected video cameras, and Max and Mm fields represent the maximum and minimum time specified for displaying the screen configuration defined by the state tuple, and wherein each transition tuple specifies the conditions under which a displayed screen configuration is to be changed to another screen configuration, and wherein each transition tuple T takes the form T=<
Type, Slast, Scurrent, C_List, V_List, D, P, Snext>
, where the Type field is either “
Time”
or “
View”
, Slast is the state tuple defining the screen configuration displayed just before the currently displayed screen configuration defined by state tuple identified in Scurrent, Snext is the state tuple defining the screen configuration that is to be transitioned to after Scurrent, D refers to one of various time periods, P refers to the transition probability from current state Scurrent to next state Snext, the V_List field comprises a list of one or more views listed in the View_List field of a state tuple that remain after those views that are common with another state tuple are eliminated, and the C_List field comprises a list of the camera or cameras that output the view or views found in the V_List. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification