MediaDescription data structures for carrying descriptive content metadata and content acquisition data in multimedia systems

• US 7,644,103 B2
• Filed: 01/25/2005
• Issued: 01/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Lee, Victor S., Cleron, Michael A., Scott, Samuel Thomas III, Carle, Kevin T., Smith, Geoffrey R
• Primary Examiner(s): BOCCIO, VINCENT F
• Application Number:
  US11/042,480
• Publication Number:
  US 20060167903A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,806 Days
• Field of Search: 707/104.1
• US Class Current: 707/791
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/78 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching

Abstract

A MediaDescription data structure that includes both descriptive metadata, such as EPG information, about a multimedia content item and instructions for acquiring the content item is assigned to each multimedia content item in a multimedia system. A MediaDescription data structure is transferable as a token for representing the content item. The acquisition information may also include information about presenting the content item in different view contexts, as well as information about relationships to other pieces of content, and information about how each different version of the content item is to be acquired and displayed. MediaDescription data structure tokens can be used to facilitate digital video recording (DVR) processes, Internet content rendering processes, multimedia search processes, search results aggregating processes, video-on-demand (VOD) processes, pay-per-view processes, and program guide rendering processes.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

creating descriptive metadata for a multimedia content item;

creating acquisition information for acquiring the content item, wherein the acquisition information describes information about relationships to other pieces of content items to enable receiving and rendering different service types into a coherent presentation and to aggregate a large number of search items;

presenting the content item in different view contexts, different platforms across multimedia program types and service types;

storing an access to the descriptive metadata and an access to the acquisition information in a data structure assigned to the content item;

wherein the data structure is digitally transferable as a token and a portable unit for enabling recipients of the data structure to access the descriptive metadata and the acquisition information;

wherein the data structure can autonomously carry diversely created electronic programming guide (EPG) data, and acquisition information for a single piece of content, the acquisition information is usable with diverse services that can provide diverse types of multimedia content;

wherein the token is presented in at least one of digital video recording (DVR) processes, Internet content rendering processes, multimedia search processes, video-on demand (VOD) processes, pay-per-view processes, or program guide rendering processes, includes information about relationships to other pieces of content, and provides information about how each different version of the content item is to be acquired and displayed;

providing a smooth display of arbitrary content from a source by integrating the arbitrary content with information from another source in a seamless manner; and

providing a new schema for provisioning service information to client devices that is open-ended and dealing with a present and a future proliferation of service types, different platforms, client types, and multimedia program types.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the storing comprises including the descriptive metadata itself in the data structure and including the acquisition information itself in the data structure.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the storing an access to the acquisition information further comprises storing a service collection to be the acquisition information.

4. The method as recited in claim 3, further comprising executing the acquisition information, wherein the service collection acquires the content item by determining one or more current conditions of the recipient of the data structure and providing one or more services selected in response to the current conditions.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the one or more current conditions to be determined include one of an availability of a hardware to render a service or a permission to receive a service.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the token representing the content item and the descriptive metadata to a component of a multimedia system.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising transferring the token of the content item and the descriptive metadata between clients in a multimedia system, wherein the transferring between clients bypasses service providers of the multimedia system.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising naming the data structure with a media descriptor and transferring the media descriptor as an identifier of the data structure in a multimedia system.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising presenting the token for the content item in at least one of an aggregating process for listing search results, a pay-per-view process, or a program guide rendering process.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising storing one or more instances of service data, expiration data, and relationship data in the data structure, wherein the relationship data indicates a relation of the data structure to a second data structure assigned to a second content item.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein storing the relationship data includes storing a media descriptor to information stored in the second data structure.

12. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the content item is a segment of the second content item.

13. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the second content item is a segment of the content item.

14. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising creating the multimedia content item, the descriptive metadata, and the acquisition information on a client device and storing the access to the descriptive metadata and the access to the acquisition information in the data structure on the client device.

15. A hard drive comprising a plurality of executable instructions which, when executed, implement a method according to claim 1.

16. A data structure stored on hardware comprising a multimedia content item that includes descriptive metadata about a content item and instructions for acquiring the multimedia content item, wherein the data structure is a MediaDescription;

wherein instruction for acquiring the multimedia content item describes information about relationships to other pieces of content items to enable receiving and rendering different service types into a coherent presentation and to aggregate a large number of search items;

wherein the content item is viewed in different view contexts, different platforms across multimedia program types or service types;

wherein the data structure is digitally transferable as a token and a portable unit for enabling recipients of the data structure to access the descriptive metadata and acquisition information;

wherein the data structure can autonomously carry diversely created electronic programming guide (EPG) data, and acquisition information for a single piece of content, the acquisition information is usable with diverse services that can provide diverse types of multimedia content;

wherein the token is represented in at least one of digital video recording (DVR) processes, Internet content rendering processes, multimedia search processes, video-on demand (VOD) processes, pay-per-view processes, or program guide rendering processes, includes information about relationships to other pieces of content, and provides information about how each different version of the content item is to be displayed;

wherein a smooth display occurs for arbitrary content from a source by integrating the arbitrary content with information from another source in a seamless manner; and

wherein a new schema for provisioning service information to client devices is open ended and deals with a present and a future proliferation of service type, different platforms, client types, and multimedia program types.

17. The data structure as recited in claim 16, wherein identifiers in the MediaDescription provide links to data outside the data structure to represent a descriptive metadata part of the MediaDescription and an acquisition data part of the MediaDescription.

18. The data structure as recited in claim 16, wherein an acquisition data part of the MediaDescription comprises a service collection.

19. The data structure as recited in claim 18, wherein the service collection is capable of providing multiple sets of services, each set arranged for providing service variations to a multimedia client based on one or more conditions of the multimedia client.

20. A system, comprising:

a hard drive configured to communicatively couple to multimedia clients;

multimedia content items;

an individualized MediaDescription data structure stored on the hard drive, assigned to each content item as a transferable token for representing the content item,

wherein each MediaDescription data structure includes at least an access to descriptive metadata of the content item;

wherein each MediaDescription data structure includes at least an access to acquisition data for obtaining the content item, the acquisition data describes information about relationships to other content items to enable receiving and rendering different service types into a coherent presentation and to aggregate a large number of search items;

wherein the content items are presented in different view contexts, different platforms across multimedia program types and service types;

wherein the acquisition data is capable of comprising a service collection;

wherein the MediaDescription data structure can autonomously carry diversely created electronic programming guide (EPG) data, and acquisition data for a single piece of content, the acquisition data is usable with diverse services that can provide diverse types of multimedia content;

wherein the transferable token is represented in at least one of digital video recording (DVR) processes, Internet content rendering processes, multimedia search processes, video-on-demand (VOD) processes, pay-per-view processes, or program guide rendering processes, includes information about relationships to other pieces of content, and provides information about how each different version of the content item is to be acquired and displayed;

wherein a smooth display occurs for arbitrary content from a source by integrating the arbitrary content with information from another source in a seamless manner; and

wherein a new schema for provisioning service information to client devices is open-ended and deals with a present and a future proliferation of service types, different platforms, client types, and multimedia program types.