Method and apparatus for virtual editing of multimedia presentations

• US 8,078,967 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2001
• Issued: 12/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JLB Ventures, LLC
• Original Assignee: JLB Ventures, LLC
• Inventors: Friedman, Glen, Kikinis, Dan
• Primary Examiner(s): BAUTISTA, XIOMARA L
• Application Number:
  US09/997,713
• Publication Number:
  US 20020087595A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,666 Days
• Field of Search: 345/723, 345/717, 345719-721, 345/720, 345/716, 345/731, 345/732, 345/730, 715/512, 715/500.1, 715/500, 715/530, 715/723, 715/717, 715/716, 715719-721, 715/730, 715/731, 715/732, 715/513, 715/501.1, 715/200, 715/205, 715/230, 725/38, 725/44, 725/51, 725/61, 725 46- 49, 707/805, 707/781, 707/705, 707/752
• US Class Current: 715/730
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes

Abstract

A method and apparatus for viewing desired portions of a multimedia presentation. Desired portions of a multimedia presentation are determined. In one embodiment, an editor may determine which portions of the presentation are desired. Alternatively, or additionally, specified criteria may be applied to the presentation to determine the desired portions. An annotation file is then created based upon the determine desired portions of the multimedia presentation. The annotation file contains pointers corresponding to the desired potions of the multimedia presentation. Annotation management software may use the annotation file to cause a display device to display only desired portions of the multimedia presentation. The annotation file may be applied to a broadcast presentation or a recorded program file. In one embodiment the annotation file may contain information related to the desired portions of the multimedia presentation and/or the remainder of the multimedia presentation.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

identifying a plurality of desired portions of a multimedia presentation by user'"'"'s equipment;

automatically creating, at the user'"'"'s equipment, an annotation file for the multimedia presentation, wherein automatically creating the annotation file includes;

storing a first pointer corresponding to a first desired portion of the plurality of desired portions and a second pointer corresponding to a second desired portion of the plurality of desired portions in the annotation file, wherein the first desired portion and the second desired portion are separated in the multimedia presentation by an intervening portion, and

storing displayable content information describing a non-identified portion of the multimedia presentation not included in the plurality of desired portions, wherein content of the non-identified portion is related content of at least one of the plurality of desired portions; and

presenting, of the multimedia presentation, only the plurality of desired portions of the multimedia presentation without presenting any other portion of the multimedia presentation including the intervening portion, wherein the second desired portion is displayed automatically after the first desired portion without user interaction; and

presenting the displayable content information with at least one of the plurality of desired portion.

2. method of claim 1 further comprising:

creating a recorded program file of the multimedia presentation;

playing the recorded program file on a viewing system; and

accessing the annotation file such that, of the multimedia presentation, only the plurality of desired portions are displayed by the viewing system automatically.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the identification of the plurality of desired portions includes applying a predetermined set of criteria to the multimedia presentation.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined set of criteria is based upon a preference of an individual viewer.

5. The method for applying an annotation file of claim 1, wherein the annotation file further contains:

information related to the plurality of desired portions of the multimedia presentation.

6. A method comprising:

broadcasting an event to a first location;

simultaneously identifying a plurality of desired portions of the event at a location remote from said first location;

creating an annotation file for the event substantially simultaneously to said broadcasting, the annotation file storing a first pointer corresponding to a first desired portion of the plurality of desired portions, a second pointer corresponding to a second desired portion of the plurality of desired portions and displayable content information describing a non-identified portion of the broadcasted event not included in the plurality of desired portions, wherein the displayable content information is different from the broadcasted event and wherein content of the non-identified portion is related to content of at least one of the plurality of desired portions; and

transmitting, from the location remote from said first location, to a viewing system the annotation file, including the first pointer, the second pointer and the displayable content information, as a transmission that is distinct from the broadcast of the event, the annotation file configured to automatically display, of the broadcasted event, only the plurality of desired portions without displaying any other portion of the event, and to automatically display the displayable content information along with one or more of the plurality of desired portions, the second desired portion being automatically displayed after the first desired portion without user interaction.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the annotation file is transmitted subsequent to the event.

8. A system comprising:

an editor configured to automatically create an annotation file without user prompt or intervention, the annotation file storing;

a first pointer and a second pointer corresponding to a first desired portion and a second desired portion, respectively, of a multimedia presentation based on at least one predefined set of criterion or criteria, and

displayable content information describing a non-identified portion of the multimedia presentation different from the first desired portion and different from the second desired portion, wherein the displayable content information is different from the multimedia presentation and wherein content of the non-identified portion is related to content of at least one of the first desired portion and the second desired portion;

a first transmission medium to transmit the multimedia presentation to a multimedia viewing system; and

a second transmission medium to transmit the annotation file to the multimedia viewing system such that the multimedia viewing system automatically displays;

of the multimedia presentation, only the first and second desired portions without displaying the annotations, and

the displayable content information along with one or more of the first and second desired portions,

wherein the second desired portion is displayed automatically after the first desired portion without user interaction.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the annotation file further contains:

information related to at least one of the first and second desired portions of the multimedia presentation.