Device and method for providing a television sequence using database and user inputs

• US 8,566,880 B2
• Filed: 01/21/2011
• Issued: 10/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fraunhofer Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forsching E.V.
• Original Assignee: Fraunhofer Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forsching E.V.
• Inventors: Kuehhirt, Uwe, Haupt, Andreas, Dittmar, Christian, Dunker, Peter, Grossman, Holger
• Primary Examiner(s): Goodarzi, Nasser
• Assistant Examiner(s): GRAHAM, PAUL J
• Application Number:
  US13/011,563
• Publication Number:
  US 20110179452A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,005 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 725/53
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/4393 Multimedia presentations, e.g. slide shows, multimedia albums
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234336 by media transcoding, e.g. video is transformed into a slideshow of still pictures or audio is converted into text
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2365 Multiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2368 Multiplexing of audio and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23892 involving embedding information at multiplex stream level, e.g. embedding a watermark at packet level
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2393 involving handling client requests scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26616 for merging a unicast channel into a multicast channel, e.g. in a VOD application, when a client served by unicast channel catches up a multicast channel to save bandwidth data multicast over packet-switching network H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2665 Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4347 Demultiplexing of several video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A device for providing a television sequence has a database interface, a search request receiver, a television sequence rendition module and an output interface. The database interface accesses at least one database, using a search request. The search request receiver is formed to control the database interface so as to acquire at least audio content and at least image content separate therefrom via the database interface for the search request. The television sequence rendition module combines the separate audio content and the image content to generate the television sequence based on the audio content and the image content. The output interface outputs the television sequence to a television sequence distributor.

Claims

1. Device for providing a television sequence comprising:

a database interface for accessing at least one database, using a search request;

a search request receiver formed to control the database interface so as to acquire an audio content and an image content separate from the audio content via the database interface in response to the search request, wherein the audio content or the image content comprises content data;

a television sequence rendition module for combining the audio content and the image content to generate the television sequence based on the audio content and the image content; and

an output interface for outputting the television sequence to a television sequence distributor,

wherein the device further comprises a memory to store the audio content or the image content and wherein the device is configured to classify the audio content or the image content obtained in response to the search request corresponding to the content data, so that the audio content or the image content are classified regarding their contents,

wherein the search request receiver is formed to query and acquire a further queried audio content and a further queried image content subsequent to and depending on the classification of the audio content or the image content obtained in response to the search request regarding their contents, wherein the further queried audio content or the further queried image content is different from the audio content or the image content, and

wherein the television sequence rendition module is formed to additionally combine the further queried audio content or the further queried image content into the television sequence, and wherein the television sequence rendition module is formed to generate the television sequence such that a change from the audio content to the further audio content temporally matches a change from the image content to the further image content.

2. Device according to claim 1, comprising the database, the database comprising first and second data sources spatially separated from each other, wherein the database interface is formed to query the audio content from the first data source and query the image content from the second data source.

3. Device according to claim 1, wherein the database interface is formed to access further text-based databases and query textual information responsive to the search query.

4. Device according to claim 3, further comprising a text-to-speech module, wherein the text-to-speech module is formed to convert the textual information into additional audio contents and forward the same to the television rendition module.

5. Device according to claim 1, wherein the database interface is formed to determine a further search request from the audio content.

6. Device according to claim 1, wherein the audio content comprises a bar or a refrain with a beginning and an end, and wherein the television sequence rendition module is formed to match a change from the image content to the further image content with the bar or with the beginning or the end of the refrain.

7. Device according to claim 1, wherein the search request comprises static control information or dynamic control information, wherein the dynamic control information depends on an input from users having received the television sequence.

8. Device according to claim 7, wherein the television sequence distributor is formed to communicate the television sequence to the users, and wherein the search request receiver is formed to acquire the dynamic control information in form of a message from users.

9. Device according to claim 8, further comprising a user management module, wherein the user management module is formed to register particular users of the device, wherein the search request receiver is formed to process dynamic control information from the particular users differently than dynamic control information from the users.

10. Device according to claim 1, wherein the search request receiver is formed to acquire a continuous audio stream and a multiplicity of image contents, and wherein the television rendition module is formed to acquire the television sequence by combining the multiplicity of image contents into the continuous audio stream.

11. Device according to claim 1, wherein the search request receiver is formed to acquire an image sequence and a multiplicity of audio contents, and wherein the television rendition module is formed to acquire the television sequence by combining the multiplicity of audio contents into the image sequence.

12. Device according to claim 1, further comprising corrector for manual correction of audio or image contents or renderer for rendering transitions between audio and image contents.

13. Device according to claim 1, wherein the audio content of the image content comprises content data, and wherein the television sequence rendition module is formed to enhance the audio content or the image content by textual information on the basis of the content data.

14. Device according to claim 12, wherein the content data designates a genre of the audio content or the image content, and wherein the television sequence rendition module is formed to perform the combining of the audio content and the image content corresponding to the genre.

15. Device according to claim 14, wherein the television sequence rendition module is formed to fade the image content in or out depending on the genre.

16. Device according to claim 1, wherein the television rendition module is formed to fade in context-dependent additional information into the television sequence.

17. Device according to claim 1, wherein the television sequence rendition module is formed to recognize human faces from the image content and distort recognized human faces.

18. Method of providing a television sequence, comprising:

accessing a database by a database interface, using a search request;

controlling the database interface by a search request receiver to acquire audio content and image content separate from the audio content via the database interface in response to the search request, wherein the audio content or the image content comprises content data;

combining the audio content and the image content by a television sequence rendition module to generate the television sequence based on the audio content and the image content; and

outputting the television sequence by an output interface to a television sequence distributor,

wherein the audio content or the image content is stored in a memory and the audio content or the image content is classified corresponding to the content data, so that the audio content or the image content are classified regarding their contents,

wherein a further queried audio content and a further queried image content is queried and acquired subsequent to and depending on the classification of the audio content or the image content obtained in response to the search request regarding their contents by the search request receiver, wherein the further queried audio content or the further queried image content is different from the audio content or the image content, and

wherein the further queried audio content or the further queried image content is additionally combined into the television sequence by the television sequence rendition module, and wherein the television sequence rendition module is formed to generate the television sequence such that a change from the audio content to the further audio content temporally matches a change from the image content to the further image content.

19. A non-transitory storage medium having stored thereon a computer program with program code for performing, when running on a processor, the method of providing a television sequence, the method comprising:

accessing a database by a database interface, using a search request;

controlling the database interface by a search request receiver to acquire audio content and image content separate from the audio content via the database interface in response to the search request, wherein the audio content or the image content comprises content data;

combining the audio content and the image content by a television sequence rendition module to generate the television sequence based on the audio content and the image content; and

outputting the television sequence by an output interface to a television sequence distributor,

wherein the audio content or the image content is stored in a memory and the audio content or the image content is classified corresponding to the content data, so that the audio content or the image content are classified regarding their contents,

wherein a further queried audio content and a further queried image content is queried and acquired subsequent to and depending on the classification of the audio content or the image content obtained in response to the search request regarding their contents by the search request receiver, wherein the further queried audio content or the further queried image content is different from the audio content or the image content, and

wherein the further queried audio content or the further queried image content is additionally combined into the television sequence by the television sequence rendition module, and wherein the television sequence rendition module is formed to generate the television sequence such that a change from the audio content to the further audio content temporally matches a change from the image content to the further image content,

when the computer program is executed on a computer.