Methods and systems for use in providing playback of variable length content in a fixed length framework

• US 8,842,967 B2
• Filed: 06/05/2009
• Issued: 09/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Deluxe 3D LLC (Deluxe Corp.), Deluxe Digital Distribution Inc. (Deluxe Corp.), Deluxe Digital Studios, Inc. (Deluxe Corp.), Deluxe Entertainment Services Inc., Deluxe Laboratories LLC, Deluxe Media Inc., Deluxe One, LLC, Softitler Net, Inc., Deluxe Creative Services Inc. (The Framestore Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Deluxe Media Inc.
• Inventors: McDermott, Jeff, Randall, Bruce, Kao, Sherry
• Primary Examiner(s): Dang, Hung
• Assistant Examiner(s): Park, Sunghyoun
• Application Number:
  US12/479,474
• Publication Number:
  US 20100142915A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,936 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 386/239
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2537 Optical discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/036 Insert-editing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/30 on the same track as the main recording
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/3027 used signal is digitally coded
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42646 for reading from or writing on a non-volatile solid state storage medium, e.g. DVD, CD-ROM
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4825 using a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlists

Abstract

The present embodiments methods and systems for use in providing supplemental content to be played back with a portable storage medium through a playback device that conforms to a fixed length content framework, by receive request for supplemental content from a playback device; identifying the supplemental content; retrieve supplemental content; accessing a predefined clip template defined prior to receiving the request; processing the supplemental content and generating a plurality of clips of supplemental content that have a playback length that is a fraction of a playback length of the supplemental content; and forward supplemental content clips to the requesting playback device.

Claims

1. A method for use in providing supplemental content to be played back with a portable storage medium through a playback device that conforms to a fixed length content framework, the method comprising:

receiving, over a network, a request for supplemental content from a playback device;

identifying the supplemental content;

retrieving supplemental content;

accessing a predefined clip template defined prior to receiving the request, where the clip template defines multiple clips and where a first plurality of clips of the multiple clips are defined to generate clips of the supplemental content that progressively increase in size;

processing the supplemental content and generating a plurality of clips of supplemental content in accordance with the clip template, such that the plurality of clips of supplemental content have a playback length that is a fraction of a playback length of the supplemental content; and

forwarding the plurality of clips of supplemental content to the requesting playback device.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the retrieving the supplemental content comprises retrieving the supplemental content as it is generated.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the retrieving the supplemental content as it is generated comprises retrieving multimedia content from a capturing device as the capturing device captures and records a live event with an unknown playback duration.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the accessing a predefined template comprises:

determining parameters regarding at least one or more capabilities of the playback device; and

selecting the predefined clip template from a plurality of predefined clip templates defined prior to receiving the request.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the predefined clip template is defined prior to content being recorded to the portable storage medium.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the accessing a predefined template comprises:

receiving an identification of clip information recorded on the portable storage medium accessed by the playback device; and

selecting the predefined clip template from a plurality of predefined clip templates, defined prior to receiving the request, based on the clip information.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the predefined clip template directly corresponds with clip information recorded on the portable storage medium.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating the clips of supplemental content comprises incorporating null data into a plurality of the clips of supplemental content such that the clips of supplemental content comply with the selected clip template.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising;

compressing the supplemental content comprising removing packets of null data incorporated into the clips of supplemental content prior to forwarding the plurality of clips of supplemental content to the requesting playback device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating the clips of supplemental content comprises incorporating padding data into a plurality of the clips of supplemental content such that the clips of supplemental content comply with clip information recorded on the portable storage medium and associated with the supplemental content.