System and method for generating coded video sequences from still media

• US 8,955,031 B2
• Filed: 08/08/2011
• Issued: 02/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Basso, Andrea, Cosatto, Eric, Greenspan, Steven Lloyd, Weimer, David M.
• Primary Examiner(s): HUYNH, AN SON PHI
• Application Number:
  US13/205,321
• Publication Number:
  US 20120033743A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,282 Days
• Field of Search: 725/23, 725 46- 47, 725/135, 715/723
• US Class Current: 725/135
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23412 for generating or manipulating the scene composition of objects, e.g. MPEG-4 objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8153 comprising still images, e.g. texture, background image

Abstract

The invention provides a system and method that transforms a set of still/motion media (i.e., a series of related or unrelated still frames, web-pages rendered as images, or video clips) or other multimedia, into a video stream that is suitable for delivery over a display medium, such as TV, cable TV, computer displays, wireless display devices, etc. The video data stream may be presented and displayed in real time or stored and later presented through a set-top box, for example. Because these media are transformed into coded video streams (e.g. MPEG-2, MPEG-4, etc.), a user can watch them on a display screen without the need to connect to the Internet through a service provider. The user may request and interact with the desired media through a simple telephone interface, for example. Moreover, several wireless and cable-based services can be developed on the top of this system. In one possible embodiment, the system for generating a coded video sequence may include an input unit that receives the multimedia input and extracts image data, and derives the virtual camera scripts and coding hints from the image data, a video sequence generator that generates a video sequence based on the extracted image data and the derived virtual camera scripts and coding hints, and a video encoder that encodes the generated video sequence using the coding hints and outputs the coded video sequence to an output device. The system may also provide customized video sequence generation services to subscribers.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by an input unit, a plurality of still images, wherein the plurality of still images are independent of a video and the plurality of still images are not related to the video;

extracting, by the input unit, image data from the plurality of still images, the image data comprising virtual camera script data and coding hint data;

deriving, by the input unit, a virtual camera script from a virtual camera script database based on the image data, the virtual camera script describing operations to transform the plurality of still images into a video sequence, wherein the virtual camera script comprises instructions resulting in simulated camera movement over portions of the plurality of still images during the video sequence;

deriving, by the input unit, a coding hint from a coding hints database based on the image data, wherein the coding hint specifies a frame number in a sequence and a number of frames;

generating, by a video sequence generator, the video sequence based on the virtual camera script and the coding hint;

generating, by a video encoder, a video encoding sequence based on the virtual camera script and the coding hint; and

generating a customized sequence by inserting a customized advertisement in the video encoding sequence.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the customized advertisement comprises an offer contingent on interaction with the customized advertisement.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving preference information from one of a user and a service provider; and

storing the preference information in a user profile, wherein the video sequence is based on the user profile.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the user profile comprises one of format settings, coding preferences, handicap settings, storage settings, addresses of image data, device characteristics, and billing information.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the format settings comprise one of text font settings, text style settings, and display settings.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the coding preferences are used as coding hints and comprise one of audio coding preferences and visual coding preferences.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the handicap settings comprise one of visual enhancement settings and audio enhancements settings.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the storage addresses of image data comprise one of a computer image file, an image database, a Web page address, a universal resource locator, a floppy disk, and compact disk read-only memory.

9. The method of claim 3, wherein the user provides multimedia data input and preference information to an input unit using one of a touch-tone menu, an interactive voice response system, a voice recognition system, a touch screen, a stylus, a keyboard, a Web page, the Internet, a telephone, a cable television, a personal computer, and a wireless communication device.

10. The method of claim 3, wherein the user profile comprises information about the display devices owned by the user.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the customized sequence is customized for one of the devices comprising the user profile.

12. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable storage device having instructions stored which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving, by an input unit, a plurality of still images, wherein the plurality of still images are independent of a video and the plurality of still images are not related to the video;

extracting, by the input unit, image data from the plurality of still images, the image data comprising virtual camera script data and coding hint data;

deriving, by the input unit, a virtual camera script from a virtual camera script database based on the image data, the virtual camera script describing operations to transform the plurality of still images into a video sequence, wherein the virtual camera script comprises instructions resulting in simulated camera movement over portions of the plurality of still images during the video sequence;

deriving, by the input unit, a coding hint from a coding hints database based on the image data, wherein the coding hint specifies a frame number in a sequence and a number of frames;

generating, by a video sequence generator, the video sequence based on the virtual camera script and the coding hint;

generating, by a video encoder, a video encoding sequence based on the virtual camera script and the coding hint; and

generating a customized sequence by inserting a customized advertisement in the video encoding sequence.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the customized advertisement comprises an offer contingent on interaction with the customized advertisement.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the computer-readable storage device has additional instructions stored which result in the operations further comprising:

receiving preference information from one of a user and a service provider; and

storing the preference information in a user profile, wherein the video sequence is based on the user profile.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the user profile comprises one of format settings, coding preferences, handicap settings, storage settings, addresses of image data, device characteristics, and billing information.

16. A computer-readable storage device having instructions stored which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by an input unit, a plurality of still images, wherein the plurality of still images are independent of a video and the plurality of still images are not related to the video;

extracting, by the input unit, image data from the plurality of still images, the image data comprising virtual camera script data and coding hint data;

deriving, by the input unit, a virtual camera script from a virtual camera script database based on the image data, the virtual camera script describing operations to transform the plurality of still images into a video sequence, wherein the virtual camera script comprises instructions resulting in simulated camera movement over portions of the plurality of still images during the video sequence;

deriving, by the input unit, a coding hint from a coding hints database based on the image data, wherein the coding hint specifies a frame number in a sequence and a number of frames;

generating, by a video sequence generator, the video sequence based on the virtual camera script and the coding hint;

generating, by a video encoder, a video encoding sequence based on the virtual camera script and the coding hint; and

generating a customized sequence by inserting a customized advertisement in the video encoding sequence.

17. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16 wherein the customized advertisement comprises an offer contingent on interaction with the customized advertisement.

18. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16, the computer-readable storage device having additional instructions stored which result in the operations further comprising:

receiving preference information from one of a user and a service provider; and

storing the preference information in a user profile, wherein the video sequence is based on the user profile.