Publishing key frames of a video content item being viewed by a first user to one or more second viewers

• US 9,232,248 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2014
• Issued: 01/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Concert Technology Corporation
• Original Assignee: Porto Technology, LLC (Concert Technology Corporation)
• Inventors: Issa, Alfredo C., Walsh, Richard J., Kandekar, Kunal, Evans, Gregory M., Curtis, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): SHANG, ANNAN Q
• Application Number:
  US14/465,017
• Publication Number:
  US 20140366075A1
• Time in Patent Office: 502 Days
• Field of Search: 725 39- 61, 725 87-120, 709217-232
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/735 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• 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: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1063 Discovery through centralising entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1065 Discovery involving distributed pre-established resource-based relationships among peers, e.g. based on distributed hash tables [DHT] pre-configuration of logical or physical connections H04L67/1053
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/252 Processing of multiple end-users' preferences to derive collaborative data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2541 Rights Management protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10; security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/632 using a connection between clients on a wide area network, e.g. setting up a peer-to-peer communication via Internet for retrieving video segments from the hard-disk of other client devices broadcast-related systems characterised by transmission among terminal devices H04H60/80; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73

Abstract

A device receives key frame information for each of a plurality of key frames of a video content item and sends the key frame information from the device to a recipient while a corresponding segment of the video content item is being rendered by the device. The key frame information may include key frames of the video content item, references to the key frames of the video content item stored by one or more remote sources, or information identifying the key frames of the video content item to enable extraction of the key frames by a recipient device. Each key frame is representative of a segment of the video content item. The key frame information for the video content item is then sent to second users while the first user views the corresponding segment of the video content item. Advertisements may be sent with, or replace, the key frame information.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a communication interface communicatively coupling the device to a network;

a control system coupled to a memory and the communication interface and which is adapted to;

receive key frame information for each of a plurality of key frames of a video content item; and

send, via the communication interface, the key frame information from the device to a recipient while a corresponding segment of the video content item is being rendered by the device.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the control system is further adapted to:

extract the plurality of key frames from the video content item during playback of the video content item at the device.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the control system is further adapted to:

extract the plurality of key frames from the video content item prior to playback of the video content item at the device.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the key frame information comprises information identifying a plurality of frames of the video content item.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein in sending the key frame information, the control system is further configured to:

send the key frame information for the plurality of key frames all at once; and

subsequently send timing information such that each key frame of the plurality of key frames is sent as the corresponding segment of the video content item is rendered by the device.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the control system is further adapted to insert at least one advertisement into the plurality of key frames.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein the control system is further adapted to:

insert the at least one advertisement between two successive key frames from the plurality of key frames.

8. The device of claim 6 wherein the control system is further adapted to:

replace a key frame from the plurality of key frames with at least one advertisement.

9. The device of claim 6 wherein the control system is further adapted to:

modify a key frame from the plurality of key frames to insert at least one advertisement into the key frame.

10. The device of claim 6 wherein the control system is further adapted to:

identify a high value key frame from the plurality of key frames; and

insert at least one advertisement into the plurality of key frames at a predetermined location.

11. The device of claim 10 wherein the predetermined location is before the high value key frame.

12. The device of claim 10 wherein the predetermined location is after the high value key frame.

13. The device of claim 10 wherein the predetermined location is within the high value key frame.

14. The device of claim 6 wherein the control system is further adapted to:

identify a low value key frame from the plurality of key frames; and

replace the low value key frame with at least one advertisement.

15. The device of claim 1 wherein the control system is further adapted to:

identify a key frame from the plurality of key frames that is desirable for at least one product placement advertisement; and

insert the at least one product placement advertisement into the plurality of key frames at a predetermined location.

16. The device of claim 10 wherein the predetermined location is selected from the group consisting of:

before the key frame identified as being desirable for the at least one product placement advertisement;

after the key frame identified as being desirable for the at least one product placement advertisement; and

within the key frame identified as being desirable for the at least one product placement advertisement.

17. The device of claim 1 wherein the device receives the video content item from a one video playback device and sends the video content item to a display device for presentation.

18. The device of claim 1 wherein the device is a wireless mobile device.

19. A system comprising:

a server having a server communication interface; and

a server control system coupled to a server memory and the server communication interface and which is adapted to;

receive key frame information for each of a plurality of key frames of a video content item; and

send the key frame information from the server control system to at least one device while a corresponding segment of the video content item is being rendered by the at least one device.

20. A system comprising:

a first device having a first device communication interface and a first device control system, the first device control system coupled to a first device memory and the first device communication interface and adapted to;

obtain key frame information for each of a plurality of key frames of a video content item; and

send the key frame information from the first device to a server via the first device communication interface; and

the server having a server communication interface and a server control system coupled to a server memory and the server communication interface and which is adapted to;

receive the key frame information and send it to a second device via the server communication interface.