Video player with assisted seek

• US 9,363,579 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2010
• Issued: 06/07/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Frumar, Julian, Schrock, Jasson, Junee, Ryan, Ratner, Simon, Stearns, Geoff
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Tuyetlien T
• Application Number:
  US12/976,858
• Publication Number:
  US 20120166950A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,994 Days
• Field of Search: 715/719
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/437 Interfacing the upstream path of the transmission network, e.g. for transmitting client requests to a VOD server flow control in data networks H04L47/10; streaming protocols, e.g. RTP or RTCP, H04L65/65; scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests in data packet switching networks H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47217 for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8153 comprising still images, e.g. texture, background image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8549 Creating video summaries, e.g. movie trailer retrieval in video databases by using presentations in form of a video summary G06F16/739

Abstract

A computer-implemented method provides a user interface for users to navigate through a video content item with various navigation options including the ability to navigate through portions of the video content item not buffered at the user'"'"'s viewer. The navigation method receives gestures from users that result in navigation.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

requesting a video content item for viewing;

receiving a stream including the video content item;

receiving a plurality of thumbnails, each thumbnail associated with a time point in the video content item;

playing the stream of the video content item starting at a first time point;

receiving at a viewing progress bar in the user interface a selection gesture at a second time point in the video content item;

responsive to receiving the selection gesture, displaying a subset of the plurality of thumbnails, the subset arranged chronologically and associated with a first time range of the video content item, the subset having a thumbnail associated with the second time point, wherein the thumbnail associated with the second time point is displayed at a larger size than the remainder of the thumbnails in the subset;

receiving in the user interface a drag gesture, the drag gesture having a magnitude and a direction;

dynamically updating the thumbnails in the subset responsive to the magnitude and direction of the drag gesture, wherein the updated thumbnails span a second time range of the video content item; and

visually displaying an indicator indicating the magnitude and the direction of the drag gesture, the magnitude represented visually by how far the indicator extended, the indicator displayed adjacent to the thumbnail that is displayed at the larger size.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein dynamically updating the thumbnails occurs at a speed based on the magnitude of the drag gesture.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a selection of a third time point in the video content item associated with one of the subset of the plurality of thumbnails and a requesting the stream starting at the third time point;

receiving the stream of the video content item starting at the third time point; and

playing the video content item at the third time point.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the video content item is played at a first speed; and

the plurality of thumbnails is updated at a second speed based on the first speed.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein updating the plurality of thumbnails comprises displaying a thumbnail associated with the video content item at the time point currently being displayed at the first size.

6. A method comprising:

requesting, by a client device from a server over a network, a video content item;

receiving, by the client device from the server over the network, a stream including the video content item;

receiving, by the client device, a plurality of thumbnails, each thumbnail associated with a time point in the video content item;

displaying the video content item in a user interface on the client device;

receiving at a viewing progress bar in the user interface a selection gesture at a first time point of the video content item;

displaying a plurality of frames comprising one largest frame in the user interface in response to the received selection gesture;

responsive to receiving the selection gesture, displaying a subset of the plurality of thumbnails in the plurality of frames, the subset arranged chronologically and associated with a first time range of the video content item, the subset having a first thumbnail associated with the first time point wherein the first thumbnail is displayed in the largest frame;

receiving in the user interface a drag gesture, the drag gesture having a magnitude and a direction;

dynamically updating the thumbnails in the subset responsive to the magnitude and direction of the drag gesture, wherein the updated thumbnails span a second time range of the video content item;

visually displaying an indicator indicating the magnitude and the direction of the drag gesture, the magnitude represented visually by how far the indicator extended, the indicator displayed adjacent to the largest frame;

displaying the video content item at a second time point, the second time point within the second time range; and

updating the largest frame to display a second thumbnail associated with the second time point.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein:

displaying the video content item comprises displaying the video content item at a first video speed and a first video direction;

the gesture has a magnitude and a direction;

updating the video speed based on the magnitude of the gesture; and

updating the video direction based on the direction of the gesture.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising receiving no gesture in the user interface at a third time point in the video content item and displaying the video content item starting at the third time point at the first video speed and first video direction responsive to receiving no gesture.

9. The method of claim 6 wherein the subset comprises a thumbnail associated with a time point in the video content item that has not yet been received.