Caption data delivery apparatus and methods
First Claim
1. Apparatus configured for use within a packet-switched network, said apparatus comprising:
- a display device;
at least one interface configured to enable communication with a streaming multimedia content server and a closed-caption data server associated with said packet-switched network;
a storage device; and
processor apparatus, said processor apparatus in data communication with said display device, said at least one interface and said storage device and configured to run at least one computer program thereon, said computer program comprising a plurality of instructions which are configured to, when executed, cause said apparatus configured for use within a packet-switched network to;
determine an availability of closed-caption data associated with multimedia content;
receive and decode said closed-caption data from said closed-caption data server via use of a first delay;
receive and decode said multimedia content from said streaming multimedia content server via use of a second delay;
based on said first and second delays, synchronize said closed-caption data with said multimedia content; and
display said closed-caption data synchronized with said multimedia content on said display device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus and methods for efficiently and flexibly providing caption data (e.g., closed captioning) to subscribers of a content-based network, such as for example Internet protocol television (IPTV) subscribers. In one exemplary embodiment, the apparatus includes a server performing real-time extraction and encapsulation of caption data, transport of caption data to client devices over the network, and use of one or more applications running on the client devices to decode and display the caption data consistent with the multimedia (audio/video) content with which it is associated. In one variant, instant messaging (IM) infrastructure is used to authenticate clients and receive and display the caption data via a separate transport process. Server and client-side apparatus adapted for caption data receipt, decoding and display are also disclosed.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. Apparatus configured for use within a packet-switched network, said apparatus comprising:
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a display device; at least one interface configured to enable communication with a streaming multimedia content server and a closed-caption data server associated with said packet-switched network; a storage device; and processor apparatus, said processor apparatus in data communication with said display device, said at least one interface and said storage device and configured to run at least one computer program thereon, said computer program comprising a plurality of instructions which are configured to, when executed, cause said apparatus configured for use within a packet-switched network to; determine an availability of closed-caption data associated with multimedia content; receive and decode said closed-caption data from said closed-caption data server via use of a first delay; receive and decode said multimedia content from said streaming multimedia content server via use of a second delay; based on said first and second delays, synchronize said closed-caption data with said multimedia content; and display said closed-caption data synchronized with said multimedia content on said display device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. User apparatus configured for use within a packet-switched network, said user apparatus comprising:
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a display device; an interface configured to enable communication with a streaming multimedia content server and a closed-caption data server associated with said packet-switched network; a storage device; and a processor apparatus in data communication with said display device, said interface and said storage device, said processor apparatus configured to run at least one computer program thereon, said computer program comprising a plurality of instructions which are configured to, when executed, cause said user apparatus to; determine an availability of closed-caption data disposed within a metadata file associated with multimedia content, said metadata file comprising one or more synchronization marks; receive and decode said closed-caption data from said closed-caption data server; receive and decode said multimedia content from said streaming multimedia content server; based at least in part on said one or more synchronization marks, synchronize said closed-caption data with said multimedia content; and display said closed-caption data synchronized with said multimedia content on said display device. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of delivering a plurality of content within a content distribution network comprising at least one server and a plurality of consumer premises equipment (CPE) in direct or indirect signal communication with said at least one server, said method comprising:
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providing caption data services to a plurality of subscribers associated with respective ones of said plurality of CPE, said plurality of subscribers each having a respective subscription level, each respective subscription level comprising one of at least a first level and a second level; identifying user-selected content to be delivered to one or more of said plurality of CPE; extracting caption data from said user-selected content; producing a plurality of copies of a same incoming vertical blanking (VBI) data, said plurality of copies being encoded in different formats; delivering said user-selected content to said one or more of said plurality of CPE; and selectively delivering said caption data to said one or more of said plurality of CPE, said selective delivering based at least in part on a respective identifying parameter associated with each of said one or more CPE; wherein said plurality of copies of a same VBI data are available only to said plurality of subscribers having said second subscription level. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of delivering media content and caption data to a client device over a packet-switched network, comprising:
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receiving, at said client device, said media content via a first transport stream, and said caption data via a second, different transport stream; and processing said first and second transport streams using respective first and second software applications within said client device, said first software application comprising a media player application comprising a video decoder, and said second software application comprising an instant messaging application, said media player application and said instant messaging application configured to, when executed, synchronize said media content with said caption data; wherein said synchronization by said media player application and said instant messaging application of said media content with said caption data is based at least in part on a delay differential between a first encoding method of said media content and a second encoding method of said caption data. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of delivering media content and caption data to one or more client devices over a packet-switched network, said method comprising:
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determining an availability of said caption data associated with said media content; receiving and decoding said caption data from a caption data server via use of a first delay; receiving and decoding said media content from a streaming media content server via use of a second delay; based at least on said first and second delays, synchronizing said caption data with said media content; and delivering said caption data synchronized with said media content to said one or more client devices. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification