Enhancing a rendering system to distinguish presentation time from data time

• US 9,785,400 B2
• Filed: 05/18/2015
• Issued: 10/10/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Virentem Ventures LLC
• Original Assignee: Virentem Ventures LLC
• Inventors: Goldhor, Richard S., Bianchi, Edward J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Brier, Jeffery A
• Application Number:
  US14/714,866
• Publication Number:
  US 20150268925A1
• Time in Patent Office: 876 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/41 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/4393 Multimedia presentations, e.g. slide shows, multimedia albums
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/005 Reproducing at a different information rate from the information rate of recording for television signals H04N5/783

Abstract

A machine-implemented method: (A) maintains a value of a data time parameter representing an amount of time required by a rendering system to render a portion of temporal sequence presentation data at a default presentation rate; (B) provides the value of the data time parameter to a first component of the rendering system; (C) calculates, based on the value of the data time parameter, a value of a presentation time parameter representing an amount of time elapsed during rendering of the portion of the temporal sequence presentation data; and (D) provides the value of the presentation time parameter to a second component of the rendering system; wherein the value of the presentation time parameter is not equal to the value of the data time parameter.

Claims

1. A method, performed by at least one machine, for rendering temporal sequence presentation data in a machine-implemented rendering system, the temporal sequence presentation data being tangibly stored in a first computer-readable medium, the method comprising:

(A) maintaining a value of a data time parameter tangibly stored in a second computer-readable medium and representing an amount of time required by the rendering system to render a portion of the temporal sequence presentation data at a default presentation rate;

(B) providing the value of the data time parameter to a first component of the rendering system;

(C) calculating, based on the value of the data time parameter, a value of a presentation time parameter tangibly stored in a third computer-readable medium and representing an amount of time elapsed during rendering of the portion of the temporal sequence presentation data; and

(D) providing the value of the presentation time parameter to a second component of the rendering system;

wherein the value of the presentation time parameter is not equal to the value of the data time parameter.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first component and the second component are the same component of the rendering system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein (D) comprises providing the presentation time parameter value in response to a request from the second component for a current time.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein (B) comprises providing the data time parameter value in response to a request from the first component for a current time.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein (A) comprises:

(A) (1) identifying a number of elements in the portion of the temporal sequence presentation data;

(A) (2) identifying a rendition period required by the rendering system to render one of the elements in the portion of the temporal sequence presentation data; and

(A) (3) maintaining a product of the number of elements multiplied by the identified rendition period as the data time parameter value in the second computer-readable medium.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein (A) comprises:

(A) (1) for each element in the portion of the temporal sequence presentation data;

(a) identifying a default rendition period of the element; and

(A) (2) maintaining a sum of the identified default rendition periods as the data time parameter value in the second computer-readable medium.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein (A) comprises:

(A) (1) for each element in the portion of the temporal sequence presentation data;

(a) identifying an actual rendition period of the element;

(b) identifying an actual presentation rate of the element;

(c) multiplying the actual rendition period of the element by the actual presentation rate of the element to produce a product; and

(A) (2) maintaining a sum of the products produced by (A)(1) as the data time parameter in the second computer-readable medium.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein (A) comprises:

identifying, as the value of the data time parameter, a time integral of a presentation rate of the portion over the amount of time elapsed during rendering of the portion by the rendering system, wherein the presentation rate is equal to the ratio of a change in the value of the data time parameter over time to a change in the value of the presentation time parameter over time; and

maintaining the value of the data time parameter in the second computer-readable medium.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein (C) comprises:

(C) (1) for each element in the portion of the temporal sequence presentation data;

(a) identifying a default rendition period of the element;

(b) identifying an actual presentation rate of the element;

(c) dividing the default rendition period of the element by the actual presentation rate of the element to produce a quotient; and

(C) (2) calculating a sum of the quotients produced by (C) (1) as the presentation time parameter value in the third computer-readable medium.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein (D) comprises:

(D) (1) receiving an explicit request for the value of the presentation time parameter; and

(D) (2) providing the value of the presentation time parameter in response to the request.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein (B) comprises:

(B) (1) receiving an explicit request for the value of the data time parameter; and

(B) (2) providing the value of the data time parameter in response to the request.

12. A device for rendering temporal sequence presentation data in a machine-implemented rendering system, the temporal sequence presentation data being tangibly stored in a first computer-readable medium, the device comprising at least one processor and at least one second computer-readable medium tangibly storing computer program instructions for:

(A) maintaining a value of a data time parameter tangibly stored in a second computer-readable medium and representing an amount of time required by the rendering system to render a portion of the temporal sequence presentation data at a default presentation rate;

(B) providing the value of the data time parameter to a first component of the rendering system;

(C) calculating, based on the value of the data time parameter, a value of a presentation time parameter tangibly stored in a third computer-readable medium and representing an amount of time elapsed during rendering of the portion of the temporal sequence presentation data; and

(D) providing the value of the presentation time parameter to a second component of the rendering system;

wherein the value of the presentation time parameter is not equal to the value of the data time parameter.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the first component and the second component are the same component of the rendering system.

14. The device of claim 12, wherein (D) comprises providing the presentation time parameter value in response to a request from the second component for a current time.

15. The device of claim 12, wherein (B) comprises providing the data time parameter value in response to a request from the first component for a current time.

16. The device of claim 12, wherein (A) comprises:

(A) (1) identifying a number of elements in the portion of the temporal sequence presentation data;

(A) (2) identifying a rendition period required by the rendering system to render one of the elements in the portion of the temporal sequence presentation data; and

(A) (3) maintaining a product of the number of elements multiplied by the identified rendition period as the data time parameter value in the second computer-readable medium.

17. The device of claim 12, wherein (A) comprises:

(A) (1) for each element in the portion of the temporal sequence presentation data;

(a) identifying a default rendition period of the element; and

(A) (2) maintaining a sum of the identified default rendition periods as the data time parameter value in the second computer-readable medium.

18. The device of claim 12, wherein (A) comprises:

(A) (1) for each element in the portion of the temporal sequence presentation data;

(a) identifying an actual rendition period of the element;

(b) identifying an actual presentation rate of the element;

(c) multiplying the actual rendition period of the element by the actual presentation rate of the element to produce a product; and

(A) (2) maintaining a sum of the products produced by (A) (1) as the data time parameter in the second computer-readable medium.

19. The device of claim 12, wherein (A) comprises:

identifying, as the value of the data time parameter, a time integral of a presentation rate of the portion over the amount of time elapsed during rendering of the portion by the rendering system, wherein the presentation rate is equal to the ratio of a change in the value of the data time parameter over time to a change in the value of the presentation time parameter over time; and

maintaining the value of the data time parameter in the second computer-readable medium.

20. The device of claim 12, wherein (C) comprises:

(C) (1) for each element in the portion of the temporal sequence presentation data;

(a) identifying a default rendition period of the element;

(b) identifying an actual presentation rate of the element;

(c) dividing the default rendition period of the element by the actual presentation rate of the element to produce a quotient; and

(C) (2) calculating a sum of the quotients produced by (C) (1) as the presentation time parameter value in the third computer-readable medium.

21. The device of claim 12, wherein (D) comprises:

(D) (1) receiving an explicit request for the value of the presentation time parameter; and

(D) (2) providing the value of the presentation time parameter in response to the request.

22. The device of claim 12, wherein (B) comprises:

(B) (1) receiving an explicit request for the value of the data time parameter; and

(B) (2) providing the value of the data time parameter in response to the request.