Video-broadcast system with DVE-related alert feature

• US 9,883,212 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2015
• Issued: 01/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tribune Broadcasting Company Incorporated (Nexstar Media Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Tribune Broadcasting Company Incorporated (Nexstar Media Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Propst, Scott Allan, Lasher, Dana A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chae, Kyu
• Application Number:
  US14/864,641
• Publication Number:
  US 20170094321A1
• Time in Patent Office: 859 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/036 Insert-editing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/10 Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234345 the reformatting operation being performed only on part of the stream, e.g. a region of the image or a time segment
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26233 involving content or additional data duration or size, e.g. length of a movie, size of an executable file
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26241 involving the time of distribution, e.g. the best time of the day for inserting an advertisement or airing a children program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8126 involving additional data, e.g. news, sports, stocks, weather forecasts
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments

Abstract

In one aspect, a method includes: receiving an instruction to apply a particular digital video-effect (DVE) of a particular DVE type to a temporal portion of a video segment based, at least in part, on the temporal portion of the video segment being suitable for having a DVE of the particular DVE type applied thereto, wherein the particular DVE corresponds to a duration; making a determination that no particular temporal portion of the video segment satisfies each condition in a set, the set comprising (i) a first condition that the particular temporal portion of the video segment has been identified as being suitable for having a DVE of the particular DVE type applied thereto, and (ii) a second condition that the particular temporal portion of the video segment is of at least the duration; and based, at least in part, on the received instruction and the determination, outputting an alert.

Claims

1. A video-broadcast system comprising:

an automation system;

a communication network; and

a digital video-effect (DVE) system connected to the automation system via the communication network, wherein the automation system is configured for performing a set of acts comprising;

receiving an instruction to apply a particular DVE of a particular DVE type to a temporal portion of a video segment based, at least in part, on the temporal portion of the video segment being suitable for having a DVE of the particular DVE type applied thereto, wherein the particular DVE corresponds to a duration, wherein receiving the instruction comprises (i) receiving a portion of a traffic schedule, which is a schedule of broadcast-related events for a particular channel or station, and (ii) extracting the instruction from the received portion of the traffic schedule;

making a determination that no particular temporal portion of the video segment satisfies each condition in a condition set, wherein the condition set comprises (i) a first condition that the particular temporal portion of the video segment has been identified as being suitable for having a DVE of the particular DVE type applied thereto, and (ii) a second condition that the particular temporal portion of the video segment is of at least the duration; and

based, at least in part, on the received instruction and the determination, outputting an alert.

2. The video-broadcast system of claim 1, wherein receiving the instruction comprises receiving an instruction to apply the particular DVE to the temporal portion of the video segment based, at least in part, on (i) the temporal portion of the video segment being suitable for having the particular DVE applied thereto, (ii) the temporal portion of the video segment is of at least the duration, and (iii) a start time of the temporal portion of the video segment being within a threshold time period of a start time of the video segment.

3. The video-broadcast system of claim 2, wherein the condition set comprises a third condition that a start time of the particular temporal portion of the video segment is within the threshold time period of the start time of the video segment.

4. The video-broadcast system of claim 1, wherein the instruction is a first instruction, and wherein outputting the alert comprises transmitting a second instruction.

5. The video-broadcast system of claim 4, wherein the second instruction is configured to cause a record associated with the received instruction to be added to a list, wherein the set of acts further comprises outputting the list.

6. The video-broadcast system of claim 5, further comprising a display device, wherein outputting the list comprises displaying the list on the display device.

7. A method for use in a video-broadcast system having a digital video-effect (DVE) system, the method comprising:

receiving an instruction to apply a particular DVE of a particular DVE type to a temporal portion of a video segment based, at least in part, on the temporal portion of the video segment being suitable for having a DVE of the particular DVE type applied thereto, wherein the particular DVE corresponds to a duration, wherein receiving the instruction comprises (i) receiving a portion of a traffic schedule, which is a schedule of broadcast-related events for a particular channel or station, and (ii) extracting the instruction from the received portion of the traffic schedule;

making a determination that no particular temporal portion of the video segment satisfies each condition in a condition set, wherein the condition set comprises (i) a first condition that the particular temporal portion of the video segment has been identified as being suitable for having a DVE of the particular DVE type applied thereto, and (ii) a second condition that the particular temporal portion of the video segment is of at least the duration; and

based, at least in part, on the received instruction and the determination, outputting an alert.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein receiving the instruction comprises receiving an instruction to apply the particular DVE to the temporal portion of the video segment based, at least in part, on (i) the temporal portion of the video segment being suitable for having the particular DVE applied thereto, (ii) the temporal portion of the video segment having at least the duration, and (iii) a start time of the temporal portion of the video segment being within a threshold time period of a start time of the video segment.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the condition set comprises a third condition that a start time of the particular temporal portion of the video segment is within the threshold time period of the start time of the video segment.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the instruction is a first instruction, and wherein outputting the alert comprises transmitting a second instruction.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the second instruction is configured to cause a record associated with the received instruction to be added to a list, wherein the method further comprises outputting the list.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein outputting the list comprises displaying the list on a display device.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon program instructions that when executed cause performance of a set of acts comprising:

receiving an instruction to apply a particular DVE of a particular DVE type to a temporal portion of a video segment based, at least in part, on the temporal portion of the video segment being suitable for having a DVE of the particular DVE type applied thereto, wherein the particular DVE corresponds to a duration, wherein receiving the instruction comprises (i) receiving a portion of a traffic schedule, which is a schedule of broadcast-related events for a particular channel or station, and (ii) extracting the instruction from the received portion of the traffic schedule;

making a determination that no particular temporal portion of the video segment satisfies each condition in a condition set, wherein the condition set comprises (i) a first condition that the particular temporal portion of the video segment has been identified as being suitable for having a DVE of the particular DVE type applied thereto, and (ii) a second condition that the particular temporal portion of the video segment is of at least the duration; and

based, at least in part, on the received instruction and the determination, outputting an alert.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein receiving the instruction comprises receiving an instruction to apply the particular DVE to the temporal portion of the video segment based, at least in part, on (i) the temporal portion of the video segment being suitable for having the particular DVE applied thereto, (ii) the temporal portion of the video segment is of at least the duration, and (iii) a start time of the temporal portion of the video segment being within a threshold time period of a start time of the video segment.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the condition set comprises a third condition that a start time of the particular temporal portion of the video segment is within the threshold time period of the start time of the video segment.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the instruction is a first instruction, and wherein outputting the alert comprises transmitting a second instruction.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the second instruction is configured to cause a record associated with the received instruction to be added to a list, wherein the set of acts further comprises outputting the list.