Identifying and utilizing synchronized content

• US 10,146,789 B1
• Filed: 06/30/2015
• Issued: 12/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lakshmanan, Geetika Tewari, Kendall, Mitch Ray, Girdhar, Puneet
• Primary Examiner(s): Spieler, William
• Application Number:
  US14/788,523
• Time in Patent Office: 1,253 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/128 Details of file system snapshots on the file-level, e.g. snapshot creation, administration, deletion use of snapshots for error detection or correction G06F11/14, G06F11/16
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/178 Techniques for file synchronisation in file systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2329 using versioning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/489 using time information
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/685 using automatically derived transcript of audio data, e.g. lyrics speech recognition G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/062 Combinations of audio and printed presentations, e.g. magnetically striped cards, talking books, magnetic tapes with printed texts thereon

Abstract

Methods, systems and apparatus for identifying and utilizing content synchronization information are described. Methods for creating and utilizing a synchronization file that can be used to notify users when synchronization availability exists, and to identify ways to repair synchronization unavailability are described. The synchronization file includes a complete set of individual content elements that make up a content item, such as a book, where each content element has an indication whether play-back of an audio version of the content item can be synchronized with the presentation of a corresponding text version of the content item. Methods, systems and apparatus are al'"'"'so disclosed for providing the synchronization availability information to the user in a manner that enables the user to increase the benefits of synchronized presentation of the content item.

Claims

1. A method for providing information regarding a quality of synchronization availability between a first audio version of a first content item and a first text version of the first content item, the method comprising:

obtaining, by one or more processors of a content-provider system, the first audio version of the first content item;

analyzing, by the one or more processors, the first audio version of the first content item to identify;

audio data that identifies first audio portions of the first audio version that are available for synchronization; and

audio null data that identifies second audio portions of the first audio version that are not available for synchronization;

obtaining, by the one or more processors, the first text version of the first content item;

analyzing, by the one or more processors, the first text version of the first content item to identify;

text data that identifies first text portions of the first text version that are available for synchronization; and

text null data that identifies second text portions of the first text version that are not available for synchronization;

generating, by the one or more processors, synchronization file information representing;

the audio data that identifies the first portions of the first audio version that are available for synchronization;

the audio null data that identifies the second portions of the first audio version that are not available for synchronization;

the text data that identifies the first text portions of the first text version that are available for synchronization; and

the text null data that identifies the second text portions of the first text version that are not available for synchronization;

determining, based at least in part on the audio null data and the text null data, total null data, the total null data comprising;

a total number of nulls represented in the audio null data and text null data;

a total amount of time that the nulls exist; and

an average amount of time that each of the nulls exist;

calculating, by the one or more processors, a first value based at least in part on the total null data, the value indicating an overall quality of synchronization availability between the first audio version of the first content item and the first text version of the first content item;

providing, to a client device, a first indication of the first content item and the first value;

providing, to the client device, a second indication of a second content item and a second value for the second content item, the second value indicating an overall synchronization availability between a second audio version of the second content item and a second text version of the second content item;

receiving, from the client device, a selection of the first content item for consumption, wherein the first value is greater than the second value; and

sending the first content item to the client device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first value comprises a percentage of the total number of nulls compared to a total number of portions of the first content item that are available for synchronization.

3. A method for determining synchronization availability for simultaneous presentation of a first audio version of a first content item and a first text version of the first content item, the method comprising:

receiving null data comprising at least one of;

audio null data that identifies audio portions of the first audio version that are not available for synchronization;

or

text null data that identifies first text portions of the first text version that are not available for synchronization;

receiving text data that identifies second text portions of the first text version that are available for synchronized presentation;

receiving audio data that identifies second audio portions of the first audio version that are available for synchronized presentation;

determining that nulls represented in the null data occur for more than a predefined period of time;

generating a first indicator based at least in part on the nulls occurring for more than the predefined period of time, the first indicator being indicative of an overall synchronization availability between the first audio version of the first content item and the first text version of the first content item;

providing, to a user device, a first indication of the first content item and the first indicator;

providing, to the user device, a second indication of a second content item and a second indicator for the second content item, the second indicator indicating an overall synchronization availability between a second audio version of the second content item and a second text version of the second content item;

receiving, from the user device, a selection of the first content item for consumption; and

sending the first content item to the user device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the predefined period of time is at least 0.5 seconds.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

analyzing the null data to determine a value representing a total time the nulls occur as compared to a total time of the first audio version of the first content item; and

determining the overall synchronization availability of the first content item based at least in part on the value.

6. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

calculating an amount of time during which synchronization is unavailable due to a null of the nulls.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

determining that the amount of time is greater than the predefined period of time.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein audio nulls represented by the audio null data for the first audio version indicate an amount of time of that the first audio version is not available for synchronized presentation.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising calculating an average amount of time in which the audio nulls and text nulls exist, the average amount of time indicating an average duration where the first audio version or the first text version is not available for synchronization.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining a total amount of time that the nulls exist for the first content item.

11. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

calculating a first number of occurrences where the first audio version is not available for synchronization for more than the predefined period of time;

calculating a second number of occurrences where the first text version is not available for synchronization for more than the predefined period of time;

determining a total number of occurrences based on the first number of occurrences for the first audio version and the second number of occurrences for the first text version;

determining an average amount of time of the nulls where synchronization between the first audio version and the first text version is not available; and

determining a total amount of time where synchronization is not available between the first audio version and the first text version.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining a first weight for the total number of occurrences where synchronization is not available for more than the predefined period of time;

determining a second weight for the average amount of time;

determining a third weight for the total amount of time; and

generating the overall synchronization availability of the first content item based at least in part on the first weight, the second weight, and the third weight.

13. A method comprising:

obtaining, by one or more processors, a first audio version of a first content item;

obtaining, by the one or more processors, a first text version of the first content item;

generating, by the one or more processors and based at least in part on the first audio version and the first text version, synchronization file data, the synchronization file data including;

null data comprising at least one of;

audio null data that identifies first audio portions of the first audio version that are not available for synchronization with the first text version;

or

text null data that identifies first text portions of the first text version that are not available for synchronization with the first audio version; and

synchronized data comprising;

audio synchronized data that identifies second audio portions of the first audio version that are available for synchronization with the first text version; and

text synchronized data that identifies second text portions of the first text version that are available for synchronization with the first audio version;

analyzing the null data and the synchronized data to identify one or more factors indicating synchronization availability between the first audio version of the first content item and the first text version of the first content item;

calculating, based at least in part on the one or more factors, a first overall synchronization value indicating an overall synchronization availability between the first audio version of the first content item and the first text version of the first content item;

providing a first indication of the first content item and the first overall synchronization value to be presented on a display of a client device;

providing a second indication of a second content item and a second overall synchronization value for the second content item to be presented on the display of the client device, the second overall synchronization value indicating an overall synchronization availability between a second audio version of the second content item and a second text version of the second content item;

receiving, from the client device, a selection of the second content item for consumption, wherein the second overall synchronization value is greater than the first overall synchronization value; and

at least partly responsive to receiving the selection of the second content item for consumption, sending the second content item to the client device.

14. The method of the claim 13, wherein the one or more factors comprise at least one of:

a total number of nulls represented in the null data;

a total amount of time that synchronization between the first audio version and the first text version is not available due to the nulls;

an average amount of time that each of the nulls exist;

or

a ratio between the total amount of time that synchronization between the first audio version and the first text version is not available due to the nulls and a total duration of the first audio version.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein calculating the overall synchronization value includes at least one of:

determining that the total number of nulls is greater than a threshold number of nulls;

determining that the total amount of time that synchronization is not available due to the nulls is greater than a threshold amount of time;

or

determining that the average amount of time that each of the nulls exist is greater than a threshold average amount of time.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

providing an indication of the null data to a developer device associated with managing the synchronization file data;

receiving input from the developer device, the input correcting at least one null of the nulls;

updating the null data based at least in part on the input; and

calculating an updated overall synchronization value indicating the overall synchronization availability between the first audio version of the first content item and the first text version of the first content item, wherein the updated overall synchronization value is greater than the first overall synchronization value.