Configuring content in an interactive media system

• US 20070245028A1
• Filed: 06/30/2006
• Published: 10/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nellymoser, Inc. (Quad Graphics, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Nellymoser, Inc. (Quad Graphics, Inc.)
• Inventors: Baxter, Robert, Puterbaugh, John
• Application Number:
  US11/479,114
• Publication Number:
  US 20070245028A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/228
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/752 adapting media to network capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/756 adapting media to device capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/289 Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data consumer application, e.g. in same machine, in same home or in same sub-network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/566 Grouping or aggregating service requests, e.g. for unified processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70

Abstract

A method for configuring content to be provided to a client comprises receiving information specifying characteristics of the client; modifying reference content that represents content to be provided to the client according to multiple modification processes to generate multiple versions of the reference content, each modification process applying different modifications related to the characteristics of the client; for each version, determining respective values associated with multiple attributes of the version; for each of the values for the different versions that are associated with the same attribute, normalizing the value to be comparable with values associated with the other attributes; for each version, generating a combination of the normalized values associated with the multiple attributes of the version; and selecting one of the modification processes based on a value of the combination of the normalized values.

Claims

1. A method for configuring content to be provided to a client, the method comprising:

receiving information specifying characteristics of the client;

modifying reference content that represents content to be provided to the client according to multiple modification processes to generate multiple versions of the reference content, each modification process applying different modifications related to the characteristics of the client;

for each version, determining respective values associated with multiple attributes of the version;

for each of the values for the different versions that are associated with the same attribute, normalizing the value to be comparable with values associated with the other attributes;

for each version, generating a combination of the normalized values associated with the multiple attributes of the version; and

selecting one of the modification processes based on a value of the combination of the normalized values.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the combination of the normalized values comprises a linear combination.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the linear combination comprises a weighted sum in which each normalized value is multiplied by a weight coefficient between zero and 1.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein normalizing the value to be comparable with values associated with the other attributes comprises normalizing the value according to a range of the values for the attribute so that normalized values for each attribute are in the same range.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the content to be provided to the client, and modifying the content according to the selected modification process.

6. The method of claim 1, the content comprises an audio signal.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the audio signal is selected from the group consisting of music, speech, a ringtone, and sound effects.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein at least one of the modification processes comprises normalizing a volume of the audio signal based on an audio output characteristic of the client.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein at least one of the modification processes comprises companding the audio signal.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein at least one of the modification processes comprises filtering the audio signal based on a frequency response characteristic associated with the client.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the frequency response characteristic comprises a frequency response characteristic of a speaker integral with the client.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the frequency response characteristic comprises a frequency response characteristic of headphones usable with the client.

13. The method of claim 1, the content comprises a video signal.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein at least one of the modification processes comprises modifying a visual characteristic of the video signal based on a video output characteristic of the client.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the video output characteristic comprises a characteristic of a display screen associated with the client.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein modifying the visual characteristic comprises modifying a luminance characteristic.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein modifying a luminance characteristic comprises performing luminance contrast enhancement.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein modifying the visual characteristic comprises modifying a color characteristic.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein modifying a color characteristic comprises performing opponent color contrast enhancement.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein at least one of the modification processes comprises modifying a frame rate of the video signal.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the multiple attributes comprises a subjective quality rating.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the subjective quality rating comprises a rating provided by at least one subject to which at least two of the reference content, a first modified version of the reference content, and a second modified version of the reference content has been presented.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the multiple attributes comprises an objective quality measure.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the objective quality measure comprises a signal-to-noise ratio.

25. Software stored on a computer-readable medium, for configuring content to be provided to a client, the software including instructions for causing a computer system to:

receive information specifying characteristics of the client;

modify reference content that represents content to be provided to the client according to multiple modification processes to generate multiple versions of the reference content, each modification process applying different modifications related to the characteristics of the client;

for each version, determine respective values associated with multiple attributes of the version;

for each of the values for the different versions that are associated with the same attribute, normalize the value to be comparable with values associated with the other attributes;

for each version, generate a combination of the normalized values associated with the multiple attributes of the version; and

select one of the modification processes based on a value of the combination of the normalized values.