MEDIA NAVIGATION SYSTEM

• US 20100274674A1
• Filed: 06/23/2010
• Published: 10/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Ericsson AB (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: Azuki Systems, Inc (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Roberts, Andrew F., Nair, Raj
• Application Number:
  US12/821,323
• Publication Number:
  US 20100274674A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.730
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/4387 by the use of playlists
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/447 Temporal browsing, e.g. timeline
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/745 the internal structure of a single video sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234363 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for clients with a lower screen resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26258 for generating a list of items to be played back in a given order, e.g. playlist, or scheduling item distribution according to such list retrieval of multimedia data based on playlists G06F16/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47217 for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4725 using interactive regions of the image, e.g. hot spots details of information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4728 for selecting a Region Of Interest [ROI], e.g. for requesting a higher resolution version of a selected region
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6547 comprising parameters, e.g. for client setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8455 involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8543 : using a description language, e.g. Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Expert Group [MHEG], eXtensible Markup Language [XML] information retrieval of semistructured data, the underlying structure being taken into account, e.g. mark-up language structure data G06F16/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 : by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/445 : for displaying additional information H04N5/50 takes precedence

Abstract

A media navigation system provides a user interface for navigating and interacting with streamed media objects, including video. The system may employ media markers representing time locations within a media file in addition to images or other representations derived from the media object. The system displays a tile layout representing a sequence of the media at an interval comprising a set of sub intervals corresponding to the tiles, and enables a user to click on the tiles to navigate to a next set of tiles which correspond to a different interval, and which replace the currently displayed tiles on the display. Navigation can include zooming in (smaller interval), zooming out (larger interval) and “panning” (preceding or succeeding interval) at arbitrary intervals. Individual tiles may also include visual indicators of relative importance or activity such as the number of comments associated with a sub interval.

Claims

1. A method of enabling a user to navigate a video object, comprising:

displaying a first set of tiles to the user, the first set of tiles including respective images from a first interval of the video object, the first interval including a plurality of sub-intervals collectively spanning the first interval, each sub-interval being associated with a respective distinct one of the tiles;

receiving a selection signal indicating that the user has selected one of the tiles; and

in response to receiving the selection signal, retrieving and displaying a second set of tiles to the user, the second set of tiles including respective images from the sub-interval associated with the selected tile.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the number of tiles in the second set of tiles is different from the number of tiles in the first set of tiles.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the sub-interval associated with the selected tile includes a plurality of further sub-intervals, each further sub-interval being associated with a respective distinct one of the tiles of the second set of tiles, the further sub-intervals all being of a uniform duration equal to a duration of the sub-interval associated with the selected tile divided by the number of tiles in the second set of tiles.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the sub-interval associated with the selected tile includes a plurality of further sub-intervals, each further sub-interval being associated with a respective distinct one of the tiles of the second set of tiles, the further sub-intervals being of generally non-uniform durations based on content of the video object.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the locations and durations of the further sub-intervals coincide with predefined boundaries of scenes or events in the content of the video object.

6. A method according to claim 4, wherein the locations and durations of the further sub-intervals coincide with media markers identifying locations of potential user interest or viewing activity in the video object.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein selected ones of the first and second sets of tiles include respective graphical indicators indicating the existence of additional data associated with the respective tiles, and further comprising:

receiving an activation signal indicating that the user has activated a graphical indicator associated with one of the tiles; and

in response to receiving the activation signal, displaying the additional data associated with the respective tile.

8. A method according to claim 1, further comprising displaying a representation of an advertisement to the user, the representation being an advertisement tile and being displayed in a manner selected from the group consisting of (i) being added to or replacing one of the tiles of the second set of tiles, and (ii) as a transition between the displaying of the first and second sets of tiles and along with a user control that can be activated by the user to transition from displaying the advertisement tile to displaying the second set of tiles.

9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the advertisement is an advertisement video object having a plurality of sub-intervals, and further comprising:

receiving an advertisement selection signal indicating that the user has selected the advertisement tile; and

in response to receiving the advertisement selection signal, retrieving and displaying a set of advertisement tiles to the user, the set of advertisement tiles including respective images from the sub-intervals of the advertisement video object.

10. A method according to claim 1, further comprising playing a section of the video object corresponding to the interval represented by either the first or second set of tiles in response to initiating a play command while the respective set of tiles is displayed.

11. A method according to claim 1, further comprising playing a section of the video object corresponding to a sub interval by selecting a displayed tile for the sub-interval and initiating a play command.

12. A method according to claim 1, further comprising displaying a graphical area wherein a sub-area of the graphical area is colored differently from a remainder of the graphical area to indicate a size of an interval represented by a set of tiles relative to a size of the video object.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein the graphical area is a rectangular bar shape and the sub-area is a smaller enclosed rectangular bar shape.

14. A method according to claim 12, further comprising:

enabling the user to grab a boundary of the sub-area and drag it to define a new sub-area of different size and/or position relative to the graphical area; and

upon such grabbing and dragging of the boundary by the user, retrieving and displaying a new interval of tiles of a new interval of the video object corresponding to the new sub-area.

15. A method of operating a server computer to enable a user to navigate a video object, comprising:

receiving a request from a client computer, the request identifying a main interval of the video object;

in response to receiving the request, calculating boundaries of a set of sub-intervals of the main interval, the sub-intervals collectively spanning the main interval;

for each of the sub-intervals, selecting a respective tile image and computing sub-interval meta-data, the sub-interval meta-data for each sub-interval identifying start and end times of a respective segment of the video object; and

creating a response and returning it to the client computer, the response including a collection of sub-interval data for the set of sub-intervals, the sub-interval data for each sub-interval including (i) an identifier of the respective tile image and (ii) the sub-interval meta-data of the sub-interval.

16. A method according to claim 15, wherein calculating the boundaries of the set of sub-intervals comprises computing a quantity, the quantity being the number of sub-intervals in the set.

17. A method according to claim 16, wherein computing the quantity includes:

comparing the duration of the main interval to at least a first threshold; and

if the duration of the main interval is less than the first threshold, then setting the quantity to be a first number, and otherwise setting the quantity to be a second number greater than the first number.

18. A method according to claim 16, further comprising computing a further interval being selected from a zoom-in interval, and zoom-out interval, and a pan interval for each of the sub-intervals and returning the further interval in the response for use by the client in generating a subsequent request, the zoom-in interval being computed for each sub interval and being equivalent to the sub interval, the zoom-out interval being computed for the main interval and being larger than the main interval, the pan interval being computed for the current main interval and being a selected one of a preceding or succeeding interval with respect to the main interval.

19. A method according to claim 15, further comprising computing an advertisement and including it in the response for use by the client in displaying the sub-interval data to a user.

20. A client computerized device, comprising:

a display device;

a selection device operative to enable a user to indicate selection of a graphical object displayed on the display device;

communications circuitry operative to enable the client computerized device to communicate with a server computerized device;

memory operative to store media navigation instructions; and

a processor for executing the media navigation instructions to cause the client computerized device to perform a media navigation method enabling a user to navigate a video object, the media navigation method comprising;

displaying a first set of tiles to the user on the display device, the first set of tiles including respective images from a first interval of the video object, the first interval including a plurality of sub-intervals collectively spanning the first interval, each sub-interval being associated with a respective distinct one of the tiles;

receiving a selection signal from the selection device indicating that the user has selected one of the tiles; and

in response to receiving the selection signal, communicating with the server computerized device to retrieve a second set of tiles, and displaying the second set of tiles to the user on the display device, the second set of tiles including respective images from the sub-interval associated with the selected tile.

21. A client computerized device according to claim 20, wherein the number of tiles in the second set of tiles is less than the number of tiles in the first set of tiles.

22. A client computerized device according to claim 20, wherein the sub-interval associated with the selected tile includes a plurality of further sub-intervals, each further sub-interval being associated with a respective distinct one of the tiles of the second set of tiles, the further sub-intervals all being of a uniform duration equal to a duration of the sub-interval associated with the selected tile divided by the number of tiles in the second set of tiles.

23. A client computerized device according to claim 20, wherein the sub-interval associated with the selected tile includes a plurality of further sub-intervals, each further sub-interval being associated with a respective distinct one of the tiles of the second set of tiles, the further sub-intervals being of generally non-uniform durations based on content of the video object.

24. A client computerized device according to claim 23, wherein the durations of the further sub-intervals coincide with predefined boundaries of scenes or sub-scenes in the content of the video object.

25. A client computerized device according to claim 23, wherein the durations of the further sub-intervals coincide with predefined media markers identifying locations of potential user interest in the video object.

26. A client computerized device according to claim 20, wherein selected ones of the first and second sets of tiles include respective graphical indicators indicating the existence of additional data associated with the respective tiles, and wherein the media navigation method performed by the processor further comprises:

receiving an activation signal indicating that the user has activated a graphical indicator associated with one of the tiles; and

in response to receiving the activation signal, displaying the additional data associated with the respective tile.

27. A client computerized device according to claim 20, wherein the media navigation method further comprises displaying a representation of an advertisement to the user, the representation being an advertisement tile and being displayed in a manner selected from the group consisting of (i) being added to or replacing one of the tiles of the second set of tiles, and (ii) as a transition between the displaying of the first and second sets of tiles and along with a user control that can be activated by the user to transition from displaying the advertisement tile to displaying the second set of tiles.

28. A client computerized device according to claim 27, wherein the advertisement is an advertisement video object having a plurality of sub-intervals, and wherein the media navigation method further comprises:

receiving an advertisement selection signal indicating that the user has selected the advertisement tile; and

in response to receiving the advertisement selection signal, retrieving and displaying a set of advertisement tiles to the user, the set of advertisement tiles including respective images from the sub-intervals of the advertisement video object.

29. A client computerized device according to claim 20, wherein the media navigation method further comprises playing a section of the video object corresponding to the interval represented by either the first or second set of tiles in response to initiating a play command while the respective set of tiles is displayed.

30. A client computerized device according to claim 20, wherein the media navigation method further comprises playing a section of the video object corresponding to a sub interval by selecting a displayed tile for the sub-interval and initiating a play command.

31. A client computerized device according to claim 20, wherein the media navigation method further comprises displaying a graphical area wherein a sub-area of the graphical area is colored differently from a remainder of the graphical area to indicate a size of an interval represented by a set of tiles relative to a size of the video object.

32. A client computerized device according to claim 31, wherein the graphical area is a rectangular bar shape and the sub-area is a smaller enclosed rectangular bar shape.

33. A client computerized device according to claim 31, wherein the media navigation method further comprises:

enabling the user to grab a boundary of the sub-area and drag it to define a new sub-area of different size and/or position relative to the graphical area; and

upon such grabbing and dragging of the boundary by the user, retrieving and displaying a new interval of tiles of a new interval of the video object corresponding to the new sub-area.

34. A server computerized device, comprising:

communications circuitry operative to enable the server computerized device to communicate with a client computerized device;

memory operative to store media navigation instructions; and

a processor for executing the media navigation instructions to cause the server computerized device to perform a media navigation method enabling a user to navigate a video object, the media navigation method comprising;

receiving a request from the client computerized device, the request identifying a main interval of the video object;

in response to receiving the request, calculating boundaries of a set of sub-intervals of the main interval, the sub-intervals collectively spanning the main interval;

for each of the sub-intervals, selecting a respective tile image and computing sub-interval meta-data, the sub-interval meta-data for each sub-interval identifying start and end times of a respective segment of the video object; and

creating a response and returning it to the client computerized device, the response including a collection of sub-interval data for the set of sub-intervals, the sub-interval data for each sub-interval including (i) an identifier of the respective tile image and (ii) the sub-interval meta-data of the sub-interval.

35. A server computerized device according to claim 34, wherein calculating the boundaries of the set of sub-intervals comprises computing a quantity, the quantity being the number of sub-intervals in the set.

36. A server computerized device according to claim 35, wherein computing the quantity includes:

comparing the duration of the main interval to at least a first threshold; and

if the duration of the main interval is less than the first threshold, then setting the quantity to be a first number, and otherwise setting the quantity to be a second number greater than the first number.

37. A server computerized device according to claim 34, wherein the media navigation method further comprises computing a further interval being selected from a zoom-in interval, and zoom-out interval, and a pan interval for each of the sub-intervals and returning the further interval in the response for use by the client in generating a subsequent request.

38. A server computerized device according to claim 34, wherein the media navigation method further comprises computing an advertisement and including it in the response for use by the client in displaying the sub-interval data to a user.

39. A method of enabling a user to navigate a stream-based data object, the stream-based data object being divided into discrete chunks organized sequentially according to one or more parameters associated with the discrete chunks, comprising:

displaying a first set of representations of the stream-based data object to the user, the first set of representations being taken from a first interval of the stream-based data object, the first interval including a plurality of sub-intervals generally spanning the first interval, each sub-interval being associated with a respective distinct one of the representations;

receiving a selection signal indicating that the user has selected one of the representations; and

in response to receiving the selection signal, displaying a second set of representations of the stream-based data object to the user, the second set of representations being taken from the sub-interval associated with the selected representation.

40. A method according to claim 39, wherein the stream-based data object is a text document and the discrete chunks are text chunks divided according to one or more of pages, paragraphs, sentences, the text chunks being organized according to respective character offset locations within the text document.

41. A method according to claim 40, wherein a tile representation for an interval of the text document is derived by selecting a first sentence or phrase from the interval.

42. A method according to claim 39, wherein the stream-based data object is a tagged photo collection organized according to respective tag values.

44. A method according to claim 39, wherein the stream-based data object is a playlist of videos organized sequentially to form a super video.

43. A method according to claim 43 wherein the tag values are selected from the group consisting of time of photo and location of subject photographed.