SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR METAMORPHIC CONTENT GENERATION

• US 20110307919A1
• Filed: 06/10/2010
• Published: 12/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: WEERASINGHE, SRILAL
• Granted Patent: US 8,839,287 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/233 Processing of audio elementary streams monitoring, identification or recognition of audio in broadcast systems H04H60/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23418 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics television picture signal circuitry for scene change detection H04N5/147; filtering for image enhancement G06T5/00; methods or arrangements for recognising scenes G06V20/00; arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• 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 21/25841 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; arrangements for identifying locations of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/51; location of the user terminal in data switching networks H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6137 involving transmission via a telephone network, e.g. POTS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording

Abstract

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a network device having a controller programmed to receive a video program in an editable digital format having a repetitive portion that plays every time the video program is played; store video content used in modifying the repetitive portion of the video program; store descriptor files containing instructions for modifying the repetitive portion; and automatically morph the repetitive portion using the video content based on the instructions, the automatic morphing being performed for each instance the repetitive portion is presented. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A network device comprising a controller programmed to:

receive a video program in an editable digital format having a repetitive portion that plays every time the video program is played;

store video content used in modifying the repetitive portion of the video program;

store descriptor files containing instructions for modifying the repetitive portion; and

automatically morph the repetitive portion using the video content based on the instructions, the automatic morphing being performed for each instance the repetitive portion is presented.

2. The network device of claim 1, wherein the video program is at least one of an advertisement and a serial series program.

3. The network device of claim 1, wherein the network device formats the video program and the morphed repetitive portion for a target device among a digital television having set-top box functionality, a digital television coupled to a set-top box, a mobile display device, a digital video receiver, a computer with an Internet connection, a personal digital assistant, and a cellular phone.

4. The network device of claim 1, wherein the controller is programmed to detect pre-defined objects from the video program and to perform at least one of replacing and modifying the pre-defined objects automatically.

5. The network device of claim 1, wherein the controller is programmed to extract modification instructions from the descriptor files and modify the repetitive portion of the video program according to the modification instructions.

6. The network device of claim 5, wherein the repetitive portion is modified after each presentation using frame substitution, wherein frames are replaced in accordance with the instructions in the descriptor file using substitute video frames.

7. The network device of claim 5, wherein the repetitive portion is modified after each viewing using frame substitution, wherein frames are modified in accordance with the instructions in the descriptor file by rearranging a sequence of frames in the repetitive portion.

8. The network device of claim 5, wherein the repetitive portion is modified after each viewing in accordance with instructions in the descriptor file describing a change in color in a portion of the repetitive portion.

9. The network device of claim 5, wherein the descriptor files include instructions for modifying audio in the repetitive portion.

10. The network device of claim 1, wherein the network device is a server in communication with a set-top box.

11. The network device of claim 1, wherein the network device is a set-top box having an interface to an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) network.

12. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising computer instructions to:

receive a video program having at least a repetitive portion that is presented each time the video program is presented on a channel; and

automatically morph the repetitive portion periodically after the presentation of the video program on the channel, wherein the morphed repetitive portion comprises modified content.

13. The storage medium of claim 12, comprising computer instructions to detect the video program having the repetitive portion.

14. The storage medium of claim 12, comprising computer instructions to present the video program with the morphed repetitive portion.

15. The storage medium of claim 12, wherein the computer instructions comprise instructions to format the video program and the morphed repetitive portion for a target device among a digital television having set-top box functionality, a digital television coupled to a set-top box, a mobile display device, a computer with an Internet connection, a personal digital assistant, and a cellular phone.

16. The storage medium of claim 12, wherein the computer instructions comprise instructions to send the video program including the morphed repetitive portion to a different channel within an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) network.

17. A method comprising:

streaming digital video content from a server to at least one display device, wherein the digital video content comprises at least one advertisement;

detecting the advertisement among the digital video content; and

automatically morphing at least a portion of the detected advertisement periodically after the advertisement is presented.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the automatically morphing comprises substituting frames of the at least one advertisement with substitute frames having different content.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the automatically morphing comprises modifying frames of the at least one advertisement by rearranging a frame order in the frames of the at least one advertisement.

20. The method of claim 17, comprising performing the automatically morphing after each time the advertisement is presented.