Linking a video and an animation

• US 6,268,864 B1
• Filed: 06/11/1998
• Issued: 07/31/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Presenter.Com, Inc.
• Inventors: Tahn, Whei-Tsu Helen, Brandt, Jonathan, Chen, Shenchang Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo, Cliff N.
• Application Number:
  US09/096,487
• Time in Patent Office: 1,146 Days
• Field of Search: 345/473, 345/474, 345/418, 345/428
• US Class Current: 345/428
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 13/80 2D [Two Dimensional] animation, e.g. using sprites

Abstract

An apparatus and method for linking a video and an animation. A data structure containing elements that correspond to respective frames of a first video is generated. Information that indicates an image in an animation that has been created from a second video is stored in one or more of the elements of the data structure.

Claims

1. A method of linking a video and an animation comprising:

generating a data structure containing elements that correspond to respective frames of a first video; and

storing in one or more of the elements of the data structure information that identifies an animation image that has been created from one or more frames of a second video.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein generating a data structure containing elements comprises generating a data structure that contains a respective element for each frame of the first video.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein storing information that indicates an image in an animation comprises storing a reference value that indicates a keyframe of the animation.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein storing a reference to a keyframe of the animation comprises storing a reference value that indicates a background frame in an animation object.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein storing a reference value that indicates a background frame comprises storing an address of a background frame data structure, the background frame data structure including information that indicates a background image and information that indicates whether the background image is a composite image.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the information that indicates whether the background image is a composite image includes information that indicates whether the background image is a panoramic image.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the data structure is an array of the elements.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the data structure is a linked list of the elements.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the first video and the second video are the same video.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the first video has been generated using the second video.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the animation includes a high resolution still image.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the animation includes a multiple-resolution still image having first and second regions, the first region having higher pixel resolution than the second region.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the animation includes a still image having a wider field of view than a frame of the first video.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the animation includes a still image having a wider dynamic range than a frame of the first video.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the animation includes a still image having an aspect ratio that is different from an aspect ratio of a frame of the first video.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the animation includes a pair of still images that form a stereo image pair.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the animation includes an image that includes depth information.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the animation includes an object having three-dimensional geometric properties.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein a text description is associated with at least one image in the animation.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein the animation comprises an animation object having a plurality of elements that correspond to images in the animation and wherein the method further comprises storing in one or more of the plurality of elements in the animation object information that indicates one or more frames in the first video.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein the animation comprises an animation object having a plurality of elements that correspond to images in the animation and wherein the method further comprises storing information in one or more of the of the plurality of elements in the animation object, the information indicating a sequence of frames.

22. A method of displaying a video on a playback system, the method comprising:

displaying a frame of the video on a display of the playback system;

inspecting a data element associated with the frame of the video to identify an animation keyframe that corresponds to the frame of the video, the animation keyframe having been automatically generated using the frame of the video; and

prompting a user of the playback system to initiate display of an image associated with the animation keyframe.

23. The method of claim 22 further comprising:

determining if the image associated with the animation keyframe is a composite image; and

signaling the user that a composite image is available for viewing if the image associated with the animation keyframe is a composite image.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein determining if the image associated with the animation keyframe is a composite image comprises determining if the image associated with the animation keyframe is a panoramic image.

25. The method of claim 24 further comprising:

receiving a request from the user to view the panoramic image; and

executing program code in response to the request from the user to render views of the panoramic image in response to navigation input from the user.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the navigation input from the user includes a command to pan a perspective view of a scene depicted in the panoramic image in a horizontal direction.

27. The method of claim 25 wherein the navigation input from the user includes a command to tilt a perspective view of a scene depicted in the panoramic image.

28. The method of claim 23 wherein determining if the image associated with the animation keyframe is a composite image comprises determining if the image associated with the animation keyframe is a high resolution still image.

29. The method of claim 28 further comprising:

receiving a request from the user to view the high resolution still image; and

executing program code in response to the request from the user to scale views of the high resolution still image in response to zoom input from the user.

30. The method of claim 22 wherein prompting a user of the playback system to initiate display of an image associated with the animation keyframe comprises displaying an indicator on a display of the playback system to signal the user that the image associated with the animation keyframe is available for viewing.

31. The method of claim 22 wherein prompting a user of the playback system to initiate display of an image associated with the animation keyframe comprises activating an indicator on the playback system to signal the user that the image associated with the animation keyframe is available for viewing.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein activating an indicator on the playback system comprises activating an indicator on a handheld controller of the playback system.

33. A method of displaying a video on a playback system, the method comprising:

displaying a frame of the video on a display of the playback system;

inspecting a data element associated with the frame of the video to identify an animation keyframe that corresponds to the frame of the video, the animation keyframe having been automatically generated using the frame of the video; and

displaying an image associated with the animation keyframe within a window on the display concurrently with displaying the frame of the video.

34. A playback system comprising:

a processor;

a display coupled to the processor;

a media reader coupled to the processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory including program code which, when executed, causes the processor to

signal the media reader to provide video data from a machine-readable medium, the video data including a sequence of video frames and a data structure having elements that are associated with the video frames;

display the sequence of video frames on the display;

inspect the data structure elements associated with the video frames to identify an animation keyframe that corresponds to one or more of the video frames, the animation keyframe having been automatically generated using the one or more of the video frames; and

prompt a user of the playback system to initiate display of an image associated with the animation keyframe.

35. A method comprising:

displaying a video on a display of a playback system;

receiving input from a user requesting to switch from displaying the video to displaying an image of a 3D object navigable image linked to a frame of the video, the 3D object navigable image having been generated using one or more frames of the video; and

displaying the navigable image.

36. The method of claim 35 further comprising panning a perspective view of the navigable image in response to input from the user.

37. The method of claim 35 further comprising transacting a sale of a good depicted in the navigable image in response to input from the user.

38. The method of claim 35 further comprising transacting an agreement to perform a service indicated by one or more features in the navigable image in response to input from the user.

39. The method of claim 35 further comprising zooming a perspective view of the navigable image in response to input from the user.

40. The method of claim 35 wherein the navigable image is a panoramic image of a marketplace and wherein the image includes electronically-purchasable goods.

41. The method of claim 35 wherein the navigable image includes one or more three-dimensional objects.

42. A method comprising:

displaying a video on a display of a playback system; and

receiving input from a user requesting to switch from displaying the video to displaying a three dimensional object linked to a frame of the video, the three dimensional object having been generated from the frame of the video.

43. The method of claim 42 further comprising changing a viewpoint from which the three dimensional object is displayed in response to user input.

44. A computer readable medium having data stored thereon for displaying a sequence of images from an animation, wherein the animation has been linked to a video by:

generating a data structure containing elements that correspond to respective frames of a first video; and

storing in one or more of the elements of the data structure information that indicates an image in an animation that has been created from a second video.