Presentation broadcasting

• US 6,728,753 B1
• Filed: 11/01/1999
• Issued: 04/27/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Poon, Paul C., Wang, Alice, Warrin, Paul O., Crites, Brian, Parasnis, Shashank Mohan, Patel, Paresh, Purnaveja, Chayaboon
• Primary Examiner(s): Wiley, David
• Assistant Examiner(s): BOUTAH, ALINA A
• Application Number:
  US09/431,678
• Time in Patent Office: 1,639 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/204, 709/219, 709/231, 709/223, 709/227, 709/248, 709/217
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A system and method for broadcasting a presentation over a computer network to an online audience. The system comprises an integrated environment that leverages many of the features of Microsoft Corporation'"'"'s NETSHOW™ server technology, along with Microsoft Corporation'"'"'s POWERPOINT 2000™ presentation design application program to enable a presenter to broadcast a presentation to an online audience over a computer network, such as an intranet or the Internet. The system enables a live presentation comprising a plurality of presentation slides, and audio and optionally, a visual content to be broadcast to a plurality of receiving computers over a network so that the presentation slides are displayed and the audio and visual content are replicated on the receiving computers synchronized with the presentation slides, just as in the live presentation. Preferably, the plurality of presentation slides are sent as HTML files via the computer network in advance of the start of the presentation. During the presentation, the live audio and visual content is captured and encoded into an advanced server file stream format that is streamed from a local computer (at the presenter'"'"'s location) or a NETSHOW™ server to the receiving computers. The live audio and visual content is then replicated on the receiving computers using a media player. Also, slide display commands produced in conjunction with a display of the presentation slides during the presentation are streamed to the plurality of computers, so that the presentation slides are displayed on the receiving computers in synchrony with the live presentation, by loading the HTML files into a browser application program running on each of the receiving computers, in response to the slide display commands.

Claims

1. A method for broadcasting a live presentation from a presentation broadcast source to a plurality of receiving computers linked in communication with the presentation broadcast source across a computer network, said live presentation including a predefined content portion comprising a plurality of presentation slides that are displayed in response to slide triggering events during the live presentation and a live portion comprising live audio and/or visual content performed in conjunction with the broadcast of said plurality of presentation slides, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) sending the predefined content portion from the presentation broadcast source over the computer network to the plurality of receiving computers;

(b) streaming a data stream from the presentation broadcast source over the computer network to the plurality of receiving computers, said data stream comprising;

(i) data corresponding to the live portion; and

(ii) slide display commands corresponding to said slide triggering events, for controlling display of said plurality of presentation slides on said plurality of receiving computers; and

(c) displaying said plurality of presentation slides on said plurality of receiving computers in response to the slide display commands, and replicating the live portion on the plurality of receiving computers as the data stream is received so that said plurality of presentation slides are displayed in synchrony with the live presentation on said plurality of receiving computers.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) comprises the steps of:

(a) saving the predefined content portion of the presentation to at least one file; and

(b) sending said at least one file over the computer network to said plurality of receiving computers.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said at least one file is sent to said plurality of receiving computers using a multicast broadcast.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said at least one file is sent to said plurality of receiving computers prior to a start of the live presentation.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said at least one file includes hypertext markup language (HTML), and wherein each of said plurality of receiving computers are running a browser application program that caches said at least one file, thereby enabling said plurality of presentation slides to be rapidly displayed on each of said plurality of receiving computers in response to the slide display commands.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein said at least one file is broadcast to a predetermined network address from the presentation broadcast source.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of enabling:

(a) the browser application program of each of said plurality of receiving computers to browse a lobby page; and

(b) enabling the browser application program of each of said plurality of receiving computers to receive the data broadcast to the predetermined network address, so that the browser application program of each of said plurality of receiving computers caches said at least one file.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of embedding the slide display commands in the data stream.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the presentation broadcast source comprises a local computer on which the live presentation is performed, further comprising the step of employing said local computer to capture the slide triggering events and to generate the slide display commands in response thereto.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of capturing the live portion as it is being produced during the live presentation and encoding it into a digital streaming format.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the presentation broadcast source comprises a network server linked in communication with a local computer on which the live presentation is performed, further comprising the steps of:

(a) employing said local computer to capture the slide triggering events and to generate the slide display commands in response thereto;

(b) sending the predefined content portion from the local computer to the network server;

(c) capturing the live portion as it is being produced during the live presentation;

(d) encoding the live portion that was captured into a digital streaming format, thereby producing the data corresponding to the live portion;

(e) streaming the data corresponding to the live portion to the network server; and

(f) sending the slide display commands to the network server.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein step (c) is performed by the local computer, and wherein step (e) comprises the step of streaming the data corresponding to the live portion from the local computer to the network server.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein step (c) is performed by an encoding computer linked in communication with the local computer and with the network server, and wherein step (e) comprises the step of streaming the data corresponding to the live portion from the encoding computer to the network server.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

(a) sending the slide display commands from the local computer to the encoding computer; and

(b) embedding the slide display commands with the data corresponding to the live portion, thereby producing the data stream, such that step (e) and step (f) are accomplished by streaming the data stream from the encoding computer to the network server.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of performing an audio system check prior to beginning the live presentation.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of performing a video system check prior to beginning the live presentation.

17. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for enabling a broadcast of a live presentation from a local computer to at least one receiving computer running a browser application program and linked in communication with the local computer across a computer network, the live presentation including a predefined content portion comprising a plurality of presentation slides that are displayed during the live presentation and a live portion comprising live audio and/or visual content performed in conjunction with a broadcast of said plurality of presentation slides, execution of the computer-executable instructions causing the local computer to perform the steps of:

(a) sending the predefined content portion from the local computer over the computer network to the plurality of receiving computers;

(b) enabling a user to advance through said plurality of presentation slides during the live presentation by entering slide triggering events;

(c) streaming a data stream over the computer network to the plurality of receiving computers, said data stream comprising;

(i) data corresponding to the live portion and

(ii) slide display commands corresponding to said slide triggering events, for controlling display of said plurality of presentation slides on said plurality of receiving computers; and

(d) enabling said browser application program to replicate the predefined content portion and the live audio and/or visual content, and to use the slide display commands for displaying said plurality of presentation slides in response to the slide display commands as they are received, thereby synchronizing the live audio and/or visual content that is replicated with the display of said plurality of presentation slides.

18. A system for broadcasting a live presentation over a computer network to at least one receiving computer on which a browser application program is executing, said live presentation including a predefined content portion comprising a plurality of presentation slides and a live portion comprising live audio content performed in conjunction with a broadcast of said plurality of presentation slides during the live presentation, the system comprising:

(a) a local computer having a memory in which a plurality of machine instructions are stored, a user interface, and a processor coupled to the memory for executing the machine instructions, the local computer being linked in communication to said at least one receiving computer via the computer network;

(b) a presentation application program comprising a portion of the plurality of machine instructions stored in the memory of the local computer, the presentation application program that enables;

(i) a presenter to change slides during the live presentation in response to slide triggering events entered through the user interface; and

(ii) slide display commands to be generated in response to the slide triggering events;

(c) an audio capture subsystem that produces a digital audio signal corresponding to the live audio content;

(d) an encoding application module comprising a portion of the plurality of machine instructions stored in the memory of the local computer, used for encoding the digital audio signal into a live data stream having a streaming data format; and

(e) a networking application module comprising a portion of the plurality of machine instructions stored in the memory of the local computer, execution of the machine instructions of the network application module causing the local computer to perform the functions of;

(i) broadcasting the predefined content portion over the computer network to said at least one receiving computer;

(ii) broadcasting the slide display commands over the computer network to said at least one receiving computer in a streaming format;

(iii) broadcasting the live data stream over the computer network to said at least one receiving computer in a streaming format; and

(iv) enabling said browser application program to replicate the predefined content portion and the live data stream, and to use the slide display commands for displaying said plurality of presentation slides in response to the slide display commands as they are received, thereby synchronizing the live audio content that is replicated with the display of said plurality of presentation slides.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the live portion of the live presentation further comprises live visual content, further including a video capture subsystem that produces a digital video signal corresponding to the live visual content, whereby the digital video signal is encoded along with the digital audio signal into the live data stream, enabling a media player module executing on said at least one receiving computer to replicate the live visual content, synchronized with the display of said plurality of presentation slides.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the presentation application program sends at least part of the predefined content portion of the live presentation prior to a start of the live presentation, for caching on said at least one receiving computer by said browser application program.

21. A system for broadcasting a live presentation over a computer network via a network server to at least one receiving computer on which a browser application program is executing, said live presentation including a predefined content portion comprising a plurality of presentation slides and a live portion comprising live audio content performed in conjunction with a broadcast of said plurality of presentation slides during the live presentation, the system comprising:

(a) a local computer having a memory in which a plurality of machine instructions are stored, a user interface, and a processor coupled to the memory for executing the machine instructions, the local computer being linked in communication with the network server;

(b) an audio capture subsystem that produces a digital audio signal corresponding to the live audio content;

(c) an encoding application module comprising a portion of the plurality of machine instructions stored in the memory of the local computer, used for encoding the digital audio signal into a live data stream having a streaming data format;

(d) a portion of the plurality of machine instructions stored in the memory of the local computer comprising a presentation application program, execution of the presentation application program by the local computer enabling;

(i) a presenter to change slides during the live presentation by entering slide triggering events through the user interface;

(ii) slide display commands to be generated in response to the slide triggering events;

(iii) the predefined content portion to be sent to the network server;

(iv) the slide display commands to be sent to the network server; and

(v) the live data stream to be sent to the network server; and

(e) a network communication module running on the network server, enabling the network server to perform the functions of;

(i) broadcasting the predefined content portion over the computer network to said at least one receiving computer;

(ii) broadcasting the slide display commands over the computer network to said at least one receiving computer in a streaming format;

(iii) broadcasting the live data stream over the computer network to said at least one receiving computer in a streaming format; and

(iv) enabling said browser application program to replicate the predefined content portion and the live audio content, and to use the slide display commands for displaying said plurality of presentation slides in response to the slide display commands as they are received, thereby synchronizing the live audio content that is replicated with the display of said plurality of presentation slides.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the live portion of the live presentation further comprises live visual content, further including a video capture subsystem that produces a digital video signal corresponding to the live visual content, so that the digital video signal is encoded along with the digital audio signal into the live data stream, enabling a media player module executing on said at least one receiving computer to replicate the live visual content in synchronization with the display of said plurality of presentation slides.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the presentation application program sends at least part of the predefined content portion of the live presentation prior to a start of the live presentation, for caching on said at least one receiving computer by said browser application program.

24. A system for broadcasting a live presentation over a computer network via a network server to at least one receiving computer on which a browser application program is executing, said live presentation including a predefined content portion comprising a plurality of presentation slides, and a live portion comprising live audio content performed in conjunction with a broadcast of said plurality of presentation slides during the live presentation, the system comprising:

(a) a local computer having a memory in which a plurality of machine instructions are stored, a user interface, and a processor coupled to the memory for executing the machine instructions, the local computer being linked in communication with the network server;

(b) an audio capture subsystem that produces a digital audio signal corresponding to the live audio content;

(c) an encoding computer having a memory in which a plurality of machine instructions are stored, and a processor coupled to the memory for executing the machine instructions, the encoding computer being linked in communication with the local computer and the network server;

(d) a portion of the plurality of machine instructions stored in the memory of the encoding computer comprising an encoding module, execution of the encoding module performing the functions of;

(i) encoding the digital audio signal into a live data stream having a streaming data format; and

(ii) sending the live data stream to the network server;

(e) a presentation application program comprising a portion of the plurality of machine instructions stored in the memory of the local computer, execution of the presentation application program enabling;

(i) a presenter to change slides during the live presentation by entering slide triggering events through the user interface;

(ii) slide display commands to be generated in response to the slide triggering events;

(iii) the predefined content portion to be sent to the network server; and

(iv) the slide display commands to be sent to the encoding computer to be embedded into the live data stream by the encoding module; and

(f) a network communication module running on the network server, enabling the network server to perform the functions of;

(i) broadcasting the predefined content portion over the computer network to said at least one receiving computer;

(ii) broadcasting the slide display commands over the computer network to said at least one receiving computer in a streaming format;

(iii) broadcasting the live data stream over the computer network to said at least one receiving computer in a streaming format; and

(iv) enabling said browser application program to replicate the predefined content portion and the live audio content, and to use the slide display commands for displaying said plurality of presentation slides in response to the slide display commands as they are received, thereby synchronizing the live audio content that is replicated with the display of said plurality of presentation slides.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the live portion of the live presentation further comprises live visual content, further including a video capture subsystem that produces a digital video signal corresponding the live visual content, whereby the digital video signal is encoded by the encoding computer along with the digital audio signal into the live data stream, enabling a media player module executing on said at least one receiving computer to replicate the live visual content, synchronized with the display of said plurality of presentation slides.