Integrated live video production system

• US 8,028,317 B1
• Filed: 03/12/2009
• Issued: 09/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Broadcast Pix, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Broadcast Pix, Inc.
• Inventors: Swanton, John B., Swanton, Kenneth, Whittaker, Russell
• Primary Examiner(s): BARNES-BULLOCK, CRYSTAL JOY
• Application Number:
  US12/381,495
• Time in Patent Office: 929 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/157, 345/161, 345/168, 345/172, 345/184, 700/17, 700 83- 85, 715/716, 715/717, 715/719, 715/723, 715/727, 715/700, 715733-737, 715/740, 725/37, 725 59- 61
• US Class Current: 725/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/222 Studio circuitry; Studio devices; Studio equipment cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors, or control thereof H04N23/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/265 Mixing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/268 Signal distribution or switching

Abstract

Described is a system used in defining and producing a live television broadcast. The system includes one or more control panels, a workstation, a router, and devices. The control panels may be hard control panels or soft control panels. The control panel includes programmable buttons having a display determined in accordance with a show definition. Display and control of a portion of the control panel buttons may vary in response to another control or button selection. Primary and backup communication connections are used to control the live show production.

Claims

1. A control panel comprising:

one or more source selection buttons that are programmable, wherein each of said one or more source selection buttons is associated with an input source;

one or more device selection buttons that are programmable in accordance with selection of a first of said one or more source selection buttons, wherein each of said one or more device selection buttons is associated with a device; and

one or more controls that are programmable in accordance with selection of a first of said one or more device selection buttons, wherein said one or more controls include one or more content selection buttons, wherein each of the one or more content selection buttons is associated with a content element that varies in accordance with selection of said first device selection button and said each content selection button having a display that varies in accordance with the content element associated with said each content selection button.

2. The control panel of claim 1, wherein said first device selection button is programmable in accordance with a first show definition, said first device selection button having a first device association and first display format with said first show definition and a second device association and second display format with a second show definition.

3. The control panel of claim 1, wherein said device is associated with one of:

stored video data, stored audio data, stored audio-video data, stored camera position presets, and stored image data.

4. The control panel of claim 1, wherein said display of each of said one or more content selection buttons includes a filename.

5. The control panel of claim 1, wherein said one or more controls includes at least one of:

a joystick, a knob, a forward button control, and a reverse button control.

6. The control panel of claim 5, further comprising:

a display panel that displays a current state of controls in accordance with selection of a first of said one or more device selection buttons.

7. The control panel, of claim 1, wherein said one or more source selection buttons are programmable in accordance with a first show definition, each of said one or more source selection buttons including a content identifier displayed describing content associated with said each source, said one or more source selection buttons having first source associations and first display formats in accordance with a first show definition and second source associations and second display formats in accordance with a second show definition.

8. The control panel of claim 7, wherein said first show definition and said second show definition are used in connection with video and/or audio broadcast productions, are saved in files, and are used in defining states of the control panel.

9. The control panel of claim 1, further comprising:

one or more video overlay buttons having a display that varies in accordance with a selected input source, each of said one or more video overlay buttons including a content identifier reflective of a content of said selected input source.

10. The control panel of claim 1, wherein said control panel is implemented using at least one of hardware and software.

11. The control panel of claim 10, wherein all buttons of said control panel are one of:

displayed on a graphical user interface, and keys included on a hardware unit.

12. The control panel of claim 1, comprising:

a first memory including instructions for processing received messages;

a first component that executes instructions from said first memory;

a second memory including instructions for periodically refreshing a display of at least one of said buttons and updating said at least one of said buttons in response to a received message; and

a second component that executes instructions from said second memory.

13. The control panel of claim 12, wherein said first and second memories are the same memory and said first and second components are a same processor.

14. The control panel of claim 1, wherein said first device selection button is associated with a camera and each of said one or more content selection buttons is associated with a different preset camera position of the camera when said first device selection button is selected.

15. The control panel of claim 14, wherein the control panel interfaces with a computer system and the computer system interfaces with a positioning device to position said camera.

16. The control panel of claim 1, wherein each of said one or more source selection buttons is associated with an on-air source used in connection with a broadcast.

17. The control panel of claim 1, wherein said first source selection button is associated with a directory of data files, wherein said one or more device selection buttons include a first plurality of device selection buttons, wherein each of the first plurality of device selection buttons is associated with a type of file of the directory when said first source selection button is selected.

18. The control panel of claim 17, wherein the directory includes one or more file types including any of graphics files, video files, audio-video files, audio files, image data, and graphical presentation files, each of said first plurality of device selection buttons being associated with one of said file types, and each of said one or more content selection buttons being associated with a content element that is a file of the directory having a file type in accordance with a currently selected one of the first plurality of device selection buttons indicated by said first device selection button.

19. The control panel of claim 17, wherein said directory is included in a storage device of a computer system and the computer system interfaces with the control panel.

20. The control panel of claim 1, wherein selection of a first of said one or more content selection buttons causes an update of a corresponding one of said one or more source selection buttons.

21. The control panel of claim 1, wherein one of said device selection buttons is associated with a lighting device.

22. The control panel of claim 1, wherein upon selection of a control button included in the control panel, said one or more content selection buttons are updated and associated with functionality that varies with the device currently selected as indicated by a selection of said first device selection button.