Animated screen object for annotation and selection of video sequences

• US 8,176,425 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2002
• Issued: 05/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ESW Holdings, Inc. (ESW Capital, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Ensequence Incorporated
• Inventors: Wallace, Michael W., Acott, Troy Steven, Westerman, Larry Alan, Johnson, Carl
• Primary Examiner(s): Pillai, Namitha
• Application Number:
  US10/066,144
• Publication Number:
  US 20020105535A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,750 Days
• Field of Search: 345/720, 345/723, 345/721, 345/724, 345/725, 345/726, 725/37
• US Class Current: 715/721
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/025 'Virtual' control panels, e.g. Graphical User Interface [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2562 DVDs [digital versatile discs]; Digital video discs; MMCDs; HDCDs
• 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 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42646 for reading from or writing on a non-volatile solid state storage medium, e.g. DVD, CD-ROM
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47205 for manipulating displayed content, e.g. interacting with MPEG-4 objects, editing locally
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8541 involving branching, e.g. to different story endings

Abstract

A simple display of items from a list, which changes in synchrony with the corresponding video display, and permits simple navigation under user control. The display includes three control objects positioned below a video frame window on a display screen. A middle displayed object is located in a focus position and corresponds to the video segment currently being played in the video window. When play of the segment is complete, the object located to the right of the focus position moves and displaces the middle displayed object, most recently displayed within the focus position, to indicate a forward progression within the viewed video sequence.

Claims

1. In connection with a video display system capable of displaying a sequence of video segments, a method for displaying a plurality of control objects associated with said video segments on a display screen comprising the steps of:

displaying a first control object, associated with the displayed first video segment, on the display screen in a focus position simultaneous with the display of a first video segment on the display screen;

displaying a second control object, associated with a second video segment, adjacent to the focus position; and

moving the second control object to the focus position, and the first control object out of the focus position, in substantial synchronicity with a transition between the display of the first video segment and the second video segment on the display screen.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying a third control object adjacent to the focus position, whereby the focus position is interposed between the second control object and the third control object.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

scrolling among the plurality of control objects based on input from a user of the video display system;

accepting the selection of one of the plurality of control objects based on input from a user of the video display system; and

displaying a video segment associated with the selected control object.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying a focus frame within said focus position, said focus frame operative to supply a visual indication of user control of the first control object and moving said focus frame under user control to the second control object.

5. The method of claim 1, said first and second control objects including displayed therein visual annotation corresponding to the content of the video segments associated with said control objects.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein the first, second, and third objects correspond to current, future, and past segments respectively within a default video sequence.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising the step of simultaneously moving the third object off of the display screen, and a fourth object onto the display screen simultaneous with the movement of the first object out of the focus position and the second object into the focus position so that the end position results in the focus position being interposed between the first control object and the fourth control object.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying at the second control object a plurality of subobjects, each corresponding to a respective video segment, to provide a selectable branching pathway from the video segment associated with the first control object.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of, in the absence of input from a user of the video display system, moving the preselected one of the second control subobjects to the focus position, and the first control object out of the focus position, at the end of the display of the first video segment.

10. A system, comprising a video display system, for displaying a plurality of control objects simultaneous with associated video segments on a display screen, comprising:

a first control object displayed in a focus position on said display screen simultaneous with an associated first video segment;

a second control object, associated with a second video segment, displayed adjacent to said focus position on said display screen,

wherein the second control object is moveable into the focus position, and the first control object out of the focus position, in substantial synchronicity with a transition between the display of the first video segment and the second video segment on the display sermon.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising a third control object, associated with a third video segment, displayed adjacent to said focus position on said display screen, whereby the focus position is interposed between the second control object and the third control object.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the plurality of control objects can be scrolled based on input from a user of the video display system and wherein one of the plurality of objects can be selected based on input from a user of the video control system to thereby cause the selected object to move to the focus position on the display screen in substantial synchronicity with a start of the display of the video segment associated with the selected object.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising a focus frame moveable between the plurality of objects based on input from the user of the video display system.

14. The system of claim 10, said first and second control objects including displayed therein visual annotation corresponding to the content of the video segments associated with said control objects.

15. The system of claim 12 wherein the first, second, and third objects correspond to current, future, and past segments respectively within the video sequence.

16. The system of claim 10, further comprising a plurality of subobjects located in place of the second object, each corresponding to a respective video segment, to provide a selectable branching pathway from the video segment associated with the first control object.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein in the absence of input from a user of the video display system, moving the preselected one of the second control subobjects to the focus position, and the first control object out of the focus position, at the end of the display of the first video segment.

18. The system of claim 10, further comprising a video frame in which the video segments are displayed where said video frame is spaced from said focus position.

19. A computer-readable medium on which is stored a program for displaying a plurality of control objects on a display screen in connection with a video display system, the program comprising instructions which, when executed by the computer, perform the steps of:

displaying a first control object, associated with the displayed first video segment, on the display screen in a focus position simultaneous with the display of a first video segment on the display screen;

displaying a second control object, associated with a second video segment, adjacent to the focus position; and

moving the second control object to the focus position, and the first control object out of the focus position, in substantial synchronicity with a transition between the display of the first video segment and the second video segment on the display screen.

20. The medium of claim 19, further comprising:

displaying a third control object, associated with a third video segment, adjacent to the focus position so that the focus position is interposed between the second and third control objects; and

moving the third object off of the display screen, and a fourth object onto the display screen simultaneous with the movement of the first object out of the focus position and the second object into the focus position so that the end position results in the focus position being interposed between the first control object and the fourth control object.

21. The medium of claim 20, further comprising displaying a video segment associated with the control object located in the focus position within a video frame on the display screen, wherein the video frame is non-overlapped with the focus position.

22. The medium of claim 20, further comprising displaying at the second control object a plurality of subobjects, each corresponding to a respective video segment, to provide a selectable branching pathway from the video segment associated with the first control object.

23. The medium of claim 22, further comprising the step of, in the absence of input from a user of the video display system, moving the preselected one of the second control subobjects to the focus position, and the first control object out of the focus position, at the end of the display of the first video segment.