User interface for media thumbnails

• US 9,063,638 B1
• Filed: 10/14/2008
• Issued: 06/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Schrock, Jasson, Stearns, Geoff
• Primary Examiner(s): WENG, PEI YONG
• Application Number:
  US12/251,392
• Time in Patent Office: 2,443 Days
• Field of Search: 715/838
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• 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

Abstract

Video thumbnails are presented on the web page of a video hosting site, or an embedded player, or a client device. Uploaded videos are examined by a thumbnail generator, which generates thumbnails from each. A presentation engine displays the generated thumbnails, which allows interaction by the user of the client. Thumbnails are displayed at rest, in horizontal or vertical alignment. Arrows or other selectors are displayed in one embodiment, and when selected cause the displayed thumbnails to appear to move in the appropriate direction, with new video thumbnails appearing on one end to replace those that travel off-screen. In one embodiment, video thumbnails appear to roll on to and off of the display using a perspective view. In one embodiment, moving a selecting device over one of the video thumbnails causes it to be accentuated, for example by appearing to move toward the viewer and appearing to increase in size.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for providing video thumbnails in a user interface, the method comprising:

receiving a plurality of video content items;

determining related video content items for respective videos within the plurality of video content items;

generating at least one thumbnail associated with respective ones of the plurality of video content items;

displaying a first set of the generated thumbnails in a user interface, each displayed thumbnail having a first displayed size and a first position in the user interface along a linear rest line, the first positions of each thumbnail disposed along a corresponding linear path emanating from a common vanishing point located separate from the linear rest line;

receiving a first selection of a thumbnail from within the first set of displayed thumbnails;

responsive to the selection, displaying the first selected thumbnail at a second position and second displayed size in the user interface, the second position of the first selected thumbnail farther away from the common vanishing point than the first position and the first selected thumbnail scaled relative to the other displayed thumbnails to appear closer to a viewer of the user interface than the other displayed thumbnails, the other displayed thumbnails displayed at their first displayed sizes and their first displayed positions, wherein the first position and the second position of the first selected thumbnail are disposed along the corresponding linear path emanating from the common vanishing point and the first selected thumbnail is scaled relative to a distance traveled along the corresponding linear path from the first position on the corresponding linear path to the second position on the corresponding linear path;

responsive to an indication that the first selected thumbnail is no longer selected, displaying the first selected thumbnail at the first position and first displayed size;

receiving a second set of thumbnails, each thumbnail in the second set of thumbnails representing a video content item related to at least one video content item represented by the first set of thumbnails; and

after a predetermined period of time, displaying each of the second set of thumbnails at the first displayed size and third positions along the linear rest line in the user interface, wherein the second set of thumbnails rise from a linear origin line while following corresponding linear paths emanating from the common vanishing point to the third positions along the linear rest line and scale proportionally larger to the first displayed sizes.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of video content items are received by a video hosting site.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the user interface is displayed on a web page of a video hosting site.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the user interface is displayed on a web page of a site other than a video hosting site.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the user interface includes an embedded video player.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein generating the first set of thumbnails further comprises:

animating the appearance of a first thumbnail of the generated thumbnails at a first time; and

animating the appearance of each subsequent generated thumbnail at a subsequent time.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein animating the appearance of a video thumbnail further comprises:

displaying a first portion of the thumbnail at a first location; and

displaying a second portion of the thumbnail at a second location, the second portion including the first portion, the second location and the first location defining a line originating at a vanishing point, and the second location farther from the vanishing point than the first location.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying the first selected thumbnail at a second size, the second size larger than the first size.

9. A computer program product for providing video thumbnails in a user interface, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium, the computer readable medium having computer executable code for performing the steps of:

receiving a plurality of video content items;

determining related video content items for respective videos within the plurality of video content items;

generating at least one thumbnail associated with respective ones of the plurality of video content items;

displaying a first set of the generated thumbnails in a user interface, each displayed thumbnail having a first displayed size and a first position in the user interface along a linear rest line, the first positions of each thumbnail disposed along a corresponding linear path emanating from a common vanishing point separate from the linear rest line;

receiving a first selection of a thumbnail from within the first set of displayed thumbnails;

responsive to the first selection, displaying the first selected thumbnail at a second position and second displayed size in the user interface, the second position of the first selected thumbnail farther away from the common vanishing point than the first position and the first selected thumbnail scaled relative to the other displayed thumbnails to appear closer to a viewer of the user interface than the other displayed thumbnails, the other displayed thumbnails displayed at their first displayed sizes and their first displayed positions, wherein the first position and second position of the first selected thumbnail are disposed along the corresponding linear path emanating from the common vanishing point and the first selected thumbnail is scaled relative to a distance traveled along the corresponding linear path from the first position on the corresponding linear path to the second position on the corresponding linear path;

responsive to an indication that the first selected thumbnail is no longer selected, displaying the first selected thumbnail at the first position and first displayed size;

receiving a second set of thumbnails, each thumbnail in the second set of thumbnails representing a video content item related to at least one video content item represented by the first set of thumbnails; and

after a predetermined period of time, displaying each of a second set of thumbnails at the first displayed size and third positions along the linear rest line in the user interface, wherein the second set of thumbnails rise from a linear origin line while following corresponding linear paths emanating from the common vanishing point to the third positions along the linear rest line and scale proportionally larger to the first displayed sizes.

11. The computer program product of claim 9 wherein the plurality of video content items are received from a video hosting site.

12. The computer program product of claim 9 wherein the user interface further comprises an embedded video player.

13. The computer program product of claim 9 wherein the user interface is displayed on a web page of a site other than a video hosting site.

14. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the user interface includes an embedded video player.

15. The computer program product of claim 9 wherein generating the first set of thumbnails further comprises:

animating the appearance of a first thumbnail of the generated thumbnails at a first time; and

animating the appearance of each subsequent generated thumbnail at a subsequent time.

16. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein animating the appearance of a video thumbnail further comprises:

displaying a first portion of the thumbnail at a first location; and

displaying a second portion of the thumbnail at a second location, the second portion including the first portion, the second location and the first location defining a line originating at a vanishing point, and the second location farther from the vanishing point than the first location.

10. A system for providing video thumbnails in a user interface, comprising:

at least one hardware processor;

a thumbnail generator, executed by the processor and adapted to receive a plurality of video content items;

a presentation engine, coupled to the thumbnail generator and executed by the processor, adapted to;

display a first plurality of the generated thumbnails in a user interface associated with respective ones of a first subset of the plurality of video content items;

position each of the first plurality of the generated thumbnails in first positions along a linear rest line, the first positions of each thumbnail disposed along a corresponding linear path emanating from a common vanishing point located separate from the linear rest line;

receive a first selection of one of the first plurality of displayed thumbnails;

display the first selected thumbnail at a second position and second displayed size in the user interface, the second position of the first selected thumbnail farther away from the common vanishing point than the first position and the first selected thumbnail scaled relative to the other displayed thumbnails to appear closer to a viewer of the user interface than the other displayed thumbnails, the other displayed thumbnails displayed at their first displayed size and their first displayed positions, wherein the first position and the second position of the first selected thumbnail are disposed along the corresponding linear path emanating from the common vanishing point and the first selected thumbnail is scaled relative to a distance traveled along the corresponding linear path from the first position on the corresponding linear path to the second position on the corresponding linear path;

responsive to an indication that the first selected thumbnail is no longer selected, to display the first selected thumbnail at the first position and first displayed size;

select a second plurality of thumbnails associated with respective ones of a second subset of the plurality of video content items, each thumbnail in the second plurality of thumbnails representing a video content item related to at least one video content item represented by the first plurality of thumbnails; and

after a predetermined period of time, display each thumbnail in the second plurality of thumbnails at the first displayed size and third positions along the linear rest line in the user interface, wherein the second plurality of thumbnails rise from a linear origin line while traveling corresponding linear paths emanating from the common vanishing point to the third positions along the linear rest line and scale proportionally larger relative to distance traveled along the corresponding linear paths to the first displayed sizes.

17. The system of claim 10 wherein the thumbnail generator is adapted to receive the plurality of video content items from a video hosting site.

18. The system of claim 10 wherein the user interface further comprises an embedded video player.