Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
MULTIFUNCTION MULTIMEDIA DEVICE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a multifunction multimedia device.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be
pursued, but
not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued.
Therefore,
unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the
approaches described in
this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this
section.
[0003] Multimedia content streams may be received by a multimedia player for
display to
a user. Furthermore, general information about multimedia content may be
received by the
multimedia player for display to the user. The multimedia content is generally
presented in a
fixed non-editable format. The user is able to jump to particular points in
the media content
via scene selections created by the producer. Accordingly, the watching of the
media content
is generally passive and the user interaction is minimal.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0004] The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way
of
limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like
reference numerals
refer to similar elements and in which:
[0005] Figure 1A is a block diagram illustrating an example system in
accordance with
an embodiment;
[0006] Figure 1B is a block diagram illustrating an example media device in
accordance
with an embodiment;
[0007] Figure 2 illustrates a flow diagram for presenting additional content
in accordance
with an embodiment.
[0008] Figure 3 illustrates a flow diagram for determining a position in the
playing of
media content in accordance with an embodiment.
[0009] Figure 4 illustrates a flow diagram for detecting the playing of an
advertisement in
accordance with an embodiment.
[0010] Figure 5 illustrates a flow diagram for deriving a fingerprint from
media content
in accordance with an embodiment.
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
[0011] Figure 6 shows an exemplary architecture for the collection and storage
of
fingerprints derived from media devices.
[0012] Figure 7 illustrates a flow diagram for presenting messages in
accordance with an
embodiment.
[0013] Figure 8 illustrates a flow diagram for interpreting voice commands in
accordance
with an embodiment;
[0014] Figure 9 illustrates a flow diagram for correlating annotations with
media content
in accordance with an embodiment;
[0015] Figure 10 shows an exemplary system for configuring an environment in
accordance with one or more embodiments.
[0016] Figure 11 illustrates a flow diagram for selecting media content for
recording
based on one or more fingerprints derived from the media content in accordance
with one or
more embodiments;
[0017] Figure 12 illustrates a flow diagram for replacing incomplete copies of
media
content with complete copies of media content in accordance with one or more
embodiments;
[0018] Figure 13 illustrates a flow diagram for starting a recording of media
content in a
content stream based on one or more fingerprints derived from the media
content in
accordance with one or more embodiments;
[0019] Figure 14 illustrates a flow diagram for stopping a recording of media
content in a
content stream based on one or more fingerprints derived from the media
content in
accordance with one or more embodiments;
[0020] Figure 15 shows a block diagram that illustrates a system upon which an
embodiment of the invention may be implemented.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous
specific
details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the
present invention. It
will be apparent, however, that the present invention may be practiced without
these specific
details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in
block diagram
form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention.
[0022] Several features are described hereafter that can each be used
independently of
one another or with any combination of the other features. However, any
individual feature
might not address any of the problems discussed above or might only address
one of the
problems discussed above. Some of the problems discussed above might not be
fully
2
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
addressed by any of the features described herein. Although headings are
provided,
information related to a particular heading, but not found in the section
having that heading,
may also be found elsewhere in the specification.
[0023] Example features are described according to the following outline:
1.0 FUNCTIONAL OVERVIEW
2.0 SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
3.0 PRESENTING ADDITIONAL CONTENT BASED ON MEDIA
CONTENT FINGERPRINTS
4.0 DETERMINING A PLAYING POSITION BASED ON MEDIA
CONTENT FINGERPRINTS
5.0 RECORDING BASED ON MEDIA CONTENT FINGERPRINTS
6.0 PUBLISHING RECORDING OR VIEWING INFORMATION
7.0 DERIVING A FINGERPRINT FROM MEDIA CONTENT
8.0 PRESENTING UDPATES
9.0 INTERPRETING COMMANDS
10.0 CORRELATING INPUT WITH MEDIA CONTENT
11.0 ELICITING ANNOTATIONS BY A PERSONAL MEDIA DEVICE
12.0 MARKING MEDIA CONTENT
13.0 PUBLICATION OF MEDIA CONTENT ANNOTATIONS
14.0 AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED ANNOTATIONS
15.0 ENVIRONMENT CONFIGURATION
16.0 HARDWARE OVERVIEW
17.0 EXTENSIONS AND ALTERNATIVES
1.0 FUNCTIONAL OVERVIEW
[0024] In an embodiment, media content is received and presented to a user. A
fingerprint derived from the media content is then used to query a server to
identify the media
content. Based on the media content identified based on the fingerprint,
additional content is
obtained and presented to the user.
[0025] In an embodiment, the additional content may include an advertisement
(e.g., for a
product, service, or other media content), which is selected based on the
identified media
content.
[0026] In an embodiment, a fingerprint is derived dynamically from the media
content
subsequent to receiving a command to present the media content. In an
embodiment, the
3
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
fingerprint is derived dynamically from the media content subsequent to
receiving a
command to present additional content associated with the media content being
presented.
[0027] In an embodiment, a face is detected in the media content based on the
fingerprint
derived from the media content. A name of a person associated with the face is
determined
and presented in the additional content. Detecting the face and/or determining
the name of
the person associated with the face may be dynamically performed in response
to receiving a
user command.
[0028] In an embodiment, features (e.g., objects, structures, landscapes,
locations, etc.) in
media content frames may be detected based on the fingerprint derived from the
media
content. The features may be identified and the identification may be
presented. The
features may be identified and/or the identification presented in response to
a user command.
[0029] In an embodiment, fingerprints may be dynamically derived concurrently
with
playing the media content. A position in the playing of the media content may
then be
determined based on the fingerprints.
[0030] In an embodiment, additional content may be presented based on the
position in
the playing of the media content. In an embodiment, the additional content
based on the
position in the playing of the media content may be presented in response to a
user command.
[0031] In an embodiment, playing of the media content may be synchronized over
multiple devices based on the position in the playing of the media content. In
an
embodiment, synchronization over multiple devices may be performed by starting
the playing
of media content on multiple devices at the same time, seeking to an arbitrary
position of the
media content on a device or delaying the playing of media content on a
device. During
synchronized playing of the media content on multiple devices, a command to
fast-forward,
rewind, pause, stop, seek, or play on one device may be performed on all
synchronized
devices. In an embodiment, a determination may be made that advertisements are
being
played based on the position in the playing of the media content. The
advertisement may be
skipped over or fast-forwarded through based on the position in the playing of
the media
content. In an embodiment, a notification may be provided that the
advertisement was played
or the speed at which the advertisement was played. In an embodiment, the
advertisement
may be selected based on the position in the playing of the media content.
[0032] In an embodiment, the playing of an advertisement may be detected by
determining that one or more fingerprints of the media content being played
are associated
with an advertisement portion of the media content. In an embodiment, an
advertisement
may be detected by identifying the persons associated with the faces in the
advertisement
4
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
portion of the media content and determining that the identified persons are
not actors listed
for the media content. In an embodiment, the advertisement may be enhanced
with additional
content pertaining to the product or service being advertised. In an
embodiment, the
advertisement may be automatically fast-forwarded, muted, or replaced with an
alternate
advertisement. In an embodiment, only a non-advertisement portion of the media
content
may be recorded by skipping over the detected advertisement portion of the
media content.
[0033] In an embodiment, a command is received to record particular media
content on a
first device associated with a first user and the particular media content is
scheduled for
recording on the first device. A notification is provided to a second device
associated with a
second user of the scheduling of the recording of the particular media content
on the first
device. The second device may then schedule recording of the particular media
content. The
second device may schedule the recording of the particular media content
without receiving a
user command or subsequent to receiving a user confirmation to record the
particular media
content in response to the notification.
[0034] In an embodiment, a command may be received from the second user by the
second device to record all media content that is scheduled for recording on
first device, any
one of a plurality of specified devices, or a device associated with any of a
plurality of
specified users.
[0035] In an embodiment, the scheduled recording of a particular media content
on
multiple devices may be detected. In response to detecting that the particular
media content
is scheduled for recording on multiple devices, a notification may be provided
to at least one
of the multiple devices that the particular media content is scheduled for
recording on the
multiple devices. The particular media content may then be synchronously
displayed on the
multiple devices. A time may be selected by one of the devices to
synchronously play the
particular media content on the multiple devices based on a user availability
calendar
accessible through each of the devices. A time may also be suggested to
receive a user
confirmation for the suggested time.
[0036] In an embodiment, a command to record or play a particular media
content on a
device associated with a user may be received. Responsive to the command, the
particular
media content may be recorded or played and information may be published in
association
with the user indicating that the user is recording or playing the particular
media content.
The information may be automatically published to a web service for further
action, such as
display on a web page. Responsive to the command, information associated with
the
particular media content may be obtained and presented to the user. In an
embodiment, a
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
group (e.g., on a social networking website) may be automatically created for
users
associated with devices playing or recording the particular media content.
[0037] In an embodiment, a media device meeting an idleness criteria may be
detected.
In response to detecting an idleness criteria, media content may be sent to
the media device.
The media device may be configured to receive a particular content stream or
streams
accessible via the internet comprising the media content. The media device may
derive a
fingerprint from the media content and send the fingerprint to a fingerprint
database, along
with additional data pertaining to the media (such as title, synopsis, closed
caption text, etc).
Detecting that a media device meets an idleness criteria may involve receiving
a signal from
the media device, the media device completing a duration of time without
receiving a user
command at the media device, or determining that the media content has
resource availability
for deriving a fingerprint.
[0038] In an embodiment, concurrently with playing audio/video (AV) content, a
message is received. The message is interpreted based on message preferences
associated
with a user and the user is presented with the message based on the message
preferences. In
an embodiment, one or more messages may be filtered out based on message
preferences.
[0039] In an embodiment, presenting messages includes overlaying information
associated with the message on one or more video frames of the AV content
being played to
the user. Presenting the message may include playing audio information
associated with the
message. In an embodiment, AV content is paused or muted when messages are
presented.
[0040] In an embodiment, messages are submitted by another user as audio
input, textual
input or graphical input. Audio input may include a voice associated with the
sender of the
message, the receiver of the message, a particular fictional character, or non-
fictional
character, or a combination thereof. The messages may be played exclusively to
the recipient
of the message.
[0041] In an embodiment, a message may be presented during a time period
specified by
a message preference. A message may be held until a commercial break during
the playing
of the AV content and presented during the commercial break. In an embodiment,
a message
maybe received from a message service associated with a social networking
website.
[0042] In an embodiment, a user-defined alert condition is received from a
user. AV
content is played concurrently with monitoring for occurrence of the user-
defined alert
condition and occurrence of the user-defined alert condition is detected. An
alert may be
presented in response to detecting occurrence of the user-defined alert
condition.
[0043] In an embodiment, detecting the alert condition includes determining
that media
6
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
content determined to be of interest to a user is being available on a content
stream. In an
embodiment, detecting the alert condition includes determines that media
content associated
with user requested information is available on a content stream. Detecting
the alert
condition may include receiving a notification indicating occurrence of the
alert condition. In
an embodiment, detecting occurrence of an alert condition may include
obtaining information
using optical character recognition (OCT) and detecting occurrence of the
alert condition
based on the information.
[0044] In an embodiment, a voice command is received from a user and the user
is
identified based on voice command. The voice command is then interpreted based
on
preferences associated with the identified user to determine an action out of
a plurality of
actions. The action is then performed.
[0045] In an embodiment, a number of applicable users for the voice command is
determined. The number of applicable users may be determined by recognizing
users based
on voice input.
[0046] In an embodiment, the action based on user preferences may include
configuring a
multimedia device or an environment, presenting messages, making a purchase,
or
performing another suitable action. In an embodiment, an action may be
presented for user
confirmation prior to performing the action or checked to ensure that the user
permission to
execute the action. In an embodiment, the voice command may be interpreted
based on the
language in which the voice command was received.
[0047] In an embodiment, concurrently with playing media content on a
multimedia
device, an annotation(s) is received from a user. The annotation is stored in
associated with
the media content. In an embodiment, the annotation may include audio input,
textual input,
and/or graphical input. In an embodiment, the media content is played a second
time
concurrently with audio input received from the user. Playing the media
content the second
time may involve playing only a video portion of the media content with the
audio input
received from the user.
[0048] In an embodiment, multiple versions of annotations may be received
during
different playbacks of the media content and each annotation may be stored in
association
with the media content. The annotations may be provided in languages different
than the
original language of the audio portion of the media content. Annotations may
be provided
with instructions associated with intended playback. Annotations may include
automatically
generated audio based on information obtained using optical character
recognition. In an
embodiment, annotations may be analyzed to derive annotation patterns
associated with
7
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
media content. Annotations may be elicited from a user and may include reviews
of media
content. In an embodiment, user profiles may be generated based on
annotations.
Annotations may mark intervals or particular points in the playing of media
content, which
may be used as bookmarks to resume playing of the media content. Intervals
marked by
annotations may be skipped during a subsequent playing of the media content or
used to
create a play sequence.
[0049] Although specific components are recited herein as performing the
method steps,
in other embodiments agents or mechanisms acting on behalf of the specified
components
may perform the method steps. Further, although some aspects of the invention
are discussed
with respect to components on a system, the invention may be implemented with
components
distributed over multiple systems. Embodiments of the invention also include
any system
that includes the means for performing the method steps described herein.
Embodiments of
the invention also include a computer readable medium with instructions, which
when
executed, cause the method steps described herein to be performed.
2.0 SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
[0050] Although a specific computer architecture is described herein, other
embodiments
of the invention are applicable to any architecture that can be used to
perform the functions
described herein.
[0051] Figure 1 shows a media device A (100), a media source (110), a media
device N
(120), a fingerprint server (130), a network device (140), and a web server
(150). Each of
these components are presented to clarify the functionalities described herein
and may not be
necessary to implement the invention. Furthermore, components not shown in
Figure 1 may
also be used to perform the functionalities described herein. Functionalities
described as
performed by one component may instead be performed by another component.
[0052] In an embodiment, the media source (110) generally represents any
content source
from which the media device A (100) can receive media content. The media
source (110)
may be a broadcaster (includes a broadcasting company/service) that streams
media content
to media device A (100). The media source (110) may be a media content server
from which
the media device A (100) downloads the media content. The media source (100)
may be an
audio and/or video player from which the media device A (100) receives the
media content
being played. The media source (100) may be a computer readable storage or
input medium
(e.g., physical memory, a compact disc, or digital video disc) which the media
device A (100)
reads to obtain the media content. The terms streaming, broadcasting, or
downloading to a
8
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
device may be used interchangeably herein and should not be construed as
limiting to one
particular method of the device obtaining data. The media device A (100) may
receive data
by streaming, broadcasting, downloading, etc. from a broadcast service, a web
server, another
media device, or any suitable system with data or content that may accessible
by the media
device. Different sources may be mentioned as different examples presented
below. An
example describing a specific source should not be construed as limited to
that source.
[0053] In an embodiment, the fingerprint server (130) generally represents any
server that
stores fingerprints derived from media content. The fingerprint server (130)
may be accessed
by the media device A (100) to download and/or upload fingerprints derived
from media
content. The fingerprint server (130) may be managed by a content source
(e.g., a broadcast
service, a web service, or any other source of content) for storing a database
of fingerprints
derived from media content. The content source may select media content to be
fingerprinted. The media device A (100) may derive the fingerprint from
selected media
content and provide the fingerprint to the fingerprint server (130). In an
embodiment, the
fingerprint server (130) may serve as a database for identifying media content
or metadata
associated with media content based on the fingerprint derived from that media
content. In
an embodiment, at least a portion of the fingerprint server (130) is
implemented on one or
more media devices. The media devices may be updated continuously,
periodically, or
according to another suitable schedule when the fingerprint server (130) is
updated.
[0054] In an embodiment, the network device (140) generally represents any
component
that is a part of the media device A (100) or a separate device altogether
that includes
functionality to communicate over a network (e.g., internet, intranet, world
wide web, etc.).
For example, the network device (140) may be a computer communicatively
coupled with the
media device A (100) or a network card in the media device A (100). The
network device
(140) may include functionality to publish information associated with the
media device A
(100) (e.g., media content scheduled for recording on the media device A
(100), media
content recorded on the media device A (100), media content being played on
the media
device A (100), media content previously played on the media device A (100),
media content
displayed on the media device A (100), user preferences/statistics collected
by the media
device A (100), user settings on the media device A (100), etc.). The network
device (140)
may post the information on a website, provide the information in an
electronic message or
text message, print the information on a network printer, or publish the
information in any
other suitable manner. The network device (140) may include functionality to
directly
provide the information to another media device(s) (e.g., media device N
(120)). The
9
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
network device (140) may include functionality to obtain information from a
network. For
example, the network device (140) may perform a search for metadata or any
other additional
data associated with media content and provide the search results to the media
device A
(100). Another example may involve the network device (140) obtaining
information
associated with media content scheduled, recorded, and/or played on media
device N (120).
[0055] In an embodiment media device A (100) (or media device N (120))
generally
represents any media device comprising a processor and configured to present
media content.
The media device A (100) may refer to a single device or any combination of
devices (e.g., a
receiver and a television set) that may be configured to present media
content. Examples of
the media device A (100) include one or more of: receivers, digital video
recorders, digital
video players, televisions, monitors, Blu-ray players, audio content players,
video content
players, digital picture frames, hand-held mobile devices, computers,
printers, etc. The media
device A (100) may present media content by playing the media content (e.g.,
audio and/or
visual media content), displaying the media content (e.g., still images),
printing the media
content (e.g., coupons), electronically transmitting the media content (e.g.,
electronic mail),
publishing the media content (e.g., on a website), or by any other suitable
means. In an
embodiment, media device A (100) may be a management device which communicates
with
one or more other media devices in a system. For example, the media device A
(100) may
receive commands from media device (e.g., a DVD player, a remote, a joystick,
etc.) and
communicate the command to another media device (e.g., a monitor, a receiver,
etc.). In an
embodiment, the media device A (100) may represent any apparatus with one or
more
subsystems configured to perform the functions described herein.
[0056] In an embodiment, the media device A (100) may include functionality to
derive
fingerprints from media content. For example, the media device A (100) may
derive a
fingerprint from media content recorded on associated memory or stored in any
other
accessible location (e.g., an external hard drive, a DVD, etc.). The media
device A (100)
may also derive a fingerprint from media content available on a content
stream. Media
content that is available on a content stream includes any media content that
is accessible by
the media device A (100). For example, content available on a content stream
may include
content being broadcasted by a broadcast service, content available for
download from a web
server, peer device, or another system, or content that is otherwise
accessible by the media
device A (100). In an embodiment, the media device A (100) may include
functionality to
obtain media content being displayed and dynamically derive fingerprints from
the media
content being displayed or media content stored on the media device. In an
embodiment, the
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
media device A (100) may include the processing and storage capabilities to
decompress
media content (e.g., video frames), modify and/or edit media content, and
compress media
content.
[0057] In an embodiment, the media device A (100) may include functionality to
mimic
another media device(s) (e.g., media device N (120)) by recording, or playing
the same media
content as another media device. For example, the media device A (100 may
include
functionality to receive notifications of media content being recorded on
media device N
(120) and obtain the same media content from a content source. The media
device A may
automatically record the media content or provide the notification to a user
and record the
media content in response to a user command.
[0058] Figure lB illustrates an example block diagram of a media device in
accordance
with one or more embodiments. As shown in Figure 1B, the media device (100)
may include
multiple components such as a memory system (155), a disk (160), a central
processing unit
(CPU) (165), a display sub-system (170), an audio/video input (175), a tuner
(180), a network
module (190), peripherals unit (195), text/audio convertor (167), and/or other
components
necessary to perform the functionality described herein.
[0059] In an embodiment, the audio/video input (175) may correspond to any
component
that includes functionality to receive audio and/or video input (e.g., HDMI
176, DVI 177,
Analog 178) from an external source. For example, the audio/video input (175)
may be a
DisplayPort or a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI) that can receive
input from
different devices. The audio/video input (175) may receive input from a set-
top box, a Blu-
ray disc player, a personal computer, a video game console, an audio/video
receiver, a
compact disk player, an enhanced versatile disc player, a high definition
optical disc, a
holographic versatile disc, a laser disc, mini disc, a disc film, a RAM disc,
a vinyl disc, a
floppy disk, a hard drive disk, etc. The media device (100) may include
multiple audio/video
inputs (175).
[0060] In an embodiment, the tuner (180) generally represents any input
component that
can receive a content stream (e.g., through cable, satellite, internet,
network, or terrestrial
antenna). The tuner (180) may allow one or more received frequencies while
filtering out
others (e.g., by using electronic resonance). A television tuner may convert
an RF television
transmission into audio and video signals which can be further processed to
produce sound
and/or an image.
[0061] In an embodiment, input may also be received from a network module
(190). A
network module (190) generally represents any input component that can receive
information
11
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
over a network (e.g., internet, intranet, world wide web, etc.). Examples of a
network module
(190) include a network card, network adapter, network interface controller
(NIC), network
interface card, Local Area Network adapter, Ethernet network card, and/or any
other
component that can receive information over a network. The network module
(190) may also
be used to directly connect with another device (e.g., a media device, a
computer, a secondary
storage device, etc.).
[0062] In an embodiment, input may be received by the media device (100) from
any
communicatively coupled device through wired and/or wireless communication
segments.
Input received by the media device (100) may be stored to the memory system
(155) or disk
(160). The memory system (155) may include one or more different types of
physical
memory to store data. For example, one or more memory buffers (e.g., an HD
frame buffer)
in the memory system (155) may include storage capacity to load one or more
uncompressed
high definition (HD) video frames for editing and/or fingerprinting. The
memory system
(155) may also store frames in a compressed form (e.g., MPEG2, MPEG4, or any
other
suitable format), where the frames are then uncompressed into the frame buffer
for
modification, fingerprinting, replacement, and/or display. The memory system
(155) may
include FLASH memory, DRAM memory, EEPROM, traditional rotating disk drives,
etc.
The disk (160) generally represents secondary storage accessible by the media
device (100).
[0063] In an embodiment, central processing unit (165) may include
functionality to
perform the functions described herein using any input received by the media
device (100).
For example, the central processing unit (165) may be used to dynamically
derive fingerprints
from media content frames stored in the memory system (155). The central
processing unit
(165) may be configured to mark or identify media content or portions of media
content
based on tags, hash values, fingerprints, time stamp, or other suitable
information associated
with the media content. The central processing unit (165) may be used to
modify media
content (e.g., scale a video frame), analyze media content, decompress media
content,
compress media content, etc. A video frame (e.g., an HD video frame) stored in
a frame
buffer may be modified dynamically by the central processing unit (165) to
overlay
additional content (e.g., information about the frame, program info, a chat
message, system
message, web content, pictures, an electronic programming guide, or any other
suitable
content) on top of the video frame, manipulate the video frame (e.g.,
stretching, rotation,
shrinking, etc.), or replace the video frame in real time. Accordingly, an
electronic
programming guide, advertisement information that is dynamically selected,
media content
information, or any other text/graphics may be written onto a video frame
stored in a frame
12
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
buffer to superimpose the additional content on top of the stored video frame.
The central
processing unit (165) may be used for processing communication with any of the
input and/or
output devices associated with the media device (100). For example, a video
frame which is
dynamically modified in real time may subsequently be transmitted for display.
The central
processing unit (165) may be used to communicate with other media devices to
perform
functions related to synchronization, or publication of data.
[0064] In an embodiment, the text/audio convertor (167) generally represents
any
software and/or hardware for converting text to audio and/or for converting
audio to text. For
example, the text/audio convertor may include functionality to convert text
corresponding to
closed captioned data to an audio file. The audio file may be based on a
computerized voice,
or may be trained for using the voice of a user, a fictional or non-fictional
character, etc. In
an embodiment, the automatically generated voice used for a particular message
may be the
voice of a user generating the message. The text/audio convertor may include
functionality
to switch languages when converting from voice to text or from text to voice.
For example,
audio input in French may be converted to a text message in English.
[0065] In an embodiment, the peripherals unit (195) generally represents input
and/or
output for any peripherals that are communicatively coupled with the media
device (100)
(e.g., via USB, External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (eSATA),
Parallel ATA,
Serial ATA, Bluetooth, infrared, etc.). Examples of peripherals may include
remote control
devices, USB drives, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, and voice recognition
devices that
can be used to operate the media device (100). In an embodiment, multiple
microphones may
be used to detect sound, identify user location, etc. In an embodiment, a
microphone may be
a part of a media device (100) or other device (e.g., a remote control) that
is communicatively
coupled with the media device (100). In an embodiment, the media device (100)
may include
functionality to identify media content being played (e.g., a particular
program, or a position
in a particular program) when audio input is received (e.g., via a microphone)
from a user.
[0066] In an embodiment, the display sub-system (170) generally represents any
software
and/or device that includes functionality to output (e.g., Video Out to
Display 171) and/or
actually display one or more images. Examples of display devices include a
kiosk, a hand
held device, a computer screen, a monitor, a television, etc. The display
devices may use
different types of screens such as a liquid crystal display, cathode ray tube,
a projector, a
plasma screen, etc. The output from the media device (100) may be specially
for formatted
for the type of display device being used, the size of the display device,
resolution (e.g., 720i,
720p, 1080i, 1080p, or other suitable resolution), etc.
13
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
3.0 PRESENTING ADDITIONAL CONTENT BASED ON MEDIA CONTENT
FINGERPRINTS
[0067] Figure 2 illustrates a flow diagram for presenting additional content
in accordance
with an embodiment. One or more of the steps described below may be omitted,
repeated,
and/or performed in a different order. Accordingly, the specific arrangement
of steps shown
in Figure 2 should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.
[0068] Initially, a command is received to present media content in accordance
with an
embodiment (Step 202). The received command may be entered by a user via a
keyboard or
remote control. The command may be a selection in the electronic programming
guide
(EPG) by a user for the recording and/or playing of the media content. The
command may a
channel selection entered by a user. The command may be a request to display a
slide show
of pictures. The command may be to play an audio file. The command may be a
request to
play a movie (e.g., a command for a blu-ray player). In an embodiment,
receiving the
command to present media content may include a user entering the title of
media content in a
search field on a user interface. In an embodiment, media content is presented
(Step 204).
Presenting the media content may include playing audio and/or visual media
content (e.g.,
video content), displaying or printing images, etc. Presenting the media
content may also
involve overlaying the media content over other media content also being
presented.
[0069] In an embodiment, a fingerprint is derived from the media content (Step
206). An
example of deriving a fingerprint from media content includes projecting
intensity values of
one or more video frames onto a set of projection vectors and obtaining a set
of projected
values. A fingerprint bit may then be computed based on each of the projected
values and
concatenated to compute the fingerprint for the media content. Another example
may include
applying a mathematical function to a spectrogram of an audio file. Other
fingerprint
derivation techniques may also be used to derive a fingerprint from media
content in
accordance with one or more embodiments. In an embodiment, the fingerprint is
derived
from media content dynamically as the media content is being played. For
example, media
content being received from a content source may concurrently be played and
fingerprinted.
The fingerprint may be derived for media content recognition, e.g.,
identifying the particular
program, movie, etc. Media streams containing 3-Dimensional video may also be
fingerprinted. In an embodiment, fingerprinting 3-Dimensional video may
involve selecting
fingerprint portions of the 3-Dimensional video. For example, near objects
(e.g., objects that
appear closer when watching the 3-Dimensional video) in the 3-Dimensional
video stream
14
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
may be selected for fingerprinting in order to recognize a face or structure.
The near objects
may be selected based on a field of depth tag associated with objects or by
the relative size of
objects compared to other objects.
[0070] In an embodiment, a command to present additional content associated
with the
media content being presented, is received (Step 208). A command may be
received to
identify generic additional content (e.g., any feature in the media content).
For example,
information of the media content being played such as the plot synopsis of a
movie, the actors
in a movie, the year the movie was made, a time duration associated with the
particular media
content, a director or producer of the movie, a genre of the movie, etc. In an
embodiment,
specific information may be requested. For example, a command requesting the
geographic
location in the world of the current scene being played. Another example may
involve a
command requesting an identification of the people in a current scene being
displayed.
Another example may involve a request for the year and model of a car in a
scene of the
movie. Another example may involve a request to save or publish information
about the
content, including a timestamp, offset from beginning, and other contextual
data, for later use
or reference. Accordingly, the specific information requests may include
identification of
places, objects, or people in a scene of the media content.
[0071] The additional content requested by the user may not be available when
the
command for the additional content is received. Accordingly, the additional
information is
dynamically identified (Step 210), after receiving the command, based on a
fingerprint of the
media content. For example, the fingerprint derived from the media content may
be used to
query a web server and receive identification of the object, place, or person
in a scene that
matches the fingerprint. The fingerprint may also be used to identify the
media content being
played to obtain the metadata already associated with the media content. In an
embodiment,
a fingerprint may be dynamically derived from the media content after
receiving the
command to present additional information.
[0072] In an embodiment, the additional content is presented (Step 212).
Presenting the
additional content may include overlaying the additional content on top of the
media content
being presented to the user. Presenting the additional content may also
include overlaying the
additional content on portions of the frame displaced by scaling , cropping,
or otherwise
altering the original content. To overlay the additional content on top of the
original or altered
media content, uncompressed HD frame(s) may be loaded into a frame buffer and
the
additional data may be written into the same frame buffer, thereby overlaying
original frame
information with the additional data. The additional information may be
related to the media
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
content being played, EPG display data, channel indicator in a banner display
format as
described in U.S. Patent No. 6,642,939, owned by the applicant and
incorporated herein by
reference, program synopsis, etc. For example, in a movie, a geographical
location of the
scene may be displayed on the screen concurrently with the scene. In another
example, a
field may display the names of current actors in a scene at any given time. A
visual
indication linking the name of an object, place, person, etc. with the object,
place, person on
screen may be displayed. For example, a line between a car in the scene and
identifying
information about the car. The additional content may also provide links to
advertisers,
businesses, etc. about a displayed image. For example, additional information
about a car
displayed on the screen may include identifying information about the car, a
name of a car
dealership that sells the car, a link to a car dealership that sells the car,
pricing information
associated with the car, safety information associated with the car, or any
other information
directly or tangentially related to the identified car. Another example may
involve presenting
information about content available on a content stream (e.g., received from a
broadcast
service or received from a web server). The content itself may be overlaid on
the frame, or a
link with a description may be overlaid on the frame, where the link can be
selected through
user input. The additional content may be presented as closed caption data. In
another
example, subtitles in a user-selected language may be overlaid on top of the
content, such as a
movie or TV show. The subtitles may be derived by various methods including
download
from an existing database of subtitle files, or real-time computational
translation of closed
captioning text from the original content. Another example may involve
synchronized
overlay of lyrics on top of a music video or concert performance. The system
may perform
this operation for several frames or until the user instructs it to remove the
overlay. At that
point, the system may discontinue writing the additional information into the
frame buffer. In
one embodiment, audio content may replace or overlay the audio from the
original content.
One example may involve replacing the audio stream of a national broadcast of
a national
football game with the audio stream of the local radio announcer. One example
may involve a
real-time mix of the audio from the original media with additional audio, such
as actor's
commentary on a scene. This example may involve alteration of the original and
additional
audio, such as amplification.
16
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
4.0 DETERMINING A PLAYING POSITION BASED ON MEDIA CONTENT
FINGERPRINTS
[0073] Figure 3 illustrates a flow diagram for determining a position in the
playing of
media content in accordance with an embodiment. One or more of the steps
described below
may be omitted, repeated, and/or performed in a different order. Accordingly,
the specific
arrangement of steps shown in Figure 3 should not be construed as limiting the
scope of the
invention.
[0074] Initially, a command is received to present media content (Step 302)
and the
media content is presented (Step 304) in accordance with an embodiment. Step
302 and Step
304 are essentially the same as Step 202 and Step 204 described above.
[0075] In an embodiment, a fingerprint is derived from the media content being
played
(Step 306) to determine the position in the playing of the media content on a
first device
(Step 308). For example, as a media device receives media content in a content
stream (or
from any other source), the media device may display the media content and
derive
fingerprints from the specific frames being displayed. The media device may
also derive
fingerprints from every nth frame, from iframes, or based on any other frame
selection
mechanism. A content fingerprint derived from one or more frames may then be
compared to
a database of fingerprints to identify a database fingerprint that matches the
frame fingerprint.
The database of fingerprints may be locally implemented on the media device
itself or on a
server communicatively coupled with the media device. The match between the
content
fingerprint and the database fingerprint may be an exact match or the two
fingerprints may
meet a similarity threshold (e.g., at least a threshold number of signature
bits in the
fingerprint match). Once a match is identified in the database, metadata that
is stored in
association with the database fingerprint is obtained. The metadata may
include a position in
the media content. For example, the metadata may indicate that the fingerprint
corresponds
to the kth frame of n total frames in the media content. Based on this
position information
and/or the number of frames per second, a position in the playing of the media
content may
be determined. The metadata may also explicitly indicate the position. For
example, the
metadata may indicate that the fingerprint corresponds to a playing position
at 35 minutes and
3 seconds from the start of the media content.
[0076] Based on the position in the playing of the media content on the first
device, a
second device may be synchronized with the first device by playing the same
media content
on the second device concurrently, in accordance with one or more embodiments.
(Step 310).
17
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
Once a position of the playing of the media content is determined for the
first device, the
playing of the media content on the second device may be started at that
position. If the
media content is already being played on the second device, the playing of the
media content
on the second device may be stopped and restarted at that position.
Alternatively, the playing
of the media content on the second device may be fast forwarded or rewound to
that position.
[0077] In an embodiment, the viewing of a live broadcast or stored program may
be
synchronized using a buffer incorporated in media devices. For example, the
content
received in the content stream may be stored on multiple devices as they are
received.
Thereafter, the devices may communicate to synchronously initiate the playing
of the media
content, the pausing of media content, the fast forwarding of media content,
and the
rewinding of media content. A large buffer that can store the entire media
content may be
used in an embodiment. Alternatively, a smaller buffer can be used and video
frames may be
deleted as they are displayed and replaced with new video frames received in a
content
stream. Synchronized playing of a live broadcast or stored program may involve
playing a
particular frame stored in a memory buffer at a particular time to obtain
frame level
synchronization. For example, two devices may exchange information that
indicates at which
second a particular frame stored in memory is to be played and a rate at which
future frames
are to played. Accordingly, based on the same start time, the frames may be
displayed on
different media devices at the exact same time or approximately the same time.
Furthermore,
additional frame/time combinations may be determined to ensure that the
synchronization is
maintained. When media devices are being used in different time zones, the
times may be
adjusted to account for the time difference. For example, Greenwich Mean Time
(GMT)
may be used across all media devices for synchronized playing of media
content.
[0078] In an embodiment, after synchronization of multiple devices playing the
same
media content, the synchronization may be maintained. In order to maintain
synchronization
any play-function (e.g., stop, fast-forward, rewind, play, pause, etc.)
received on one device
may be performed on both devices (Step 312).
[0079] In an embodiment, the playing of an advertisement may be detected based
on the
position in the playing of the media content (Step 314). For example, media
content
available on a content stream may include a television show and advertisements
interspersed
at various times during the television show. The composition information of
the media
content may indicate that the television show is played for twenty-five
minutes, followed by
five minutes of advertisements, followed by another twenty-five minutes of the
television
show and followed again by another five minutes of advertisements.
Accordingly, if the
is
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
position of the playing of the media content is determined to be twenty
minutes from the
start, the television show is being played. However, if the position of the
playing of the
media content is determined to be twenty-seven minutes from the start, an
advertisement is
being played.
[0080] In an embodiment, the playing of an advertisement may be detected
without
determining the position in the playing of the media content. For example, if
the media
content includes a television show and advertisements interspersed between the
television
show, advertisements may be detected based on the fingerprints derived from
the media
content currently being played. The fingerprints derived from the media
content currently
being played may be compared to the fingerprints derived only from the
television show or
fingerprints derived only from the advertisement. Based on the comparison, the
media
content concurrently being played may be determined to be a portion of the
television show
or a portion of the advertisement.
[0081] In an embodiment, the playing of an advertisement may be detected based
on the
elements present in the media content. For example, based on the fingerprints
derived from
the media content being played, faces of actors within the media content may
be recognized.
The names of the actors may then be compared with the names of actors that are
listed as
actors in the television show. If the actors detected in the media content
being played match
the actors listed as actors in the television show, then the television show
is being played.
Alternatively, if the actors detected in the media content being played do not
match the actors
listed as actors in the television show, then an advertisement is being
played. In an
embodiment, a time window may be used for detection of known actors in a
television show,
where at least one actor listed as an actor in the television show must be
detected within the
time window to conclude that the television show is being played.
[0082] In response to determining that an advertisement is being played, many
different
actions may be performed in accordance with one or more embodiments. In an
embodiment,
advertisements may be auto fast-forwarded. For example, as soon as the playing
of an
advertisement is detected, an automatic fast-forwarding function may be
applied to the
playing of the media content until the playing of the advertisement is
completed (e.g., when
playing of a television program is detected again based on a fingerprint).
Similarly,
advertisements may also be auto-muted, where an un-muting function is selected
in response
to detecting the completion of the advertisement.
[0083] In an embodiment, if the media content is being recorded, an
advertisement may
automatically be skipped over for the recording. For example, in the recording
of a movie
19
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
being received from a content source, the non-advertisement portions (e.g.,
movie portions)
of the media content may be recorded while the advertisement portions of the
media content
may be skipped for the recording.
[0084] In an embodiment, alternate advertisements may be displayed. When
receiving
and displaying a content stream, detected advertisement portions of the
content stream may
be replaced with alternate advertisements. For example, a media device at a
sports bar may
be programmed to display drink specials instead of the advertisements received
in a content
stream. Alternatively, advertisements from local vendors, which are stored in
memory or
streamed from a server, may be displayed instead of advertisements received in
the content
stream. The advertisements may be selected based on the media content. For
example, if
during the playing of a sporting event, advertisements directed toward men may
be selected.
[0085] In an embodiment, the advertisement may be augmented with additional
content
related to the advertisement. When receiving a content stream, detected
advertisement
portions of the content stream may be scaled, cropped, or otherwise altered,
and the displaced
empty space can be programmatically populated by additional content. For
example, an
advertisement for a movie opening in theaters soon can be augmented with show
times at
theaters in a 15-mile vicinity of the device. The user may also be presented
with one or more
interactive functions related to the additional content, such as the option to
store information
about the advertised movie, including the selected local theater and show
time, to be used in
future presentation, reference, ticket purchase, or other related activity. In
another example,
the advertisement may be augmented with games, quizzes, polls, video, and
audio related to
the advertisement. In an embodiment, the advertisement may be augmented with
information
about actions taken by the user's social network connections related to the
advertisement. For
example, an advertisement for a digital camera may be augmented by photos of
the user's
friends taken with the same digital camera. In another example, an
advertisement for a movie
recently released on DVD may be augmented with friends' ratings and reviews of
that movie.
[0086] In an embodiment, the advertisement may be augmented with additional
content
not related to the advertisement. When receiving a content stream, detected
advertisement
portions of the content stream may be scaled, cropped, or otherwise altered,
and the displaced
empty space can be programmatically populated by additional content. In one
embodiment,
the user may direct the system to use portions of the display during
advertisements to display
personalized content. In one example, the personalized content may include the
latest scores
and statistics from the user's favorite sports teams. In another example, the
content may
include all or some of the user's latest received messages, such as email,
SMS, instant
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
messages, social network notifications, and voice mails. In another example,
the user may be
presented with information about additional content related to the content
interrupted by the
advertisement. In another example, the user may be presented with the chance
to take his turn
in a previously started game. In an embodiment, the user may also be presented
with one or
more interactive functions related to the additional content, such as the
option to store
information about the content to be used in future presentation, reference, or
other related
activity. In an example, the user may choose to respond to an SMS, email,
voice mail, or
instant message using a keyboard or microphone.
[0087] In an embodiment, a notification of the playing of an advertisement by
a media
device may be provided to an interested party (e.g., a vendor or broadcaster).
For example, if
a vendor advertisement is played on a media device, a content source may be
informed that
the vendor advertisement was in fact played. Furthermore, if a vendor
advertisement was fast
forwarded through, the content source may be informed that the vendor
advertisement was
fast forwarded through. This information may be provided to the vendor in
order for the
vendor to determine the effectiveness of the advertisement. Additional
information including
whether the advertisement was played as a part of a previously stored
recording or played
directly upon receiving from the content source may be provided to an
interested party.
[0088] In an embodiment, cumulative statistics of a user may also be gathered
based on
advertisement detection. For example, particular types of advertisements or
media content
viewed by a user may be documented to determine user interests. These user
interests may
be provided to a vendor, stored on a server, published on an interactive
webpage associated
with the user, or otherwise presented. Anonymous information of a plurality of
users may be
collected to create reports based on user viewing or input. U.S. Patent
Application No.
10/189,989, owned by the Applicant and incorporated herein by reference,
describes such
approaches.
5.0 RECORDING BASED ON MEDIA CONTENT FINGERPRINTS
[0089] In an embodiment, fingerprints derived from media content in a content
stream
may be used for starting and/or ending the recording of the media content in
the content
stream, as shown in Figures 13 and 14.
[0090] A recording of a particular media content in a content stream or known
to be
available in the content stream at a future time is scheduled (Step 1302).
Scheduling of the
particular media content may be based on a time interval for broadcasting of
the media
content in the content stream as indicated in an electronic programming guide
(EPG).
21
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
However, a specific time interval is not necessary for scheduling a recording
in accordance
with one or more embodiments.
[0091] Content in the content stream may be monitored by deriving fingerprints
from the
content received in the content stream (Step 1304). Monitoring of the content
stream may
begin at a specified time period before the expected start time (e.g.,
indicated by an EPG) of
the particular media content scheduled for recording. The fingerprint may then
be used to
query a fingerprint database and identify the content in the content stream
(Step 1306). If the
content in the content stream matches the particular media content scheduled
for recording
(Step 1308), then the recording of the content in the content stream is
started (Step 1310). If
the content in the content stream does not match the particular media content
scheduled for
recording the monitoring of the content stream may be continued. If a
particular media
content is broadcasted in advance of a scheduled start time, the above method
records the
particular media content in its entirety since the start time of the recording
is based on
recognizing the particular media content in the content stream.
[0092] Figure 14 illustrates an example of ending a recording of a particular
media
content based on fingerprints derived from content received in the content
stream. A
recording of a particular media content in a content stream is started (Step
1402). The
recording may be started using a fingerprint based method as illustrated in
Figure 14 or may
simply be started based on an expected start time (e.g., indicated by an EPG).
Fingerprints
may be then derived from content in the content stream (Step 1404).
Fingerprints may be
continuously or periodically derived as soon as broadcasting (includes
streaming) of the
particular media content is started or around an expected end time of the
particular media
content. For example, monitoring for the end may begin of the broadcast of the
particular
media content may begin fifteen minutes before the scheduled end time.
Thereafter a
fingerprint database may be queried with the fingerprint to identify the
content in the content
stream (Step 1406). As long as the content in the content stream matches the
particular
media content scheduled for recording (Step 1408), the recording of the
content in the content
stream is continued. However, when the content in the content stream no longer
matches the
particular media content, the recording is stopped (Step 1410). For example, a
user may
select the recording of a football game from an EPG. The end time of the
streaming of the
football game may not be known since the length of the football game may not
be known
ahead of time. In this example, content in the content stream including the
football game
may be continuously or periodically fingerprinted to determine if the football
game is still
22
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
being broadcasted. Once a determination has been made that the football game
is no longer
being broadcasted, the recording may be stopped.
[0093] In an embodiment, derived fingerprints may be used to identify the most
likely
associated media content of a particular set of media content. For example,
EPG data may
indicate that a football game will be available in a content stream from 5pm
to 8pm, followed
by a comedy show from 8pm to 9pm. However, the football game may run shorter
or longer
than the scheduled time interval of 5pm to 8pm indicated by the EPG data.
Accordingly, the
end time of the football game may not be determinable based solely on the EPG
data.
Fingerprints may be derived from content in a content stream continuously or
periodically
from some time before the expected end time indicated in the EPG data until
the content is no
longer available on the content stream. Continuing the previous example,
fingerprints may
be derived from 7:30pm to 8:30pm or from 7:30pm until the football game is no
longer
available on the content stream.
[0094] In this example, the system can determine (e.g., based on EPG data)
that the
comedy show will follow the football game if the football game ends early or
late.
Accordingly, the derived fingerprints may be analyzed to determine whether the
corresponding media content is which one of: (1) the football game or (2) the
comedy show.
Determining which media content from a limited set of likely media content,
corresponds to
the fingerprint requires less calculation and/or processing power than
identifying media
content from a large database of media content files. For example, the derived
fingerprints
may simply be used to determine whether corresponding media content frames
includes the
face of a comedian starring in the comedy show or known to be in the opening
scenes of the
comedy show. Fingerprints may also be derived from a smaller set of features
in each media
content file to simplify the fingerprint derivation calculations. Based on
fingerprints of the
content stream, the end time of the football game may be determined, and the
start time of the
comedy show may be determined.
[0095] In an embodiment, one or more commercials may be displayed in a content
stream. In order to distinguish commercials from a subsequent program in the
content
stream, fingerprints may be derived for a minimum duration of time after the
completion of a
show being recorded to ensure that the show is no longer available in the
content stream. For
example, fingerprints may be derived for a ten minute window (longer than most
commercial
breaks) after the last frame recognized as the media content being recorded.
Thereafter, if
within the ten minute window or other specified time period, the media content
is not found
in the content stream, a determination may be made that broadcasting of the
media content in
23
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
the content stream has ended. The additional content (which is not part of the
media content)
may be deleted. In the previous example, if non-football game content is
displayed
continuously for a minimum of ten minutes near the scheduled end time of the
football game,
the system may determine that the broadcasting of the football game has ended
and the last
ten minutes recorded are alternate content that are not part of the football
game. This last ten
minutes of the recording may be deleted.
[0096] In an embodiment, a recording schedule may be modified based on
unplanned
extensions or reductions in the streaming of media content. The unplanned
extension of a
program may result in entire broadcasting schedule being shifted for a day or
an evening. For
example, if the football game results in a twenty minute unplanned extension,
the scheduled
broadcastings of the subsequent shows and/or programs may all be shifted by
twenty minutes.
In an embodiment, the shift may be recognized based on fingerprints derived
from the
content in the content stream and the recording schedule on a multimedia
device may be
shifted to match the shift in scheduled broadcastings.
[0097] As shown in Figure 11, media content may be selected for recording by a
media
device based on fingerprints derived from the media content in accordance with
one or more
embodiments. One or more fingerprints may be derived from content in a content
stream that
is being monitored (Step 1102). The fingerprints may then be compared to a
fingerprint
database to identify the media content (Step 1104). The content streams that
are watched
more frequently by a user may be selected for monitoring. In another example,
content
streams specified by a user may be monitored. Thereafter, if the identified
media content
matches a user-specified characteristic or a user viewing history (Step 1106),
then the media
content may be recorded (Step 1108). Examples of user-specified
characteristics may include
a content genre, an actor or actress, a geographical region, a language, a
sound, or any other
characteristic that the user has specified. In an embodiment, fingerprints are
used identify the
user-specified characteristics in a media content that are not otherwise
available (e.g., in
metadata associated with the media content). In another example, if the media
content in the
content stream is similar to shows viewed and/or recorded by the user, the
media content may
be recorded.
[0098] As shown in Figure 12, incomplete copies of media content may be
replaced with
complete copies of media content in accordance with one or more embodiments.
For
example, after a copy of media content is recorded (Step 1202), a
determination may be made
the recorded copy is an incomplete copy (Step 1204). The determination may be
made by
determining that the duration of the recorded copy is shorted than the
expected duration of
24
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
the media content. The expected duration of the media content may be obtained
from an
electronic programming guide (EPG), maybe be obtained from metadata associated
with the
media content, from a web search, a database query for the duration or from
any other
suitable source.
[0099] In an embodiment, a new complete copy of the media content is obtained
(Step
1206). Obtaining the new copy of the media content may involve identifying an
accessible
content stream with the media content and obtaining the media content from the
content
stream. In another example, the new copy of the media content may be requested
from a web
server or a broadcast service. In another example, the new copy of the media
content may be
searched for over a network (e.g., the internet) and downloaded. In an
embodiment, any
identified partial recording may be concatenated with another portion of the
media content
recorded separately to obtain the whole recording of the media content. A
missing portion of
a copy of recorded media content may first be identified based on the
fingerprint derived
from the recorded media content. For example, the derived fingerprint from the
partial
recording may be compared to a fingerprint known to be associated with a
complete
recording of the media content. Based on the comparison, the missing portion
of the derived
fingerprint and the corresponding missing portion of the partial recording may
be identified.
Thereafter, only the missing portion (in place of a new copy) may be obtained
in accordance
with techniques described above.
[00100] A portion of media content recording may be cut when previously
broadcasted
media content has an unplanned extension. In the above example, content from
the content
stream may be scheduled for recording from 8pm to 9pm as the comedy show
requested by a
user. However, due to a twenty minute delay in the football game, the first
twenty minutes of
the comedy show may not be available on the content stream. Accordingly, the
8pm to 9pm
recording of the content may include twenty minutes of the football game
followed by forty
minutes of the comedy show. Alternatively, a shorter recording from 8:20pm to
9:00pm may
include only a portion of the original comedy show. In an embodiment,
fingerprinting may
be used to determine a position in the playing of the video and adjust a
recording interval
accordingly. For example, the content available in a content stream at 8:20pm
may be
identified as a start of the comedy show based on fingerprints derived from
the content.
Based on this identification, the recording interval may be changed from 8pm-
9pm to
8:20pm-9:20pm or from 8pm-9pm to 8pm-9:20pm. In another embodiment, the
recording
may simply be continued until fingerprints derived from the content in the
content stream no
longer matches fingerprints associated with the comedy show. In an embodiment,
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
fingerprints for media content in the content stream may be sent in advance to
a media device
so that the media device can compare the received fingerprints known to
correspond to
complete media content with fingerprints derived from the media content
accessible on the
content stream.
[00101] In an embodiment, playback of recorded content may include selecting a
start
position other than the start of the recorded content and/or selecting an end
position other
than the end of the recorded content. For example, if an hour long recording
of a comedy
show includes twenty minutes of a football game followed by forty minutes of
the comedy
show, fingerprints may be used to determine that the comedy show starts at the
twenty minute
position in the recording. Based on this information, when the comedy show is
selected for
playback, the playback may begin at the twenty minute position. Similarly,
alternate content
may be recorded at the end of the comedy show recording. In this example, the
playback
may be stopped after the comedy show by the multimedia device, automatically,
in response
to determining that the remainder of the recording does not include the comedy
show.
Starting and/or stopping the playback of recorded content based on fingerprint
identification
of the content may also be used to skip commercials at the beginning or ending
of the
recording. For example, in response to playback of a thirty minute recording,
the playback
may be started at the two minute position if the first two minutes of the
recording only
include commercials.
[00102] In an embodiment, the partial recording of the comedy show (e.g.,
shortened forty
minute recording or hour recording with only forty minutes corresponding to
the comedy
show) may be identified based on fingerprints derived from the recording, the
length of the
recording, or using another suitable mechanism. In an embodiment, in response
to
identifying a partial recording of media content, the media content may be
rerecorded
automatically as shown in Figure 12 and described above.
[00103] In an embodiment, fingerprint based tags may be generated for marking
the start
and/or end points of media content. For example, tags may be generated by the
media device
receiving the content stream, based on derived fingerprints, which mark
particular frames
indicative of the start and/or end times of a program. In another example, the
content source
may identify the exact start and end time of media content using fingerprints
derived from the
media content and thereafter tag the frames before streaming to a media device
to indicate
start and/or end points. In an embodiment, any other fingerprint based
implementation may
be used where the start and/or end points of media content are detected by
fingerprints
derived from the media content.
26
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
6.0 PUBLISHING RECORDING OR VIEWING INFORMATION
[00104] Figure 4 illustrates a flow diagram for detecting the playing of an
advertisement in
accordance with an embodiment. One or more of the steps described below may be
omitted,
repeated, and/or performed in a different order. Accordingly, the specific
arrangement of
steps shown in Figure 4 should not be construed as limiting the scope of the
invention.
[00105] In an embodiment, a command is received to view or record media
content on a
first device associated with a first user (Step 402). The command to view or
record media
content may be received by a selection in an electronic programming guide
(EPG). The
command may be for a single recording of media content (e.g., a movie, a
sports event, or a
particular television show) or a series recording of media content (e.g.,
multiple episodes of a
television show). A command may be received to play a media content file that
is locally
stored on memory (e.g., a DVD player may receive a command to play a DVD, a
digital
video recorder may receive a command to play a stored recording). In an
embodiment, a
single media device may receive all such commands and instruct the other
devices (e.g., a
DVD player, a blu-ray player) accordingly.
[00106] The viewing or recording of media content on the first device is
published in
accordance with an embodiment (Step 404). Publishing the viewing or recording
of media
content may be user specific. For example, the viewing or recording of media
content may
be posted on a webpage (e.g., a user webpage on a networking website such as
MySpace , or
Facebook ) (MySpace is a registered trademark of MySpace, Inc., Beverly
Hills, CA and
Facebook is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc., Palo Alto, CA)
associated with a
user, a posting on a group page (e.g., a webpage designated for a group) may
be emailed to
other users, may be provided in a text message, or may be published in any
other manner. In
an embodiment, all the viewing or recording by a user may be automatically
emailed to a list
of other users that have chosen to receive messages from the user (e.g., using
Twitter ,
Twitter is a registered trademark of Twitter, Inc., San Francisco, CA).
Publishing the
viewing or recording of media content may also include a fee associated with
the media
content. For example, if the user selects a pay per view movie, the cost of
the movie may
also be published. In an embodiment, publishing the viewing or recording of
media content
may involve publishing the name of a user (or username associated with the
user) on a
publication associated with the media content. For example, all the users that
have viewed a
particular media content may be published on a single web page associated with
a social
networking website. Any users that have responded (e.g., "like", "thumbs up",
"share", etc.)
27
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
to a posting related to the particular media content, which indicates the user
has viewed the
particular media content, may be published on the single web page.
[00107] In an embodiment, responsive to receiving a command to record media
content on
the first device associated with a first user, the media content is recorded
on the first device
and a second device associated with a second user (Step 506). For example, the
first device
may notify the second device of the scheduled recording of media content and
the second
device may auto-record the media content. In another example, in response to
the
notification from the first device, the second device may prompt a second user
for recording
of the media content. The second device may then record the media content
subsequent to
receiving a user command to record the media content. In an embodiment, the
recording of
the media content on the second device may be subsequent to the publication
(e.g., on a
website) of recording on the first device, as described above. For example, a
second user
may select a link on a website associated with the publication of recording
the media content
on the first device, to record the media content on the second device
associated with the
second user. In an embodiment, a media device may be configured to mimic
another media
device by recording all programs recorded by the other media device.
[00108] The recording of the same media content on multiple devices may be
detected in
accordance with an embodiment (Step 408). For example, different users within
a user group
may each schedule the recording of the same media content on their respective
media
devices. The scheduled recordings of each media device associated with the
users within the
group may be collected and compared (e.g., by a server, a service, or one of
the media
devices) to detect any overlapping scheduled recordings. In an embodiment, the
already
recorded media content on a media device may be compared to the already
recorded media
content on another media content or to scheduled recordings on another media
content.
[00109] In an embodiment, a media device may be configured to automatically
schedule
recordings of any media content that is scheduled for recording by another
specified media
device. Accordingly, a media device may be configured to mimic another media
device
identified by a device identification number. The media device may also be
configured to
mimic any device associated with a specified user. For example, a first user
may determine
that a second user has a great selection of new shows or programs based on the
postings of
the second user on a social networking website. The first user may then choose
to mimic the
television watching habits of the second user by submitting a mimicking
request with the
identification number of the media device associated with the second user or a
name of the
second user. Alternatively, the first user may indicate the preference on the
social
28
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
networking website. The social networking website may then communicate the
identification
of the first user and the second user to a content source, which configures
the media device
associated with the first user to record the same shows as recorded by the
media device
associated with the second user.
[00110] In an embodiment, each media device may be configured to access a
database of
media device recording schedules (e.g., on a server, provided by a third party
service, etc.).
A user may access this database using their own media device and mimic the
recordings of
another media device that is referenced by the name or identification of a
specific user. For
example, a user may select specific shows that are also recorded by another
user. In an
embodiment, the user may be able to access other recording related statistics
to select shows
for viewing or recording. For example, a media device recording database may
indicate the
most popular shows based on future scheduled recordings, based on recordings
already
completed, or based on a number of users that watched the shows as they were
made
available on the content stream.
[00111] A time for playing the media content concurrently on multiple devices
may be
scheduled in accordance with an embodiment (Step 410). The time for playing
the media
content may be selected automatically or may be selected based on user input
from one or
more users. For example, all users associated with media devices that are
scheduled for
recording (or have already recorded) particular media content may be notified
of the
overlapping selection and one user may select the time for concurrent viewing
of the media
content by all the users using their respective media devices. In another
example, each media
device may access a user availability calendar to determine the available
viewing times for a
respective user. Thereafter, a synchronous viewing of a show may be scheduled
in the
calendar such that all the users (or most of the users) are available.
[00112] The viewers/recorders of the same media content may be automatically
enrolled
into a group associated with the media content in accordance with an
embodiment (Step 412).
For example, all the viewers and/or recorders of a specific movie may be
automatically
enrolled into a social networking group associated with the movie, in response
to each
recording/viewing the movie. The auto-enrollment group may be used by users as
a forum to
discuss the media content, find other users with similar viewing preferences,
schedule a
viewing time for similar recordings, or for any other suitable purpose. A
discussion forum
may be initiated for two or more users associated with multiple devices that
are
synchronously playing media content. The discussion forum may be initiated by
the media
device inviting a user to join an instant messaging chat (e.g., Yahoo!
Instant Messaging,
29
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
Google Chat, AIM , Twitter, etc.) (Yahoo! is a registered trademark of
Yahoo!, Inc.,
Sunnyvale, CA I Google is a registered trademark of Google, Inc., Mountain
View, CA I
AIM is a registered trademark of AOL LLC, Dulles, VA I Twitter is a
registered
trademark of Twitter, Inc., San Francisco, CA), video chat (e.g., Skype ,
Skype is a
registered trademark of Skype Limited Corp., Dublin, Ireland), a website
thread, or an
electronic messaging (email) thread. The discussion forum may include two
users or any
number of users. The discussion forum may be initiated for users that are
already known to
be connected. For example, the discussion forum may be initiated if users are
friends on a
social networking website. In an embodiment, the discussion forum may be
created to
introduce vendors to potential clients. For example, during the playing of a
football game, an
invitation may be presented to chat with a vendor of football game tickets. In
an
embodiment, the discussion forum may be implemented as a dating portal. For
example, men
and women in the same geographical area that are subscribed to a dating
server, who are
watching the same show may be invited to a chat by the media device. Another
example
involves an activity portal. For example, a media device may be configured to
invite viewers
of a cooking channel show to cook together, or a media device may configured
to invite
viewers of a travel channel show to travel to a featured destination together.
A media device
may be configured to communicate, as described above, with any other computing
device
(e.g., another media device or a personal computer).
7.0 DERIVING A FINGERPRINT FROM MEDIA CONTENT
[00113] Figure 5 illustrates a flow diagram for deriving a fingerprint from
media content
in accordance with an embodiment. One or more of the steps described below may
be
omitted, repeated, and/or performed in a different order. Accordingly, the
specific
arrangement of steps shown in Figure 5 should not be construed as limiting the
scope of the
invention.
[00114] In an embodiment, a media device is monitored to determine that the
media device
meets an idleness criteria (Step 502). An idleness criteria may be based on
non-use of a
media device or component, or a usage percentage (e.g., a percentage related
to available
bandwidth of the total bandwidth or a percentage related to available
processing power of the
total processing power). The media device may be self monitored or monitored
by a server.
Monitoring the media device for the idleness criteria may involve detecting
completion of a
period of time without receiving a user command. Monitoring the media device
for the
idleness criteria may involve detecting availability of resources needed to
receive media
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
content and/or derive a fingerprint from the media content. Monitoring the
media device may
include separately monitoring different components of a media device. For
example, if a user
is watching a stored recording on the media device and not recording any
additional content
being streamed to the media device, the tuner may be idle. Based on this
information, a
determination may be made that the tuner meets an idleness criteria.
Accordingly, different
components of the media device may be associated with separate idleness
criteria. In another
example, components necessary for deriving a fingerprint from media content
may meet an
idleness criteria.
[00115] In an embodiment, the media device receives media content from a
content source
for the purpose of deriving a fingerprint from the media content (Step 504).
The media
device may receive media content in response to alerting a content source that
the media
device (or components within the media device) meet an idleness criteria. In
an embodiment,
the content source may automatically detect whether a media device meets an
idleness
criteria. For example, the content source may determine that the media device
has not
requested to view any particular media content (e.g., broadcast content, web
content, etc.).
Therefore, the tuner most likely has bandwidth to download media content. In
an
embodiment, media devices may include the functionality to receive multiple
content
streams. In this embodiment, the content source may determine how many content
streams
are being received by the media device. Based on the known configuration
and/or
functionality of the media device, the content source may determine the
tuner's available
bandwidth for receiving additional media content. Once the idleness criteria
is met, the
content source may download a particular media content for the media device to
generate a
fingerprint.
[00116] In an embodiment, the content source may build a database of
fingerprints for
media content by dividing out the media content to be broadcasted among
multiple media
devices that meet the idleness criteria. For example, if five thousand devices
meet the
idleness criteria and two thousand unique media content files are to be
fingerprinted, the
content source might transmit four unique media content files to each of the
five thousand
media devices for generating respective fingerprints from the media devices.
In an
embodiment, the content source may send each unique media content file to two
or more
media devices in case there is an error with the fingerprint derived from
media device, or if
the media device is interrupted while deriving the fingerprint. The content
source may also
direct a media device to fingerprint content which has already been downloaded
to the media
device (e.g., based on user command). In an embodiment, a user may resume
utilizing the
31
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
media device and thereby prevent or stop the media device from deriving a
fingerprint. In an
embodiment, the content source may prompt the user to request permission for
using the
media device when an idleness criteria is met before downloading media content
onto the
media device. The content source may also offer incentives such as credits to
watch pay-per-
view movies if the user allows the content source to use the media device to
perform and/or
execute particular functions (e.g., deriving fingerprints).
[00117] In an embodiment, a fingerprint is derived from media content by the
media
device (Step 506). Any technique may be used to derive a fingerprint from
media content.
One example is to derive a fingerprint from a video frame based on the
intensity values of
pixels within the video frame. A function (e.g., that is downloaded onto the
media device)
may be applied to each of the intensity values and thereafter based on the
result, a signature
bit (e.g., '0' or'1') maybe assigned for the that intensity value. A similar
technique maybe
used for audio fingerprinting by applying the method to spectrograms created
from audio
data.
[00118] The fingerprint may be derived by the media device based on specific
instructions
from the content source. For example, fingerprints may be derived from all
video frames of a
particular media content file. Alternatively, the fingerprint may be derived
for every nth
frame or every iFrame received by the media device. In an embodiment, specific
frames to
be fingerprinted may be tagged. Tagging techniques are described in
Application Serial No.
09/665,921, Application Serial No. 11/473,990, and Application Serial No.
11/473,543, all of
which are owned by the Applicant, and herein incorporated by reference. Once a
media
device receives a frame that is tagged, the media device may then decompress
the frame,
analyze the frame, and derive a fingerprint from the frame. The video frame
fingerprints may
be categorized by the media device according to the media content (e.g., by
media content
name, episode number, etc.).
[00119] In an embodiment, the media device may derive fingerprints for media
content
that is being watched by a user. For example, a user may select a particular
show on an
electronic programming guide displayed by a media device. The media device may
then
request the content stream, from the content source, that includes the
particular show. As an
optional step, the source may indicate whether a fingerprint is needed for the
particular show
requested by the media device. The indication may be a flag in the data
received by the
media device. If the particular show needs to be fingerprinted as indicated by
the flag, the
media device may decompress the corresponding video frames, load the
decompressed video
frames into memory and analyze the video frames to derive a fingerprint from
the video
32
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
frames. In an embodiment, the user may change the channel mid-way through the
playing of
the media content being fingerprinted. As a result the tuner may be forced to
receive a
different content stream. In this case, the media device may have derived
fingerprints for
only a portion of the media content. The media device may generate metadata
indicating the
start position and end position in the playing of the media content for which
the fingerprint
has been derived.
[00120] In an embodiment, the media device may then upload the fingerprint
derived from
the media content (or from a portion of the media content) to a fingerprint
server in
accordance with an embodiment (Step 508). Thus, a fingerprint database may be
built by
multiple media devices each uploading fingerprints for media content.
Fingerprints received
for only a portion of the media content may be combined with other
fingerprints from the
same media content to generate a complete fingerprint. For example, if one
media device
generates and uploads fingerprints for video frames in the first half of a
program and a second
media device generates and uploads fingerprints for a second half of the same
program, then
the two fingerprints received from the two devices may be combined to obtain
fingerprints
for all the video frames of the program.
[00121] An exemplary architecture for the collection and storage of
fingerprints derived
from media devices, in accordance with one or more embodiments is shown in
Figure 6. The
fingerprint management engine (604) generally represents any hardware and/or
software that
may be configured to obtain fingerprints derived by media devices (e.g., media
device A
(606), media device B (608), media device C (610), media device N (620),
etc.). The
fingerprint management engine (600) may be implemented by a content source or
other
system/service that includes functionality to obtain fingerprints derived by
the media devices.
The fingerprint management engine (604) may obtain fingerprints for media
content already
received by the media device (e.g., in response to user selection of the media
content or
content stream which includes the media content). The fingerprint management
engine (604)
may transmit media content to a media device specifically for the purpose of
deriving a
fingerprint. The fingerprint management engine (604) may transmit media
content to a media
device for fingerprinting in response to detecting that the media device is
idle. In an
embodiment, the fingerprint management engine (604) maintains a fingerprint
database (602)
for storing and querying fingerprints derived by the media devices.
8.0 PRESENTING MESSAGES
[00122] Figure 7 illustrates a flow diagram for presenting messages in
accordance with an
33
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
embodiment. One or more of the steps described below may be omitted, repeated,
and/or
performed in a different order. Accordingly, the specific arrangement of steps
shown in
Figure 7 should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.
[00123] Initially, message preferences associated with a user are received
(Step 702).
Message preferences generally represent any preferences associated with
message content,
message timing, message filtering, message priority, message presentation, or
any other
characteristics associated with messages. For example, message preferences may
indicate
that messages are to be presented as soon as they are received or held until a
particular time
(e.g., when commercials are being displayed). Message preferences may indicate
different
preferences based on a message source or a message recipient. For example,
messages from
a particular website, Really Simply Syndication (RSS) feed, or a particular
user may be
classified as high priority messages to be presented first or to be presented
as soon as they are
received. Low priority messages may be held for a particular time. Message
preferences
may indicate whether messages are to be presented as received, converted to
text, converted
to audio, presented in a particular manner/format/style, etc. Message
preferences may be
associated with automated actions, where receiving particular messages results
in
automatically performing specified actions. One or more preferences (e.g.,
message
preferences), viewing history, and/or other information associated with a user
make up a user
profile.
[00124] In an embodiment, message preferences may include a user-defined alert
condition. For example, the alert condition may include receiving an email,
voicemail, text
message, instant message, twitter tweet, etc. that meets a particular
condition. An alert
condition may include a specific user action performed by a specified list of
users. For
example, an alert condition may a particular user posting a hiking activity
invite on a
webpage. The alert condition may be based on particular keywords in a
communication, a
subject matter associated with a communication, etc. For example, if the word
"emergency"
or "urgent" is found in the communication, the alert condition may be met. The
alert
condition may be related to security (e.g., a house alarm or car alarm being
set off). The alert
condition may be related to kitchen equipment. For example, the alert
condition may be
linked to an oven timer going off. The alert condition may include a change in
status of a
user specified entity. For example, the alert condition may be related to when
a user on a
social networking website changes status from "in a relationship" to "single".
An alert
condition may include the availability of a particular media content, in a
content stream,
selected based on a user profile. For example, the user profile may include a
viewing history,
34
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
an actor name, a media content genre, a language associated with the media
content. If media
content that matches any part of the user profile, the alert condition may be
met and an alert
may be presented in response.
[00125] In an embodiment, message preferences may be received as direct input
from a
user, determined based on user files, obtained from the internet (e.g., from a
web page or
other file associated with a user, by querying a database, etc.). The message
preferences may
be obtained by monitoring the usage patterns on a media device. For example,
if usage
patterns indicate that a user checks messages immediately upon receiving
notifications of a
message, the message preferences may indicate that messages are to be
displayed or played
immediately. Message preferences for a user may also be sender based. For
example, the
sender of a message may indicate the delivery method and/or delivery
preferences. Message
preferences may also be randomly (e.g., user input), periodically, or
continuously be
modified.
[00126] In an embodiment, a command to play media content is received (Step
704). The
received command may be submitted by a user via a keyboard, remote control, a
mouse,
joystick, a microphone or any other suitable input device. The command may be
a selection
in the electronic programming guide (EPG) by a user for the playing of the
media content.
The command may be a channel selection entered by a user. The command may be a
request
to display a slide show of pictures. The command may be to play an audio file.
The
command may be a request to play a movie (e.g., a command for a blu-ray
player). In an
embodiment, receiving the command to present media content may include a user
entering
the title of media content in a search field on a user interface. The command
to play media
content may be a user selection of particular media content that is stored in
memory.
[00127] In an embodiment, the media content is played (Step 706). In an
embodiment, the
media content may be played in response to the command or without receiving a
command.
For example, a user may turn on a media device which is automatically
configured to receive
a content stream on the last selected channel or a default channel. In an
embodiment, the
media device may automatically select media content for playing based on user
preferences
or responsive to playing or recording of the media content on another media
device.
[00128] In an embodiment, a message may be received while playing media
content (Step
708). The message may be received from a local or remote source over a network
(e.g.,
internet, intranet, broadcast service, etc.). A message may be received from a
web service
through an internet connection. For example, friend messages or status changes
associated
with a social networking website may be received from a web service. The web
service may
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
be configured to provide all messages associated with a social networking
website or a
filtered selection of messages associated with particular preferences. Another
example, may
include a Really Simply Syndication (RSS) feed that may be received from a web
service
associated with news, sports, entertainment, weather, stocks, or any other
suitable category.
In an embodiment, the message may be received from a content source related to
services
provided by the content source. For example, the message may indicate the
availability of
car purchasing service, or the availability of a particular car for sale.
[00129] The message may be a direct message to a user or group of users (e.g.,
voicemail,
text message, email, etc.). The message may be received in a form different
than the
originating form. For example, a text message may be received as an audio
file, or the text
message may be converted to an audio file by the media device after receipt of
the text
message. Conversely, an audio file may be received as a text message or
converted to a text
message. In an embodiment, symbols, abbreviations, images, etc. may be used to
represent
messages. In an embodiment, a message received in one language may be
translated to a
different language.
[00130] In an embodiment, the receiving the message may include detecting the
occurrence of a user-defined alert condition. For example, all messages may be
monitored
and compared to user-defined alert conditions. In an embodiment, EPG data, an
RSS feed, a
webpage, an event log, displayed information obtained using OCR or any other
source of
information may be monitored for occurrence of the alert condition. If any of
the messages
received match an alert condition, the occurrence of the alert condition may
be identified. An
alert may be then be immediately presented indicating occurrence of the alert
condition. The
message indicating occurrence of the alert condition may be interpreted based
on user
preferences.
[00131] A determination may be made whether to present the message
immediately,
present the message at a later time, or not present the message at all (Step
710). Based on the
user preference, a received message may be presented (Step 717) immediately
upon
receiving, or held until a later time. A message may be presented during
commercial breaks,
when a user selects the messages for viewing, based on a specified schedule or
at another
suitable time. The messages may also be filtered out based on user
preferences. For
example, each received message may be compared to user defined alert
conditions to
determine if the message matches a user defined alert condition. Messages that
match a user
defined alert condition may be presented and messages that do not match the
user defined
alert conditions may be filtered out.
36
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
[00132] In an embodiment, presenting the message may include presenting the
message in
a visual format and/or playing the message in an audio format. For example, a
message may
be presented by loading a media content frame into a frame buffer and
overlaying message
content in the frame buffer to overwrite a portion of the media content frame.
The content of
the frame buffer may then be presented on a display screen. In another
exemplary
implementation, different buffers may be used for media content and for
message content,
where content for the display screen is obtained from both buffers. In an
embodiment,
presenting a message may include displaying message information and
concurrently playing
an audio file with the message information. The message information displayed
on the
screen and played in the audio file may be the same or different. For example,
the display
screen may display the face of a person associated with the message or
announcing the
message, while the audio file may include the actual message. In embodiment,
playing an
audio message may include muting or lowering the volume associated with the
media content
be played.
9.0 INTERPRETING COMMANDS
[00133] Figure 8 illustrates a flow diagram for interpreting a voice command
in
accordance with an embodiment. One or more of the steps described below may be
omitted,
repeated, and/or performed in a different order. Accordingly, the specific
arrangement of
steps shown in Figure 8 should not be construed as limiting the scope of the
invention.
[00134] Initially, one or more users present near a multimedia device are
identified (Step
802). One or more users may be identified based on voice input received by the
multimedia
device or an input device (e.g., a microphone, a remote) associated with the
multimedia
device. For example, the multimedia device (or an associated input device) may
be
configured to periodically sample detectable voice input and compare the voice
input to data
representing user voices to identify known users. The data representing user
voices may be
generated based on a voice training exercise performed by users for the
multimedia device to
receive voice samples associated with a user. Users may be identified during
an active or
passive mode. For example. users may be identified when a user command is
received to
recognize users or users may be identified automatically without a specific
user command.
Although voice identification is used as an example, other means for
recognizing users may
also be used. For example, user names may be entered via an input device
(e.g., keyboard,
mouse, remote, joystick, etc.). Users may be identified based on metadata
associated with the
household. Users may be identified using fingerprint detection on the media
device or
37
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
fingerprint detection on another communicatively coupled device (e.g., a
remote).
[00135] In an embodiment, a voice command is received from a user (Step 804).
A voice
command may be received by a user first indicating that a voice command is to
be given. For
example, a user may say a keyword such as "command" or enter input on a device
such as a
remote indicating that the user is going to submit a voice command. A voice
command may
be received by continuously processing all voice input and comparing the voice
input to
known commands to determine if a voice command was submitted. For example,
voice input
in the last n seconds from the current time may be continuously submitted for
analysis to
determine if a voice command was received in the last n seconds. In an
embodiment,
different portions of the voice command may be received from different users.
For example,
a command "record" may be received from a first user and various titles of
programs/shows
may be received from multiple users. Examples of other commands include "order
pizza",
"tweet this game is amazing", "wall post who wants to come watch the emmys",
etc.
Although a voice command is used in this example, any type of input (e.g.,
using a mouse, a
keyboard, a joystick) may be accepted.
[00136] The command may be interpreted based on preferences (e.g., in a user
profile)
associated with one or more identified users (Step 806) to determine an action
to be
performed (Step 808). Interpreting a command may involve determining whether
the
command is applicable to one user (e.g., the user giving the command) or
multiple users (e.g.,
including multiple users identified in Step 802). A particular command word
may be
indicative of a single user command or a multiple user command. For example,
tweet
commands may be interpreted by default as a command applicable to a single
user, e.g., the
user submitting the command. Furthermore, the command may be interpreted based
on the
user's preferences/settings. If the user submitting the command "tweet this
game is amazing"
is associated with a twitter account, then the action to be performed is to
generate a tweet for
the user's twitter account including the words "this game is amazing". Another
example of a
command applicable to a single user includes "wall post who wants to come
watch the
emmys". In this case, the command by a user may be recognized as a Facebook
wall post
and the message "who wants to come watch the emmys" may be posted on the
user's
Facebook profile. The multimedia device may be configured to associate certain
types of
commands with multiple user commands. For example, orders for food may be
associated
with all the identified users. A command "order pizza" may be interpreted as
an order for
pizza with toppings matching the preferences of all the identified users. A
command "buy
tickets" may be interpreted as an order to purchase tickets for all the
identified users for a
38
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
football game currently being advertised on television. A command may be
intentionally
vague for complete interpretation based on the identified users. For example,
the command
"play recorded show" may result in evaluating each recorded show on a media
device to
determine how many identified users prefer the recorded show based on user
preferences.
Thereafter, the recorded show that matches the preferences of the largest
number of identified
users is selected for playing.
[00137] In an embodiment, all or a portion of command interpretations may be
confirmed
with a user before execution. For example, when ordering pizza, the pizza
toppings selected
based on user preferences may be presented for confirmation. Another example
involving
confirmation of commands may involve any orders requiring money or a threshold
amount of
money.
[00138] In an embodiment, a command may be interpreted based on permissions
associated with a user and the command may be performed only if the user
giving the
command has the permission to give the command. For example, a recording
and/or playing
of a rated R movie may be restricted to users over the age of seventeen. A
profile may be
setup for each user including the age of the user. If an identified user over
the age of
seventeen gives the command to record/play an R rated movie, the command is
executed.
However, if a user under the age of seventeen gives the command to record/play
the R rated
movie, the command is denied. In an embodiment, a command may be interpreted
based on
the religious and/or political beliefs of a user. For example, an election
coverage program
sponsored by the democratic party may be recorded if a democratic user submits
a command
to record election coverage and an election coverage program sponsored by the
republican
party may be recorded if a republican user submits the command.
[00139] In an embodiment, a language used to submit a command may be used to
interpret
the command. For example, if a command to record a show is submitted in
French, the
French subtitles may be selected out of a set of available subtitle streams
and recorded with
the show. In another example, if multiple audio streams are available in
different languages,
the audio stream selected may be based on the language of the command.
10.0 CORRELATING INPUT WITH MEDIA CONTENT
[00140] Figure 9 illustrates a flow diagram for correlating annotations with
media content
in accordance with an embodiment. One or more of the steps described below may
be
omitted, repeated, and/or performed in a different order. Accordingly, the
specific
arrangement of steps shown in Figure 9 should not be construed as limiting the
scope of the
39
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
invention. Furthermore, although specific types of annotations (e.g., audio,
textual,
graphical, etc.) may be discussed in the examples below, embodiments of the
invention are
applicable to any type of annotation.
[00141] In an embodiment, media content is played (Step 902). The media
content may
include both audio and video content, or the media content may include video
content alone.
Concurrently with playing of the media content, audio input received from a
user may be
recorded (Step 904). The audio input received from a user may be general
reactions to the
media content. For example, the audio input may include laughter, excitement
(e.g., gasps,
"wow", etc.), commentary, criticisms, praises, or any other reaction to the
media content. In
an embodiment, the commentary may include audio input intended for a
subsequent playing
of the media content. For example, in a documentary film about tourist
destinations, a user
may submit voice input which includes stories or memories associated with the
particular
tourist destination being featured. In another example, a band may provide
song lyrics during
a particular portion of the media content for recording in association with
that portion of the
media content. In another embodiment, a user may provide commentary, plot
synopsis,
character lines, or any other information about the media content in an
alternate language
during the playing of the media content in the original language. Different
versions of audio
input (e.g., by the same user or by different users) may be recorded in
association with
particular media content. In an embodiment, the audio input may be provided
with
instructions for intended playback information. For example, the playback
information may
indicate that the submitted audio is to replace the original audio entirely,
or played in
concurrently with the original audio. In an embodiment, the audio input may be
automatically generated by a text-to-speech translator which generates speech
based on text
associated with the media content. For example, speech in an alternate
language may be
generated based on the closed caption text in the alternate language. In an
embodiment,
optical character recognition may be used to identify building names, letters,
team names, etc.
displayed on a screen and converted to audio for visually impaired audiences,
or for
audiences that cannot read the information (e.g., due to language barriers or
age). In an
embodiment, audio input may be received concurrently with playing a particular
portion of
the media content and stored in association with that particular portion of
the media content.
[00142] In an embodiment, the media content is subsequently played with the
audio input
received during a previous playing of the media content (Step 906). Playing
the additional
audio input received during the previous playing of the media content may
include
completely replacing the original audio stream or playing concurrently with
the original audio
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
stream. In an embodiment, the additional audio input may be a feature that can
be turned on
or off during the playing of the corresponding media content. In an
embodiment, multiple
versions of additional audio input may be offered, where a user selects the
particular
additional audio input for playing during playing of the media content. For
example, an
online community may be established for submitting and downloading commentary
to be
played with different movies. Different users with different media devices may
record audio
input in association with a particular movie (or other content) and thereafter
upload the audio
input for association with that movie. When a purchaser of the movie downloads
the movie,
the purchaser may be able to select a commentary (e.g., audio input) by
another user to be
downloaded/played with the movie. If a purchaser finds the commentary by a
particular user
hilarious, the purchaser may set the particular user as a default commentator
and download
all commentaries by the particular user when downloading a movie (or other
media content).
[00143] Although audio input is used an example of annotations of media
content, any
type of annotations may be used in accordance with embodiments of the
invention. For
example, during the playing of media content, text may be entered or images
may be
submitted by one or more users. In an embodiment, all or part of an annotation
or collection
of annotations may be processed or analyzed to derive new content. In an
embodiment, a
collection of annotations associated with the same media content may be
compared to
identify annotations patterns. For example, a collection of annotations can be
analyzed to
determine the most annotated point within media content. Accordingly, a scene
or actor
which resulted in the greatest amount of user excitement (or other emotion)
may be identified
via annotations during a scene. In another example, user content included in a
collection of
annotations, such as text or voice notes can be analyzed to determine
collective user
sentiment (e.g., the funniest scene in a movie, or the funniest movie released
in 2009).
11.0 ELICITING ANNOTATIONS BY A PERSONAL MEDIA DEVICE
[00144] In an embodiment, any annotations (including audio input, textual
input, graphical
input, etc.) may be elicited before, during, or after presenting media content
by a personal
media device associated with a user. Eliciting annotations may be based on
selections by an
administrator, content producer, content director, etc. For example, a user
may be prompted
by a media device for a review (e.g., vote, rating, criticism, praise, etc.)
at the conclusion of
each performance within a presentation of a talent contest within media
content in the content
stream that was received by the media device and displayed by the media
device. In an
embodiment, elicited annotations (or other annotations) may be associated with
the media
41
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
content as a whole rather than a specific point within the media content such
as when the
audio input was submitted. The annotations of one or more users may then be
processed
(e.g., to count votes, scores, etc.) for the media content.
[00145] In an embodiment, the audio input may be elicited from a user by a
media device
to build a user profile. For example, reactions to different media content may
be elicited
from a user. Based on the reactions, a user profile may be automatically
created which may
include users interests, likes, dislikes, values, political views etc. The
automatically created
profile may used for a dating service, a social networking website, etc. The
automatically
generated profile may be published on a webpage (e.g., of a social networking
website).
[00146] In an embodiment, the system can elicit user annotations to identify
information
associated with media content. For example, annotations may be elicited for
identification of
a face which although detected, cannot be identified automatically. A system
may also be
configured to elicit annotations from a parent, after media content has been
played, indicating
whether the media content is appropriate for children.
12.0 MARKING MEDIA CONTENT
[00147] In an embodiment, annotations may be used by a user to mark a location
in the
playing of media content. For example, a user may submit audio input or
textual input during
the playing of media content that includes a particular keyword such as
"mark", "note",
"record", etc. that instructs the system to mark a current location in the
playing of the media
content. The system may automatically mark a particular location based on user
reaction.
For example, user input above a certain frequency or a certain decibel level
may indicate that
the user is excited. This excitement point may be stored automatically. In an
embodiment,
the marked points may include start points and/or end points. For example,
periods of high
user activity which may correlate to exciting portions of a sports game may be
marked by
start and end points. A parent may mark start and end points of media content
that are not
appropriate for children and thus, the marked portion may be skipped during
playback unless
a password is provided. A user may mark a section in a home video that was
eventful. As a
result of the user marking the point or the automatic marking based on user
reaction, an
annotation may be stored in association with the point. The annotation may
embody a
reference to the original content, a time, or frame offset from the start of
the original content,
and the UTC when the user marked the point. Although audio input may used as
an example,
input may be submitted by pressing a key on a remote, clicking on a mouse,
entering a
command on a keyword, or using any other input method.
42
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
[00148] In an embodiment, marking (or identifying) a particular point in media
content
may involve marking a media frame. For example, media frames may be marked
using tags,
as described in Applicant owned Patent Application No. 09/665,921 filed on
September 20,
2000, which is hereby incorporated by reference. Another example may involve
marking a
media frame using hash values, as described in Applicant owned Patent
Application No.
11/473,543 filed on June 22, 2006, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
In an
embodiment, marking a particular point in the media content may involve
deriving a
fingerprint from one or more frames in the media content and using the
fingerprint to
recognize the particular point in the media content. In an embodiment, a
particular point may
be marked by storing a time interval from a starting point in the playing of
the media content.
[00149] In an embodiment, a user marked location may be selected by the user
at a later
time. For example, the user may be able to scan through different user marked
locations
during the playing of the media content by pressing next or scan. An image
from each of the
marked points may be presented to the user, where the user can select a
particular image and
start/resume the playing of the media content from the corresponding user
marked point.
User annotations may be used to dynamically segment media content into
different parts.
User annotations may also be used to filter out certain portions (e.g.,
periods of no
annotations / excitement) of media content and play the remaining portions of
the media
content in a subsequent playing of the media content.
13.0 PUBLICATION OF MEDIA CONTENT ANNOTATIONS
[00150] In an embodiment, all or part of an annotation may be published (e.g.,
referenced
or presented on a web site or web service). In an embodiment, all or part of
an annotation
may be automatically presented to a user on another system. In an example, a
user can
request the system to send all or parts of annotations to an email or SMS
address. In another
example, a user can request the system automatically add a movie to an online
shopping cart
or queue when another user (e.g., a movie critic or friend) positively
annotates the movie. In
an embodiment, annotations of media content may be sold by a user in an online
community
for the sale or trade of media content annotations. In an embodiment,
annotations (e.g.,
media content with embedded annotations) may be directed sent from one media
device to
another media device (e.g., through email, intranet, internet, or any other
available method of
communication).
43
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
14.0 AUTOMATICALLY GENERATED ANNOTATIONS
[00151] In an embodiment, the system can derive annotation content for media
content
from the closed-captioning portion of the media content. In an example, the
system can
produce an annotation that includes a proper name recognized by a natural
language
processing system and/or a semantic analysis system, and then associate the
annotation with
the video content where the proper name appears in closed caption. In another
example, the
system can produce an annotation indicating the start of a commercial break
when the phrase
"we'll be back after these words" or a similar phrase is recognized in the
closed captioning.
Another example includes a system producing an annotation associated with a
region of
media content that contains explicit closed caption language. The system may
then provide
an option to automatically mute the audio portion of the media content
associated with the
explicit closed caption language.
[00152] In an embodiment, the system can generate audio input utilizing
optical character
recognition systems. In an example, the system can produce an annotation that
includes the
title of a movie being advertised. For example, the annotation may display the
movie title
(e.g., at the bottom of a screen) as soon as the title of the movie is
identified or at the end of a
movie trailer. In another example, the system can produce an audio annotation
that includes
the names of cast members from video content corresponding to credits. Another
example
may involve the system producing an annotation indicating a change in score
during a sports
game by analyzing OCR-derived data inside the ticker regions of a sporting
event broadcast.
[00153] In an example, the system may detect a user is navigating an
electronic
programming guide (EPG) by recognizing a collection of show and movie titles
from the
OCR. The system may then produce a visual annotation on the EPG recommending
the
highest-rated show listed in the EPG. In an embodiment, the annotation may
also include
other contextual information that can be used to further optimize
recommendations. For
example, the annotation may be based on content recently viewed by the user,
which can be
used to recommend content from the EPG in the same genre or starring the same
actors.
[00154] In an embodiment, the system can derive annotation content utilizing
speech-to-
text systems. For example, the system can produce a transcript of the dialogue
in media
content to be used in a future presentation when audio is muted or when
requested by the
hearing impaired. In an embodiment, the derived transcript can be processed by
a separate
system that monitors presence of topics or persons of interest and then
automatically
produces annotations associated with topics or persons of interest.
44
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
15.0 ENVIRONMENT CONFIGURATION
[00155] Figure 10 shows an exemplary system for configuring an environment in
accordance with one or more embodiments. In an embodiment, the environment
configuration engine (1015) generally represents any software and/or hardware
that may be
configured to determine environment configurations (1025). The environment
configuration
engine (1015) may be implemented within the media device, shown in Figure 1B
or may be
implemented as a separate component. The environment configuration engine
(1015) may
identify one or more users (e.g., user A (1005), user N (1010), etc.) that are
within close
proximity of the environment configuration engine (1015) and identify user
preferences
(1020) associated with the identified users. The users may be identified based
on voice
recognition or based on other input identifying the users. Based on the user
preferences
(1020), the environment configuration engine may configure a user interface,
an audio system
configuration, a room lighting, a game console, a music playlist, a seating
configuration, or
any other suitable environmental configurations (1025). For example, if five
friends are
identified, which are associated with a group user preference, a channel
streaming a sports
game may be automatically selected and surround sound may be selected for the
audio
stream(s) associated with the sports game. Another example may involve
identifying a
couple, and automatically initiating the playing of a romantic comedy.
16.0 HARDWARE OVERVIEW
[00156] According to one embodiment, the techniques described herein are
implemented
by one or more special-purpose computing devices. The special-purpose
computing devices
may be hard-wired to perform the techniques, or may include digital electronic
devices such
as one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or field
programmable gate
arrays (FPGAs) that are persistently programmed to perform the techniques, or
may include
one or more general purpose hardware processors programmed to perform the
techniques
pursuant to program instructions in firmware, memory, other storage, or a
combination. Such
special-purpose computing devices may also combine custom hard-wired logic,
ASICs, or
FPGAs with custom programming to accomplish the techniques. The special-
purpose
computing devices may be desktop computer systems, portable computer systems,
handheld
devices, networking devices or any other device that incorporates hard-wired
and/or program
logic to implement the techniques.
[00157] For example, FIG. 11 is a block diagram that illustrates a System 1100
upon
which an embodiment of the invention may be implemented. System 1100 includes
a bus
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
1102 or other communication mechanism for communicating information, and a
hardware
processor 1104 coupled with bus 1102 for processing information. Hardware
processor 1104
may be, for example, a general purpose microprocessor.
[00158] System 1100 also includes a main memory 1106, such as a random access
memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, coupled to bus 1102 for storing
information
and instructions to be executed by processor 1104. Main memory 1106 also may
be used for
storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution
of instructions
to be executed by processor 1104. Such instructions, when stored in storage
media accessible
to processor 1104, render System 1100 into a special-purpose machine that is
customized to
perform the operations specified in the instructions.
[00159] System 1100 further includes a read only memory (ROM) 1108 or other
static
storage device coupled to bus 1102 for storing static information and
instructions for
processor 1104. A storage device 1110, such as a magnetic disk or optical
disk, is provided
and coupled to bus 1102 for storing information and instructions.
[00160] System 1100 may be coupled via bus 1102 to a display 1112, such as a
cathode
ray tube (CRT), for displaying information to a computer user. An input device
1114,
including alphanumeric and other keys, is coupled to bus 1102 for
communicating
information and command selections to processor 1104. Another type of user
input device is
cursor control 11111, such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys
for
communicating direction information and command selections to processor 1104
and for
controlling cursor movement on display 1112. This input device typically has
two degrees of
freedom in two axes, a first axis (e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), that
allows the device to
specify positions in a plane.
[00161] System 1100 may implement the techniques described herein using
customized
hard-wired logic, one or more ASICs or FPGAs, firmware and/or program logic
which in
combination with the System causes or programs System 1100 to be a special-
purpose
machine. According to one embodiment, the techniques herein are performed by
System
1100 in response to processor 1104 executing one or more sequences of one or
more
instructions contained in main memory 1106. Such instructions may be read into
main
memory 1106 from another storage medium, such as storage device 1110.
Execution of the
sequences of instructions contained in main memory 1106 causes processor 1104
to perform
the process steps described herein. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired
circuitry may be
used in place of or in combination with software instructions.
46
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
[00162] The term "storage media" as used herein refers to any media that store
data and/or
instructions that cause a machine to operation in a specific fashion. Such
storage media may
comprise non-volatile media and/or volatile media. Non-volatile media
includes, for
example, optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device 1110. Volatile
media includes
dynamic memory, such as main memory 1106. Common forms of storage media
include, for
example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, solid state drive,
magnetic tape, or any
other magnetic data storage medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical data storage
medium, any
physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-
EPROM,
NVRAM, any other memory chip or cartridge.
[00163] Storage media is distinct from but may be used in conjunction with
transmission
media. Transmission media participates in transferring information between
storage media.
For example, transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber
optics,
including the wires that comprise bus 1102. Transmission media can also take
the form of
acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio-wave and infra-
red data
communications.
[00164] Various forms of media may be involved in carrying one or more
sequences of
one or more instructions to processor 1104 for execution. For example, the
instructions may
initially be carried on a magnetic disk or solid state drive of a remote
computer. The remote
computer can load the instructions into its dynamic memory and send the
instructions over a
telephone line using a modem. A modem local to System 1100 can receive the
data on the
telephone line and use an infra-red transmitter to convert the data to an
infra-red signal. An
infra-red detector can receive the data carried in the infra-red signal and
appropriate circuitry
can place the data on bus 1102. Bus 1102 carries the data to main memory 1106,
from which
processor 1104 retrieves and executes the instructions. The instructions
received by main
memory 1106 may optionally be stored on storage device 1110 either before or
after
execution by processor 1104.
[00165] System 1100 also includes a communication interface 1118 coupled to
bus 1102.
Communication interface 1118 provides a two-way data communication coupling to
a
network link 1120 that is connected to a local network 1122. For example,
communication
interface 1118 may be an integrated services digital network (ISDN) card,
cable modem,
satellite modem, or a modem to provide a data communication connection to a
corresponding
type of telephone line. As another example, communication interface 1118 may
be a local
area network (LAN) card to provide a data communication connection to a
compatible LAN.
Wireless links may also be implemented. In any such implementation,
communication
47
WO 2011/069035 PCT/US2010/058838
interface 1118 sends and receives electrical, electromagnetic or optical
signals that carry
digital data streams representing various types of information.
[00166] Network link 1120 typically provides data communication through one or
more
networks to other data devices. For example, network link 1120 may provide a
connection
through local network 1122 to a host computer 1124 or to data equipment
operated by an
Internet Service Provider (ISP) 11211. ISP 11211 in turn provides data
communication
services through the world wide packet data communication network now commonly
referred
to as the "Internet" 1128. Local network 1122 and Internet 1128 both use
electrical,
electromagnetic or optical signals that carry digital data streams. The
signals through the
various networks and the signals on network link 1120 and through
communication interface
1118, which carry the digital data to and from System 1100, are example forms
of
transmission media.
[00167] System 1100 can send messages and receive data, including program
code,
through the network(s), network link 1120 and communication interface 1118. In
the Internet
example, a server 1130 might transmit a requested code for an application
program through
Internet 1128, ISP 11211, local network 1122 and communication interface 1118.
[00168] The received code may be executed by processor 1104 as it is received,
and/or
stored in storage device 1110, or other non-volatile storage for later
execution.
17.0 EXTENSIONS AND ALTERNATIVES
[00169] In the foregoing specification, embodiments of the invention have been
described
with reference to numerous specific details that may vary from implementation
to
implementation. Thus, the sole and exclusive indicator of what is the
invention, and is
intended by the applicants to be the invention, is the set of claims that
issue from this
application, in the specific form in which such claims issue, including any
subsequent
correction. Any definitions expressly set forth herein for terms contained in
such claims shall
govern the meaning of such terms as used in the claims. Hence, no limitation,
element,
property, feature, advantage or attribute that is not expressly recited in a
claim should limit
the scope of such claim in any way. The specification and drawings are,
accordingly, to be
regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.
48
