U.S. patent application number 14/107004 was filed with the patent office on 2014-04-17 for touch screen control of video sources using preset configurations.
This patent application is currently assigned to NEW VAD, LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is Robin Sheeley. Invention is credited to Robin Sheeley.
Application Number | 20140104214 14/107004 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46576943 |
Filed Date | 2014-04-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140104214 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sheeley; Robin |
April 17, 2014 |
Touch screen control of video sources using preset
configurations
Abstract
The present invention is a video production and control system
that uses a touch screen display and user interface, managed by a
controller, for video source control. The system may include a set
of touch screen windows that display feeds from sources of video
information. For a selected feed window, the system displays a set
of representations of preset configurations of the video source,
which might be a camera, a video recorder, a handheld device, a
storage device, a computer, or other source of video data. The
representations may be thumbnail images of a view through the video
source when it has the corresponding configuration. Selecting a
different thumbnail using the touch screen will cause a controller
to send control data through an output port that directs the video
source to assume the newly chosen preset configuration. Some
combination of controls in the touch screen user interface and
control panel allow a user to manually reconfigure a video source,
and optionally create a new corresponding preset thumbnail.
Inventors: |
Sheeley; Robin; (Maple
Plain, MN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Sheeley; Robin |
Maple Plain |
MN |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
NEW VAD, LLC
Minnetonka
MN
|
Family ID: |
46576943 |
Appl. No.: |
14/107004 |
Filed: |
December 16, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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13027367 |
Feb 15, 2011 |
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14107004 |
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61437890 |
Jan 31, 2011 |
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61437865 |
Jan 31, 2011 |
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61437882 |
Jan 31, 2011 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
345/173 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 3/0484 20130101;
H04N 5/232935 20180801; H04N 21/482 20130101; G06F 3/0488 20130101;
H04N 21/42224 20130101; H04N 5/268 20130101; H04N 5/23216 20130101;
H04N 5/23206 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
345/173 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/041 20060101
G06F003/041 |
Claims
1-13. (canceled)
14. A method, comprising: a) storing a first set of configuration
pairs, each pair including an image and corresponding control data;
b) simultaneously displaying the images on a touch screen; and c)
upon sensing a first touch event selecting an image in the set of
pairs, emphasizing the image and sending the control data
corresponding to the image through a first video source control
connection.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: d) receiving a
first video feed through a first video feed connection, wherein the
first video source control connection and the first video feed
connection are included in a first video source interface; and e)
displaying the first video feed on the touch screen simultaneously
with the images.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein sending the control data
through the video source control connection affects subsequent
content of the first video feed.
17. The method of claim 15, further comprising: f) storing a second
set of configuration pairs, each pair including an image and
corresponding control data; g) receiving a second video feed
through a second video feed connection that is contained in a
second video source interface, the second video source interface
including a second video source control connection; h) displaying
content of the second video feed on the touch screen; and i) upon
sensing a second touch event indicating selection of the second
video feed, simultaneously displaying the second set of images on
the touch screen.
18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: j) upon sensing a
third touch event, which selects an image in the second set of
configuration pairs, emphasizing the image and sending the control
data corresponding to the image through the second video source
control connection.
19-22. (canceled)
23. The method of claim 15, further comprising: c) receiving an
indication through a user interface, which includes the touch
screen, that a first configuration pair, including a first image
and first control data, is to be modified; d) sending a nonempty
set of source control commands through the first video source
control connection; and e) after sending the set of source control
commands, receiving a second image and second control data through
the first video source interface, and replacing, in the first
configuration pair, the first image and first control data with the
second image and second control data, respectively.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein the indication is received
through the touch screen.
25. The method of claim 23, wherein a source control command, in
the set of source control commands, is determined by at least one
user interface event.
26. The method of claim 23, wherein a source control command, in
the set of source control commands, is based upon a nonempty set of
user interface events.
27. The method of claim 26, wherein the set of user interface
events includes a touch screen event.
28. The method of claim 26, wherein the set of user interface
events includes a joystick event.
29. The method of claim 23, wherein a source control command, in
the set of source control commands, is a pan, tilt, or zoom command
directed to a camera.
30. The method of claim 23, further comprising: e) receiving a
video feed through the first video feed connection in a
configuration that corresponds to the second image.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Applications, Ser. Nos. 61/437,865, 61/437,890, and 61/437,882,
filed Jan. 31, 2011, and Ser. No. 61/441,103, filed Feb. 9, 2011,
each hereby incorporated by reference. This application is related
to U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, entitled "Touch Screen
Video Switching System", filed Feb. 15, 2011, and hereby
incorporated by reference. This application is also related to U.S.
patent application Ser. No. ______, entitled "Touch Screen Video
Production and Control System", filed Feb. 15, 2011, and hereby
incorporated by reference. This application is also related to U.S.
application Ser. No. 11/527,120, entitled "Presentation Video
Control System", filed Sep. 9, 2006, and hereby incorporated by
reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to production of video output
from video sources. More specifically, it relates to a system and
method for touch screen video source control.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Video source control includes changing the configuration or
parameter settings of a video source, such as a camera. For
example, a set of remote control cameras might be installed in a
conference room to televise the meetings of a government body. A
given camera might first focus on the face of a speaker at a
podium, then move to a whiteboard presentation, and then track the
speaker through the room. For a camera, configuration parameters
include, for example, pan, tilt, zoom (PTZ), and focus settings;
color model; and white balance. A camera may be physical or
virtual. A virtual camera's view might be computed from views of
physical or other virtual cameras, or it might be an entirely
computed view of a virtual environment.
[0004] The concept of video source control is quite broad, and
includes, for example, selecting particular slides from a business
presentation on a laptop computer, switching a browser view to a
different URL on the Internet, or updating the firmware on a
physical camera. Video source control might also include querying
the source for information, such as regarding its state (e.g., send
your model and serial number), policies (send your hours of
operation), or environmental conditions (send the temperature in
the meeting room).
[0005] Video source control (and, in particular, camera control) is
done by a controller, which may respond to instructions from, for
example, a person or a computer. A touch screen surface may be
coupled to a controller to display the input feed from a video
source, which has some current configuration, and to provide a user
interface, whereby a user can send control data to the video
source. The control data might include instructions, parameters, or
requests for information. For example, the command might cause a
camera to focus on a whiteboard with specified PTZ settings. The
view from that camera displayed on the touch screen will change as
a result of the command.
[0006] A touch screen is a device that can be used to present video
information while monitoring user interaction with an interface of
controls of the screen surface. When a typical touch screen senses
a touch, it sends an event that includes the touch location to a
controller. The controller can then interpret that event as a user
request for some action. A touch screen can be integrated, for
example, with a computer monitor, a television monitor, a tablet
device, a handheld electronic device, or a monitor that is built
into some kind of control system.
[0007] A sequence of touch screen events, possibly in addition to
some location data, can itself be regarded as a touch screen event.
A request from the user to perform a certain task may require
several touches of touch screen controls, as well as entry of data.
We will treat the term "touch screen event" as comprising the set
of events required for the controller to recognize it has a task to
perform, and to execute that task. Therefore, a touch screen event
may involve multiple simultaneous touches of the screen, and some
rather complex motions, such as multiple taps, a finger stroke,
spreading or narrowing the distance between a pair of fingers,
rotating a pair that are in contact with the surface, or
combinations of any of these. A touch screen event may take into
account other physical parameters of a touch interaction, such as
speed, distance, and rotation rate. Responsibility for interpreting
such combinations or sequences as individual events may be the
responsibility of the touch screen, the controller, or some
combination of the two.
[0008] In embodiments that include video source control, the touch
screen may display a plurality of thumbnail images for a given
video source, each thumbnail indicating a particular preset
configuration. Preferably, the thumbnail will be an image captured
from that source when the source has the corresponding
configuration. For a given source, there may be any number of
thumbnails, limited primarily only by the geometry of the screen.
For a given video source, touching a particular thumbnail is an
example of a user input that might cause the controller to send
control data associated with the preset configuration through a
control communication channel. The video source, upon receiving
these data, may assume the preset configuration, correspondingly
altering the video feed for that source that is being displayed on
the touch screen.
[0009] The video production and control system may also facilitate
the changing of the configuration associated with a given preset.
Touching a currently selected thumbnail, or some other user touch
activity, might enable controls that enable a user to modify the
configuration. These controls might be touch controls on the touch
screen itself, possibly in a separate graphical user interface
(GUI) on the touch screen; directly on a window showing a video
feed from that source; or they could be tactile physical controls
(e.g., buttons, dials, levers, joysticks) on a separate control
panel. Such controls might, of course, be redundant of the touch
screen controls, with some elements of control being provided by
more than one of these user interfaces (UIs). The system might also
allow reconfiguration of a video source without creating or
modifying any preset.
[0010] Note that a "video feed" can refer to a physical video feed
or a logical video feed. A physical video feed has a given format,
including a resolution, a frame rate, a size, an aspect ratio, a
color model, and so forth. As a signal moves through the video
production and control system, it may undergo a number of physical
transformations, while maintaining the same logical content. A
logical video feed represents what a camera or other source is
capturing at a given time, independent of the format that signal is
being represented, but inclusive of the configuration of the
source/camera. In other words, the logical video feed is the
content of the video, possibly motion video, as being captured by
the source. Throughout this document, when we refer to a video
feed, we ordinarily mean a logical feed. When a physical feed or
signal is intended will be clear from the context.
[0011] The touch screen may display feeds from several different
video sources each, for example, in a separate window. A user
command may be given to the controller through the touch screen to
cause it to select one of the video sources. A user command may
cause the controller to display the preset thumbnails for that
video source. For example, touching a given video source window
might both select that source and cause the corresponding set of
thumbnails to display, with the currently selected preset indicated
or emphasized.
[0012] Video feeds input to a system, may be communicated as system
outputs. For example, a system with video source control may take
input feeds from six remotely controlled cameras. A technician can
use the video source control functionality of the system to
manipulate the content of the set of feeds during a video
production by changing the view configuration of some or all of the
cameras in order to follow live action as it evolves. Up to six
feeds could be output by such a system. Those outputs might then be
used as inputs to a video switching system, such as the touch
screen video switching system described below.
[0013] Switching from one video feed to another, from among several
input video feeds, to produce a Program output, is the task of a
video switcher. Video switching is a separate and distinct concept
from video source control, but, as will be described below, the two
can be synergistically combined together in a single touch screen
video production and control system. As an example of video
switching, consider the broadcasting of a baseball game, in which
several cameras are used. Separate cameras might be used, for
example, to focus on the pitcher, the batter, the ball, the
scoreboard, and the fans. The feeds from each of these cameras
might be displayed in a window on a touch screen. At any given
time, aside from various insets and composites, one of the video
feeds, the Program feed (also known as the "main" or "hot" feed),
is the primary Program output broadcast to viewers. The Program
output is "consumed" by everyone downstream of the system,
including, for example, a television network and its home
viewers.
[0014] Customarily in the industry, at any given moment in a video
production, a video input feed other than the Program feed is
designated as Preview. Ordinarily, the Preview feed is selected by
a producer or technician with the idea that the Preview feed will
at some future time become the next Program feed. So, at any given
moment, there is a set of incoming video feeds, one of which is
selected as Program feed, and another as Preview feed. Any one of
the video feeds that are currently neither Preview nor Program
might be selected as the next Preview feed.
[0015] A touch screen, in conjunction with a controller, can be
used to implement video switching in a video production and control
system. The various input feeds might be displayed, each in a
separate window on the touch screen.
[0016] Through the touch screen user interface, a user may be able
to specify to the controller the number of various windows and
controls, and their layouts on the touch screen. The controller
will store this configuration information, and use to interpret
user touches as commands. In other embodiments, the number of
windows and/or their layouts may be fixed, or perhaps limited by
some constraint on the maximum number of input feed
connections.
[0017] By touching appropriate controls, a user can specify a
transition mode, transition a Preview feed into the Program feed,
or promote a feed into the Preview feed. For example, a might
display two rows of windows and a GUI. The GUI could have a number
of touch controls, such as buttons, scrollbars, text windows, and
menus. The top row of windows might display the current Program and
Preview feeds. Another row of windows might show all feeds (or
optionally, all feeds except Program and Preview). Any of the
windows might have textual or iconic labels supplied by a user
through the UIs. Touching a window displaying the Program feed
might swap the Preview and Program feeds. Alternatively, pressing a
touch screen button labeled "Take" might cause Program and Preview
to be swapped. Touching any window in the all feeds row might cause
that window to be highlighted or otherwise indicated as selected.
Then touching the Preview feed moves whichever video feed is
currently selected into the Preview window. In some embodiments,
touching the Preview window may initiate the swap. Touching a feed
window may promote that feed to Preview.
[0018] When a new feed is selected to be the Program feed, that
feed will be output through the Program output communication
system, for example, through a communication port. One reason for
having a Preview selection and a Preview window is to facilitate
smooth transitions from Preview to Program output. GUI buttons on
the touch screen might provide various options for how transitions
are done. Choices could include, for example, cut, fade, crossfade,
and/or wipe. There might be a global default type of transition,
such as crossfade, but the user might be able to handle a
particular transition by another technique. Through the UI of the
touch screen, the user might also be able to specify parameters of
the transition, such as timing or speed.
[0019] Video source control and video switching can be combined
into a single touch screen system. To illustrate this, consider the
example layout discussed above in which a video switching system
has a top row of windows displaying Program and Preview feeds, and
a second row of windows displaying the content of all video input
feeds. A bottom, third row of windows might be included that shows
preset thumbnails for the currently selected window of the middle,
all-feeds, row. While a given feed window is selected, camera
control functions, including changing to a different preset
configuration or creating a new preset configuration, are possible.
Video switching could operate with the touch sequences already
described. For example, press crossfade to set a transition type.
Press the Program window to swap the Preview and Program feeds
according to a user-specified transition mode. Press the Preview
window to promote the currently selected window from the all-feeds
row to Preview. Of course, many other touch screen configurations
and command sequences are possible within the scope of the
invention.
[0020] Again, it should be mentioned that a given feed signal may
undergo a number of transformations as it moves through the system.
Standardization is an important consideration. Signals may be
standardized at various stages for bit depth, color model,
frequency, synchronization, size, aspect ratio, and other factors.
Additional transformations may be performed on any feeds that are
output from the system. In the case of a system providing only
video source control, all or some subset of the input feeds may be
output. For a system providing video switching, the Program feed
will be output for consumers.
[0021] A control panel with conventional tactile controls might be
provided to supplement the touch screen for control of camera
configuration and/or control of video switching. The reasons for
doing so include (1) redundancy in case of equipment failure; (2)
better familiarity of a system operator with some traditional
controls than with their touch screen counterparts; or (3) more
accurate or efficient performance of particular tactile controls
for some operations. For example, some users feel that precise
manipulation of camera PTZ configuration is more easily achieved
with a joystick than with touch screen control workalikes.
Nevertheless, a touch screen alone can be configured to handle all
requirements to implement the UI of a system having video source
control and/or video switching. Such a touch screen might employ
any of the windowing and UI techniques known in the art.
[0022] This Summary section has been written to illustrate concepts
of the invention for the reader. As such, some simplifications have
been made for clarity that should not be taken to limit the scope
of the invention. Some embodiments of a "system" may end at its
input ports, output ports, and user interface. For example, the
system apparatus may be regarded as including logic and hardware
for receiving video feeds through its input ports, sending control
information through control ports, sending video through output
ports, and sensing touch and other control events through its UIs.
In such a case, the external communication systems, the cameras and
other video sources, the consumer of output video (which might, for
example, be a video recorder or a monitor) and the users that
interact with the apparatus are all regarded as being external to
the "system". In other embodiments, a system apparatus might be
regarded as including some or all of communication systems to video
sources and video consumers; video sources; and video consumption
equipment. The invention encompasses processes or methods that use
the kinds of functionality that an apparatus as described herein
provides.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of a touch screen video
production and control system having video source control and video
switching.
[0024] FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing illustrating the functionality
of a controller in a touch screen video production and control
system having video source control and video switching.
[0025] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating one approach to using
touch screen video source control to select a preset configuration
of a video source.
[0026] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating one approach to using
touch screen video source control to select a preset presentation
video slide from a video source.
[0027] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating one approach to using
touch screen video source control to create a new preset
configuration of a video source.
[0028] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating one approach to using
touch screen video switching to select the Preview video feed from
a set of input video feeds.
[0029] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating one approach to using
touch screen video switching to promote and transition the Preview
video feed to the Program video feed.
[0030] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of controller components in a
touch screen video production and control system.
[0031] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a video control subsystem of
the controller in a touch screen video production and control
system.
[0032] FIG. 10 is a table showing a scheme, alternative to FIG.
3-7, for touch control of the video feeds in a touch screen video
production and control system.
[0033] FIG. 11 is a schematic drawing of a touch screen video
production and control system having video source control.
[0034] FIG. 12 is a schematic drawing illustrating the
functionality of a controller in a touch screen video production
and control system having video source control.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0035] This description provides embodiments of the invention
intended as exemplary implementations. The reader of ordinary skill
in the art will realize that the invention has broader scope than
the particular examples described here.
Overview
[0036] A video production is a Program output typically constructed
from several video source inputs or feeds. A video production might
cover an event such as a public meeting of a government body, a
sporting event, a presentation or lecture, a church service, an
operatic performance, or a music video production. In any of these
contexts, several cameras might be used to capture content from
various people or portions of the forum or setting. A production of
a documentary about some political event might need to knit
together segments of recorded video, segments in which the show
host speaks, and segments in which various historians discuss the
context and consequences of the event. A lecture might alternate
between views of a presentation software slide deck, the lecturer
speaking, the audience, a whiteboard, recorded video clips, and
information displayed through a web browser. Transitioning among a
set of input video feeds to produce a single program output is the
process known as "video switching".
[0037] A camera, or other video source, might conceivably be
configured only once at the start of creating a production, or
might need to be reconfigured several times, perhaps frequently,
throughout the course of the production. Video source control, or
camera control in particular, is the process of commanding a video
source to assume a certain configuration.
[0038] Configuration of a given source might be done automatically,
by a controller. Configuration may also be done manually by a
producer or a technician. Automatic configuration of a source might
be done, for example, using tracking logic or triggers that follow
the movements of a lecturer. Manual configuration might be used,
for example, to move a video camera among different people in an
audience, or to follow the "action" of a sports event. Manual
configuration might be done remotely; that is, without direct
contact by a user with controls on the camera itself.
[0039] FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of an embodiment of a touch
screen video production and control system 100 having both video
source control and video switching. The system 100 includes a touch
screen 110 having a touch screen display 112 integrated with touch
screen UI 111. The touch screen UI 111 may include a GUI 139. The
video production and control system 100 is managed by a controller
141, which in this particular embodiment is housed in a unit having
a control panel 140 employing various tactile controls 142, such as
traditional buttons 143, knobs 146, switches, levers, and joysticks
144. We will use adopt the term "tactile controls" to distinguish
these traditional physical controls from touch screen UI 111
controls, despite the fact that touch screen UI 111 controls are
themselves "tactile". The control panel 140 may also have various
indicators such as LEDs 147, and a control panel display 145.
[0040] The controller 141 can communicate with video sources 170
using various communication technologies, devices, channels and
pathways 160, 161, and communication system(s) 162. The controller
141 connects to such communication channels by video source
interfaces 150, which may or may not be physical video source
connectors 151. Communication from a given video source 170 may
include a video feed, and may include one-way or two-way control
communication between the controller 141 and the video source 170.
In one-way control communication, the controller 141 sends control
data to the video source 170, possibly causing the video source 170
to change its configuration. Two-way communication adds feedback
from the video source 170 through the control channel, possibly of
identity, location, set-up information, status, event occurrence,
or environmental conditions.
[0041] The video switching portion of the video production and
control system 100 produces Program video output 199, transmitted
through a video Program output connection 152 (which may or may not
be a Program output connector 153), then through a communication
system 190 to a Program consumer 191, which might be, for example,
a broadcast system, a recording device, a closed circuit television
system, an Internet stream, or simply a cable to a monitor. In FIG.
1, a broadcast tower 192 is used to represent a typical Program
consumer 191.
Video Sources
Generally
[0042] The system 100 will have at least one video source interface
150 communicably connectable with a video source 170. In a video
production and control system 100 with video source control only,
there need be only a single video source interface 150, although
more typically there will be more than one. In a video production
and control system 100 with video switching, there will be at least
two input feeds 131 to allow switching. More typically a system
will support four or more video feeds 131. For example the system
100 illustrated in FIG. 9 has six. In principle, there is no upper
limit to the number of video source interfaces 150 and feeds 131
for any touch screen video production and control system 100. In
practice, however, the number of video source interfaces 150 may be
limited in a particular system by the capacities of various
elements, such as geometry of the touch screen 110, bandwidth of
communication links, speed of a controller processor 200, or size
of a physical box housing a controller 141.
[0043] A video source 170 may be of any type, although typically
two or more of the video source interfaces 150 will provide motion
video, in the sense of a sequence of frames intended to depict
motion, in a digital and/or analog signal. A video feed 131
depicting motion might originate from a video source 170 such as a
video camera 171, a video playback device 172 (e.g., a digital
video recorder (DVR) or a video tape/cassette recorder (VTR/VCR)),
or a handheld media device 173 (e.g., a media player or a cell
phone), a computer 174, or a storage device 175 (e.g., a flash
drive, hard drive, or solid state drive). A source 170 might be a
location addressable across a network, for example, a website
addressable by its URL.
[0044] A given video source interfaces 150 may provide one or more
discrete static files. Such a static file might include a document,
or a single image or collection of images. Images might be provided
sequentially on a pull basis; that is, upon request from the system
100 to the video source 170. The ability to interleave motion video
with still images is important in many video productions.
[0045] In FIG. 1, a box housing a controller 141 is depicted with
four video source interfaces 150. The video source interfaces 150
might use any means of wired or wireless connection to the outside
world. For example, a touch screen video production and control
system 100 might be installed to cover meetings of a class, a club,
or a government body. In such a case, hardware video source
connectors 151 might connect the system 100 to remote control
cameras 171 by means of hard-wired cables (e.g., USB, RS-232, or
HDMI). Such cameras 171 might provide digital or analog signal, in
a variety of formats (including timing, resolution, aspect ratio,
and synchronization). The system 100 can be configured to
accommodate such variety through its choice of connectors and
processing components. A controller 141 box may provide slots for
insertion of cards, each card an interface to a communication
system(s) 162. The cards can have a wide variety of types.
Preferably, a card will do the bulk of formatting required to
standardize its input signal required, with the controller 141
specifying the standard format.
[0046] A given video production and control system 100 with video
switching might or might not include video source control. If it
does not, then one or more of the video sources 170 input to the
video production and control system 100 might be the output of an
external video source control system.
Video Source Control
[0047] If the system 100 has video source control, at least one
video source interface 150 will allow the system 100 to receive a
video input feed from, and to transmit control data to, a source
170. As will be described later, for such a video source interface
150, the video feed 131 input and the video source interfaces 150
may use the same, or different, communication ports, technologies
and/or pathways. The video source interface 150 may, in other
words, be implemented as a single connection, or may actually
represent a plurality of physical and/or logical connections. In
summary, from the standpoint of the touch screen video production
and control system 100, such a video source interface 150 will
support video in, control out, and possibly control in. An example
of such a source 170 is a remotely controlled or robotic camera
171, capable of being instructed to assume various configurations.
Factors that might be configurable for a video camera 171 include
PTZ; contrast; brightness; white balance; resolution; frequency;
size; firmware; and potentially many more. A camera 171 might be
configurable to enable or begin automatic tracking of a speaker; or
the controller 141 might receive a sequence of target locations
from a tracking system, the controller 141 then sending
corresponding reconfiguration commands to the camera 171. For a
business presentation, "configuration" might be a simple as
selecting the next slide. The video source 170 might also be able
respond to questions regarding its status, for example: (1) report
parameter state; (2) report model or serial number; (3) report
software or firmware version or configuration; (4) report physical
location; or (4) report environmental variables. Such status
information might be used by the controller 141 to determine how
and when to control the camera 171, or might be used for other
purposes, including modifying the use of a video feed 131.
[0048] Another example of a video source interface 150 that might
be used in a system with video source control is a virtual camera,
which depicts video derived from or calculated from the video
content of one or more physical or other virtual cameras. Even a
computer 174 providing still images (e.g., JPEG files) might be
controlled through its video source interface 150 using, for
example, a command to start a slide show, to move to the next
image, or to zoom in on some particular feature.
[0049] Some system configurations might incorporate the capability
to composite two or more feeds into a single feed window or into
the Program output (e.g. with a picture-in-picture video). In some
configurations, a commentator or presenter might be able to add
annotations to an input feed for output.
Communication System
[0050] In general, a given video source 170 may connect 161 to a
communication system(s) 162. This connection will at least one way
(out from the video source 170), and may be two way; it must be two
way for video source control of that device (although the two way
communication might actually use different means and follow
different pathways). Ultimately, a video feed 131 arrives at a
video source interface 150 of the touch screen video production and
control system 100. Data (including commands, instructions, and/or
status queries) for video source control may flow in the opposite
direction. Status or other information may be transmitted from
source 170 back to the touch screen video production and control
system 100. Between the video source 170 and the touch screen video
production and control system 100 there may be any communication
means, including, for example, wide area network, local area
network, personal area network, cables, connectors, electrical
buses, wireless communication. A given pathway between video source
170 and the touch screen video production and control system 100
may use more than one of these technologies. In FIG. 1, a cloud
represents the communication system(s) 162 between various video
sources 170 and the video production and control system 100.
Video Output
Video Source Control System Output
[0051] A touch screen video production and control system 100 that
includes video source control but not video switching will produce
a set of output videos that is a subset of the input feeds; that
is, some or all of the input feeds. The video sources 170 producing
these output feeds may be configured once, or reconfigured using
the capabilities of the system many times while in operation during
creation of a production. The operator of such a system may have
discretion in selecting how the configurations of the video sources
170 change over time, and/or in selecting which video feeds from
the video sources 170 are output.
[0052] However, since video source control technology may be
combined with video switching technology in a single video
production and control system 100, the video feeds originating from
the configured and controlled video sources 170 may be immediately
and directly used to provide video segments assembled in the
Program video output 199 by the video switching technology part of
the system 100.
Video Switching Program Output
[0053] The touch screen video production and control system 100
with video switching technology produces a video output signal,
called the Program video output 199, that is based upon one or more
of the feeds 131 from the video sources 170. In its simplest form,
the Program video output 199 is created by switching from one input
video feed 131 to another, in response to user commands received by
the system 100 through its touch screen UI 111, perhaps
supplemented by a control panel user interface 820. In FIG. 1, this
is depicted as an arrow 190 from a video Program output connection
152 in the system 100 to some Program consumer 191. For emphasis in
the figure, this is shown as a broadcast tower 192, although while
the Program is being output through the video Program output
connection 152, it can travel anywhere by means of any
communication method, as described above in regard to communication
system(s) 162, or it can be recorded and stored. There may be
multiple forms of the Program video output 199, each with its own
video Program output connection 152. For example, the Program
output may be in digital (in various formats) and/or analog (in
various formats). The Program video output 199 might in some
embodiments be output through a physical Program output connector
153.
User Interface
[0054] The touch screen video production and control system 100
will have a UI 149 that includes touch screen UI 111, which has
user touch controls to implement its functionality, such
functionality including either video source control, video
switching, or both. The UI 149 may also include a control panel 140
having tactile controls 142.
Touch Screen Interface
[0055] FIG. 1 illustrates a touch screen video production and
control system 100 having both video source control and video
switching. This particular illustrative embodiment includes three
rows of windows, associated with video feeds 131, and a graphical
user interface (GUI) 139 area which includes various other touch
controls whereby a user can manipulate the system. Other touch
screen UIs 111 may be configured or laid out differently, either by
the system 100 or by a user through the control panel 140 or a GUI
139.
[0056] Each video feed window 130 in the middle row shows the
content video feed 131 from a respective video source 170.
Typically, the content of one or more of the feeds 131 will be
changing and evolving as the production progresses, possibly in
near real time. The bottom row shows a set of thumbnails 136, each
thumbnail 136 representing a particular preset configuration of a
selected video source 170. The top row of windows includes a
Preview window 122 and a Program window 120. The contents of the
Program window 120 will be output simultaneously (at least in terms
of normal human perception) through the Program window 120 and the
video Program output connection 152. A video production and control
system 100 having only video source control capability might have a
similar appearance, but might lack the windows appearing in this
particular embodiment in the top row. One having only video source
control capability might lack the thumbnail 136 windows appearing
in the bottom row.
[0057] Of course, many arrangements of the touch screen 110
controls and displays are possible to achieve equivalent
functionality. For example, suppose that a set of cameras 171 is
configured once and only once at the start of a production. A
system might provide a control to allow display of the preset
thumbnails 136 to be enabled or suppressed, or to change the layout
of the touch screen UI 111.
[0058] In FIG. 1, video feed windows 130 corresponding to feeds 131
from four video sources 170 are shown numbered 1-4 and having
reference numbers 130a-130d, respectively. At the depicted moment
in time, window #4 is marked with a star, indicating that it is
displaying the feed 131 that is the current Program feed 121, which
also appears in the Program window 120 above, and likewise marked
with a star. Window #1, marked with a triangle, is displaying the
feed that is currently the Preview feed 123; the Preview feed 123
is also being displayed in the Preview window 122, and likewise
marked with a triangle. Window #3, marked with a diamond shape, is
displaying a feed whose video source 170 has been selected for
configuration. The bottom row contains Preset windows 135, each
displaying a thumbnail 136 image that shows a particular preset
configuration 137 of that video source 170. Typically, a thumbnail
136 will be an image captured with the video source 170 in the
preset configuration 137 to which the thumbnail 136 corresponds.
One of the thumbnails 136, namely #3B, is marked with a diamond,
indicating that it is the currently selected preset 138
configuration of the video source 170 whose feed 131 is displayed
in window #3.
[0059] Note that the star, triangle, and diamond figures were used
to facilitate simple description of FIG. 1, and would be unlikely
to appear in a real implementation of the touch screen UI 111 of a
video production and control system 100. A colored border around a
window is one of many possible examples of a more realistic
emphasis means for indicating selection of the item represented by
that window.
[0060] The touch screen UI 111 can be used to modify the
configuration of a video source 170, either by changing that video
source 170 to a different existing preset configuration 137, or by
manual configuration, with or without creating a new preset
configuration 137. For example, in FIG. 1, the video source 170 of
window #4 is presently selected, and it is in the configuration
displayed in the thumbnail 136 labeled #3B representing the
selected preset 138. A new configuration might be selected when the
system 100 senses that an operator has touched one of the other
preset thumbnails 136, say #3E. At that point, the system 100 will
send control data 263 to the video source 170 of window #3. The
detailed instructions or data for configuring a video source 170 in
a particular way might be stored in the video source 170, or in the
controller 141, or split between the two. For example, the
controller 141 might only need to send the video source 170 an
index of a preset configuration that is stored in hardware or
firmware, as instructions or parameters, on the video source 170.
Selection of a different video source 170 for configuration might
be done, for example, by pressing the window in the middle row for
that video source 170. Of course, many other means of indicating
selection are possible, such as making a choice within the GUI
through a menu or a text box.
[0061] Manipulating a video source 170 into a new configuration
might be done, for example, by first touching an already selected
preset thumbnail 136, or by pressing a preset thumbnail 136 and
holding it down for some minimum period, say four seconds. Once
creation of a new preset configuration 137 is initiated, an
operator might use touch controls in the touch screen UI 111 or
tactile controls of a control panel 140, such as a joystick 144, to
reconfigure the video source 170. In some embodiments or
situations, a new configuration might be requested by sending a
command in text form, or a sending set of program instructions
retrieved from storage. A new configuration might (or might not) be
stored, and displayed in a preset thumbnail 136.
Control Panel
[0062] A control panel with conventional tactile controls 142 might
be provided to supplement the touch screen 110 for control of video
source 170 configuration or control of video switching. The reasons
for doing so include (1) redundancy in case of equipment failure;
(2) familiarity of some system operators with some traditional
controls; or (3) better performance of particular tactile controls
for some operations. For example, some users feel that precise
manipulation of camera PTZ configuration is better achieved with a
joystick 144 than with touch screen control workalikes.
Nevertheless, a touch screen 110 alone can be configured to handle
all requirements to implement the UI of a system 100 having video
source control and/or video switching. Such a touch screen UI 111
might employ any of the windowing and touch control techniques
known in the art.
[0063] The touch screen display 112 and touch screen UI 111,
controller 141, video source interfaces 150 (for video feeds and,
in some embodiments, for video source control), and video Program
output connections 152, and, optionally, a control panel 140 form
the core of a touch screen video production and control system 100.
A dashed line 101 in FIG. 1 distinguishes these core components
from other components that, depending on embodiment, might be
regarded as within the particular system 100 or external to it.
Controller Functionality
[0064] FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing illustrating the functionality
of a controller 141 in a touch screen video production and control
system having both video source control and video switching. The
controller 141 is some combination of software and hardware to
execute the logic that provides the system 100 with various kinds
of functionality. The controller 141 may be housed, in whole or in
part, within a structure that also includes a control panel 140.
Alternatively, the controller 141, or portions thereof, might be
included in a monitor whose surface is the touch screen 110.
Ultimately, the controller 141 functionality must be housed in some
kind(s) of hardware platform, but the division of that
functionality among one or more hardware resources may vary among
embodiments of the invention. Typically, the controller 141 will be
housed in either a control panel 140 unit or within whatever
structure houses the touch screen 110. Preferably, the controller
141 will be housed in a unit separate from the monitor (or other
display device) and touch screen 110 surface, to allow these
components to be easily and inexpensively purchased off-the-shelf.
Indeed, the controller 141 will preferably allow itself to be
configured through its UIs 149 or through an external interface so
the touch screen 110 display and touch screen UI 111 can work on a
range of different types of display equipment ranging from monitors
to touch pads to cell phones and portable media players, as well as
various types of input connections/connectors. If video source
control and video switching are in separate systems, there may be
two controller boxes, each possibly having a control panel 140.
[0065] The controller 141 interacts through interfaces with the
environment, namely, with users, video sources 170, and Program
consumers 191. A video source interface 150 may include a video
feed connection 150a and a video source control connection 150b.
The controller 141 receives video feeds 131 from video sources 170
through respective video feed connections 150a. A video source 170
feeds video to the video feed connection 150a through communication
system 260a. If the system 100 has video source control, the video
source 170 may have two-way communication 260b with a video source
control connection 150b. The communication paths 260a and 260b may
be the same or separate. The video feed connection 150a and the
video source control connection 150b might likewise, for example,
be implemented as a combined connector or separate connectors. If
the system does not have video source control, then the video
source control connections 150b might not be included. A video
source control connection 150b might itself have separate input and
output connections/connectors.
[0066] The controller 141 interacts with users of the touch screen
110 through connection 180 by both the touch screen display 112 and
the touch screen UI 111 controls. The controller 141 arranges the
layout of the touch screen 110, and the content presented there, in
some systems according to user specification. The content includes,
for example, content types described in reference to the touch
screen 110 illustrated by FIG. 1. The touch screen 110 sends touch
interaction events that include touch location to the controller
141. The controller 141 determines how to respond to such events
based on how the touch screen UI 111 is laid out. The controller
141 also interacts through communication channel 280 with users of
the control panel 140, if any, as described in connection with FIG.
1.
[0067] The controller 141 interacts with a Program consumer 191
though a video Program output connection 152 The video Program
output connection 152 might be implemented as a connector or in
some other way, such as a transmitter.
[0068] Central to the controller 141 is a processor 200, which
includes whatever hardware and software are used by the controller
141 to execute required logic and to coordinate the various
components of the touch screen video production and control system
100. The processor 200 might include one or more microprocessors,
logical gates, software instructions, hardware storage, and so
forth. The logic of the controller 141 is best defined by what it
does. Three categories of functionality, separated in FIG. 2 by
dashed lines, are described below.
[0069] Any touch screen video production and control system 100
will have a controller 141 that may have some or all of the
following general functions: manage 201 the video source interfaces
150; store/retrieve 204 any data and code needed by the controller
141 to carry out its functions; standardize 206 video feeds formats
for touch screen display; lay out 202 the UI, potentially according
to user specifications; build 203 the screen images and display
them as video; implement 208 the touch screen UI 111, including
responding to touch events; respond 205 to triggers or tracking
information from external sources by automatically; and interact
207 with some external control system, for example to update
software or firmware on the system 100, or to test the system.
[0070] The controller 141 of a touch screen video production and
control system 100 having touch screen video source control may
have some or all of the following functions: manage 223 the video
source control connections 150b to the system 100; cause 220 a
video source 170 to configure itself according to a preset
configuration 137; reconfigure 222 a video source 170 using touch
screen UI 111 controls; create and store 221 a new preset
configuration 137.
[0071] The controller 141 of a touch screen video production and
control system 100 having touch screen video switching may have
some or all of the following functions: select 231 the Program feed
121 and Preview feed 123 from among the input feeds 131; manage 230
transitions from Preview feed 123 into Program feed 121 according
to the current user-selected transformation mode; and format 232
the Program feed 121 for Program video output 199 to Program
consumers 191.
Selection of a Preset Configuration
[0072] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating, in an embodiment of the
invention, one possible implementation of the use of touch screen
video source control to select a preset configuration 137 of a
video source 170. In this and the other flowcharts, text displayed
in a hexagon depicts an assumed state of the system 100 prior to
the start of the particular process.
[0073] In this flowchart, S.sub.v is a video feed connection 150a
or port to a video source 170 S. F is a window, as in the middle
row of the touch screen 110 of FIG. 1, displaying the video feed
from video feed connection 150a. T.sub.1 is a thumbnail 136
representation of preset configuration 137 C.sub.1, and T.sub.2 is
a thumbnail 136 representation of preset configuration 137 C.sub.2
of the feed 131.
[0074] At the start 310 of the process, video received through port
S.sub.v is being displayed 300 in video feed window F. The source S
of the video feed has an initial configuration of C.sub.1.
[0075] A touch is sensed 320 of window F. In this embodiment, such
a touch selects F, as well as the video source control connection
150b that corresponds to F. Other methods of implementing such
selection are, of course, possible within the scope of the
invention. Indeed, in other instances in this and other flowcharts,
the practitioner of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that
there are other equivalent methods to achieve the same effect, and
for clarity we will dispense with further caveats of this kind in
the flowcharts. FIG. 10 depicts one such alternative scheme.
[0076] Window F is somehow highlighted 330 to indicate its
selection. In thumbnails 136, the preset configurations 137
corresponding to port S.sub.v (and, in turn, to S) are displayed
340, for example, as in the bottom row on the touch screen 110 of
FIG. 1. The thumbnail 136 T.sub.1 for preset configuration 137
C.sub.1 is emphasized or highlighted 350 to indicate that it is the
currently selected preset configuration 137 being used by video
source 170 S to display the video feed 131.
[0077] A touch is sensed 360 of thumbnail 136 T.sub.2. The touch
screen 110 first senses the event, which the controller 141
interprets, in this embodiment, as a user request to change to the
corresponding preset configuration 137 C.sub.2. The controller 141
sends 370 a command (control data 263), through the video source
control connection 150b S.sub.c corresponding to S.sub.v, asking S
to change its configuration to C.sub.2. The controller 141 causes
the touch screen 110 to indicate 380 the thumbnail 136 T.sub.2
corresponding to C.sub.2 as selected. Barring difficulty, S changes
its configuration in response to the command sent through its video
source control connection 150b, so now the system 100 displays 390
video received through port S.sub.v in window F with S now having
configuration C.sub.2. The process ends 399.
Selection of a Business Presentation Software Slide
[0078] FIG. 3 is the kind of video source control that might be
used with, for example, a remote control camera 171. In contrast,
FIG. 4 is a variation video source control, where the video feed
consists of business presentation software slides in an embodiment
of the invention.
[0079] At the start 410, video received through port S.sub.v is
being displayed 400 in video feed window F, with source S showing a
slide d.sub.1. A touch is sensed 420 by the controller 141 of
window F. This touch causes F to be emphasized or highlighted 430
and thumbnails 136 of the slides from video source S to be
displayed 440, with T.sub.1 showing slide d.sub.1 being highlighted
450. A touch is now sensed 460 of thumbnail 136 T.sub.2, which
displays slide d.sub.2. Through control port S.sub.c, S is
commanded 470 to change to slide d.sub.2. Selection of the new
thumbnail 136 slide is indicated 480. Presumably, S changes its
configuration in response to the command sent through its video
source control connection 150b, so now the system 100 displays 490
video received through port S.sub.v in window F with S now having
configuration C.sub.2. The process ends 499.
Creation of a New Preset Configuration
[0080] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating, in an embodiment of the
invention, the use of touch screen video source control to create a
new preset configuration 137 of a video source 170. At the start
510, initially 500 the thumbnail 136 T showing the current preset
configuration 137 C.sub.1 for video source 170 S is emphasized.
Window F is displaying a video feed received through port S.sub.v
from S. A user touch of thumbnail 136 T is then sensed 520. The
controller 141 could at this point enable user controls for
configuration of S. In any case, some command is received 530
through the UI for control of S. The controller 141 sends 540 a
corresponding command through control port S.sub.c. (Logically it
is the same command, but physically the commands received by the
controller and sent to through S.sub.c are probably different in
form and/or in content.) For example, the command might change a
PTZ setting of a camera 171. The command might cause S to send some
feedback to the system 100 through S.sub.c, which would then be
displayed 550 for the user on the touch screen 110. The video feed
131 from video source 170 continues to be displayed 560 in F, but
now according to the new preset configuration 137 resulting from
the user command. If 570 the user has more commands, then the flow
returns to step 530. Otherwise, a snapshot captured from the
current input feed from S is stored 580, and is displayed 590 in
the thumbnail 136 T. The process ends 599. Note that in some
embodiments, reconfiguration of a video source 170 alone does not
necessarily cause a change of preset configuration 137 and
thumbnail 136; a change in preset configuration 137 requires a
separate step. The scheme illustrated by FIG. 10 is of this
type.
Selection of a New Feed as the Preview Feed
[0081] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating, in an embodiment of the
invention, the use of touch screen video switching to select the
Preview video feed 131 from a set of input video feeds 131. At the
start 610, the touch screen 110 includes 600 n video feed 131
windows F(k), k=1, . . . , n, each displaying a respective feed
received through an associated video input port S.sub.v (k) from a
video source S(k); a Preview window displaying the feed through
video input port S.sub.v (i); and a Program window displaying the
feed through video input port S.sub.v (j). Then a touch of the
Preview window is sensed 620, followed by a touch 630 of a video
feed 131 window F(m). The controller 141 now causes 640 the video
feed 131 from S.sub.v (m) to be displayed in the Preview window,
and S.sub.v (m) to be designated as the Preview input port. The
process ends 699. Again, FIG. 10 shows an alternative
implementation of this functionality.
[0082] Transition of the Preview Feed to the Program Feed
[0083] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating, in an embodiment of the
invention, the use of touch screen video switching to promote the
Preview video feed 131 to the Program video feed 131. At the start
710, the touch screen 110 includes 700 n video feed 131 windows
F(k), k=1, . . . , n, each displaying a respective feed received
through an associated video input port S.sub.v (k) from a video
source S(k); a Preview window displaying the feed through video
input port S.sub.v (i); and a Program window displaying the feed
through video input port S.sub.v (j). Then a touch is sensed 720 by
the controller 141 of the Program window, or some other touch, such
as the press of a "Take" button, is sensed that indicates a
transition of the Preview feed to Program is desired. The Preview
feed is then transitioned 730 to Program, according to a previously
specified setting of transition type (e.g., crossfade or cut). The
old Program feed becomes 740 the new Preview feed. The process ends
799.
Controller Configuration
Processor
[0084] FIG. 8 gives an overview of the structure of a controller
141 in an exemplary touch screen video production and control
system 100. Under supervision of a processor 200, the controller
141 provides functionality similar to that shown in FIG. 2.
[0085] The processor 200 interacts with users through the touch
screen control interface 810 controls, such as window presses; take
button; controls for transformation from Preview to Program;
controls for camera configuration; and other controls provided by
the GUI 139. Some or all of the functionality provided by the touch
screen 110 controls may be provided through the control panel user
interface 820. The touch screen control interface 810 communicates
with the processor 200 using serial communications through a touch
screen RS-232 level shifter 812 and a touch screen RS-232 connector
811.
[0086] This touch screen video production and control system 100 is
designed to receive input feeds from, and to control, up to six
video sources 170, which are remote control or robotic cameras 171
in this particular embodiment. The controller 141 interacts with
the cameras 171 through camera control ports 870, which are RS-232
connectors 871. Serial communication between the processor 200 and
these ports uses a level shifter 872 and a serial MUX 873.
[0087] The processor 200 communicates with the control panel 140
through the control panel user interface 820 using serial
communication for a control panel display 145; analog communication
for a joystick 144 and for rotary encoders 824, such as might
receive input from a knob 146 or dial; and I2C bus communication
via I2C multiplexer 860 to buttons 143 and LEDs 147 on the control
panel 140.
[0088] This touch screen video production and control system 100
provides an automated control interface 840 with external sources,
which can cause the controller 141 to perform operations similar to
those that may be requested by a human user through the touch
screen control interface 810 or the control panel user interface
820. For example, when a speaker steps on a mat near a whiteboard,
that may cause a trigger input 850 to the controller 141; the
controller 141 may be programmed to respond by configuring a
particular camera 171 to focus on the speaker. This interface might
also be used, for example, to track a speaker as the speaker moves
around a stage. This kind of camera 171 control is described in
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/527,120. The automated control
interface 840 might cause the controller 141 to perform any of the
functions shown in FIG. 2, such as promoting a video feed from
Preview to Program.
[0089] The processor 200 also utilize hardware storage 801 as
needed to store instructions and data. An external communication
interface 802 is provided to allow an external device to
communicate data and software to the controller 141, and to update
firmware.
Video Content Control
[0090] The processor 200 exercises video content control 880 over
the touch screen 110 and the video Program output connection 152
using MUX Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) 881 and Switcher SPI
882. FIG. 9 shows an exemplary implementation of a video content
subsystem 900 in a touch screen video production and control system
100 that has video switching technology.
[0091] The video feeds 131 are received by the video content
subsystem 900 through video feed connections 150a, implemented as
analog signal 910 via ports A1 901a through A5 901e and digital
signal 914 via port D1 901f. The analog signals 910 and the digital
signal 914 are converted to a common format, here 8-bit color
digital video (DV) 912, using analog decoders 911 and digital
decoder 915. A touch screen layout FPGA 920 controls how the
decoders standardize each input feed signals using I2C bus 913. The
controller 141 uses I2C buses for control in a number of contexts;
a typical one is labeled I2C 935.
[0092] In other embodiments, a variety of source connections might
be implemented by plug-in devices (e.g., circuit cards) that do the
bulk of the format standardization according to specifications from
the controller 141.
[0093] The touch screen layout FPGA 920 operates under control of
the processor 200 via MUX SPI 881. The touch screen layout FPGA 920
arranges the display of the touch screen 110 monitor or other
visualization device from the video feeds 131. It performs
operations of multiplexing, scaling, arrangement of windows (such
as video feed window 130, thumbnails 136, Program window 120,
Preview window 122, and GUI 139) on the screen, and formatting of
the video content. In this embodiment, the touch screen layout FPGA
920 creates the entire content of the touch screen 110 one frame at
a time, sending 933 the frames sequentially to interlacing FPGA
940. The touch screen layout FPGA 920 uses frame buffer 921 to
ensure smooth sequencing of the input signal. The touch screen
layout FPGA 920 also controls formatting of the Program and touch
screen output signals through I2C buses connected to Program output
digital encoder 951, Program output analog encoder 952, touch
screen display digital (DVI-D) encoder 953, and touch screen
display analog encoder 954.
[0094] The interlacing FPGA 940 interlaces the output signals if
appropriate for the display, and communicates with the output
encoders. The touch screen 110 display signal, including the
content of all the windows and GUI 139, is sent 943 as DV to touch
screen display digital (DVI-D) encoder 953 where it is reformatted
into output digital signal, here DVI-D, and sent through touch
screen digital output port 963 to the touch screen 110 (if the
touch screen 110 display is digital). Similarly, the touch screen
110 display signal is sent 944 as DV to touch screen display analog
encoder 954 where it is reformatted into output analog (in this
case, YPbPr or RGBHV) signal, and sent through touch screen analog
output port 964 to the touch screen 110 (if the touch screen 110
display is analog). Communication 180 between controller 141 and
touch screen 110 includes the display output through touch screen
digital output port 963 or touch screen analog output port 964, as
well as control communication through touch screen RS-232 connector
811.
[0095] The processor 200 controls video switcher 930 through
Switcher SPI 882 according to the then-current transition mode. The
video switcher 930 manages transitions of Preview feed 123 to
Program feed 121. It receives those feeds as inputs 923 and 924,
and produces a single Program output signal 931. It uses frame
buffer 932 to ensure a smooth output signal. This signal is
processed similarly to the signal 933 for the touch screen 110
monitor, including signals 941 and 942, encoders 951 and 952, and
digital 961 and analog 962 output ports. The Program video output
199 is the output from ports 961 and 962.
Alternative Touch Screen Video Source Control and Switching
Commands
[0096] FIG. 3-7 described in detail one set of touch screen 110
commands for video source control and video switching. In the table
of FIG. 10, we illustrate another scheme, one of many possibilities
approaches within the scope of the invention for providing such
functionality to the touch screen UI 111. The table has columns,
corresponding to type 1000 of touch screen video production and
control system, initial state 1001 of the system 100 before the
command; the response 1002 desired by the user when executing the
command; the action 1003 performed by the user and sensed by the
system; and the consequences 1004, direct and possibly secondary.
The type 1000 is either "SC", indicating an operation that would be
more likely to be supported in a system with video source control;
or "VS" indicating an operation that would be more likely to be
supported in a system with video switching. All the operations
would be appropriate for a system 100 with both video source
control and video switching.
[0097] The table has five rows, representing a user operation
through the touch screen UI 111. Referring back to the touch screen
110 display of FIG. 1 should be helpful in following the following
discussion.
[0098] Operation 1020 is promoting a video feed 131 from Preview to
Program. We assume, for the sake of illustration, that Feed 2 is
the current Program feed 121 and Feed 4 is the current Preview feed
123. The system 100 senses that the Preview window 122 has been
pressed. The Program feed 121 is transitioned, according to the
transition method chosen by the user, into Feed 2. Feed 2 is sent
to Program video output 199 to Program consumers 191. Feed 4 is
transitioned according to the current transition mode into the new
Preview feed.
[0099] As a result of the previous operation, Feed 4 is the Program
feed and Feed 2 is Preview. Operation 1021 is promoting a video
feed 131 (other than the Program feed), in this case Feed 1, to
Preview. A press by the user of feed window 1 is sensed. Feed 1 is
displayed in the Preview window, and the set of preset
configurations for Feed 1 are displayed as thumbnails. The preset
currently selected for Feed 1 is emphasized.
[0100] After the previous operation, the user wants to change 1022
the video source 170 for Feed 1 to a different preset
configuration, namely 1E. The system 100 senses a user press of
thumbnail 1E, and sends control data 263 to the video source 170,
which responds by changing to the corresponding preset
configuration. This modifies the view being presented by video in
the Preview window. Thumbnail 1E is emphasized or highlighted.
[0101] After the previous operation, the user decides to
interactively modify 1023 the configuration of the video source 170
for Feed 3 using controls in the touch screen UI 111 or the control
panel 140. The user presses and holds the Feed 3 window for at
least four seconds. Feed 3 is promoted to Preview. An inset is
shown in the Feed 3 window having the same size as a thumbnail 136
to indicate that configuration is in progress. The user can see the
Feed 3 view from the video source 170 in this inset. Pressing the
Feed window again ends the reconfiguration, but note that it does
not save the new configuration as a preset. To do so 1024, while
the inset is still visible, the user can press one of the
thumbnails for Feed 3. That thumbnail and corresponding preset will
be replaced by corresponding ones for the new configuration.
Separate Video Source Control System
[0102] FIG. 11 illustrates how the touch screen video source
control functionality of a touch screen video production and
control system 100 can be implemented as a video source control
system 1100 separate from the touch screen video switching
functionality. Such a video source control system 1100 might
nevertheless be combined in a single system--possibly even housed
within a single box--with components that do video switching using
a method that does not have the innovative touch screen video
switching aspects described in this and related patent documents.
Alternately, video switching might be performed by an entirely
separate system, or not at all.
[0103] The video source control system 1100 includes video source
configuration aspects of the combined system already described.
Since most of the elements of these figures should be familiar to
the reader from previous figures, reference numbers, and associated
text, we will concentrate on elements that are specific to a
separate video source control system 1100, as contrasted with the
combined system illustrated by FIG. 1.
[0104] Like the combined system 100, the touch screen user
interface 1111 of video source control system 1100 has a set of
video feed windows 130 and a set of thumbnails 136 for preset
configurations 137. The functionality of these windows is described
in FIG. 3-5, and in FIG. 10 for operations designated as type "SC".
The GUI 1170 will include controls relevant to video source
control, for example, controls to change PTZ of a camera 171, or to
select a slide from a business presentation. The video source
control system 1100 has a controller 1141, and possibly a control
panel 1140. This control panel 1140 includes a joystick 144 for
configuration of cameras 171.
[0105] Input to the video source control system 1100 is from video
sources 1130a-1130d. The number of video sources 170 can be
arbitrarily large. Some, and perhaps all of these video sources 170
are likely to be capable of some kind of remote control or
configuration. Consequently, communication systems 1135 are
represented by two-way arrows. Each communication system(s) 162
might be of any type, as described in reference to FIG. 1. The
video input connections 1153 from the video sources 170 to the
video source control system 1100 are shown as two-way (although not
all need be), including both a video feed connection 150a and a
video source control connection 150b.
[0106] The video feeds 131 output by the video source control
system 1100 may be manipulated on an ongoing basis by
reconfiguration through the touch screen UI 111 of the video
sources 170. The illustrative video source control system 1100
shows the same number of video output connections 1152 as video
feed connections 150a. Because the video source control system 1100
may play a filtering and selection role, the number of video output
connections 1152 might in some embodiments be smaller than the
number of video feed connections 150a. In practice, the video feeds
output from the system will be transmitted over some kind(s) of
communication system 1136 to video feed consumers 1131a-1131d.
[0107] In a combined system such as illustrated in some detail in
FIGS. 1, 2, 8 and 9, the video source interfaces 150 to the system
100, in effect, play the roles of both input connections video
input connections 1153 and consumers 1131a-1131d. In a combined
system, separate video output connections 1152 from the video
source control components of the system into the video switching
components are not necessary. There is a single set of inputs and a
single set of outputs from the system.
[0108] The functionality of the controller 1141 in a video source
control system 1100 is illustrated by FIG. 12. This figure will not
be described in detail. The functional aspects of the controller
1141 are a subset of those previously detailed in reference to FIG.
2, and all reference numbers in the figure have already been
identified in the text.
[0109] The video switching components of FIG. 9, such as video
switcher 930, are not necessary in a video source control system
1100. Replacing Program output encoders 951 and 952, and Program
output connectors 961 and 962. there will be corresponding
components to implement video output connections 1152 for
custom-configured video feeds 131.
CONCLUSION
[0110] Throughout this document, the word "or" should be
interpreted as "inclusive or" unless otherwise clear from the
context. Also, the word "each" is used in some of the claims. The
reader should note that if A includes Bs, such that each B contains
property P, then A might also include Bs that do not have property
P.
[0111] Of course, many variations of the above method are possible
within the scope of the invention. The present invention is,
therefore, not limited to all the above details, as modifications
and variations may be made without departing from the intent or
scope of the invention. Consequently, the invention should be
limited only by the following claims and equivalent
constructions.
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