U.S. patent application number 16/400331 was filed with the patent office on 2019-08-22 for dynamic media recording.
The applicant listed for this patent is Thuuz, Inc.. Invention is credited to David Eyler, Mark Kikuya Maisenbacher.
Application Number | 20190259423 16/400331 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51842892 |
Filed Date | 2019-08-22 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20190259423 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Maisenbacher; Mark Kikuya ;
et al. |
August 22, 2019 |
DYNAMIC MEDIA RECORDING
Abstract
A stream of media content is received in a media device. A value
is determined in metadata of the media content relating to indicia
of interest in a portion of the media content. A first clip
including the portion of the media content is stored based at least
in part on the indicia of interest, whereby the first clip is made
available for later retrieval.
Inventors: |
Maisenbacher; Mark Kikuya;
(Palo Alto, CA) ; Eyler; David; (San Francisco,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Thuuz, Inc. |
Palo Alto |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
51842892 |
Appl. No.: |
16/400331 |
Filed: |
May 1, 2019 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
14058782 |
Oct 21, 2013 |
10297287 |
|
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16400331 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G11B 27/19 20130101;
G06F 16/70 20190101; G11B 27/34 20130101; H04N 5/775 20130101; H04N
5/91 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G11B 27/19 20060101
G11B027/19; G06F 16/70 20060101 G06F016/70; H04N 5/91 20060101
H04N005/91; H04N 5/775 20060101 H04N005/775; G11B 27/34 20060101
G11B027/34 |
Claims
1. A computer-implemented method for automatically recording a
portion of a media content item, comprising: receiving a media
content stream; and while the media content stream is being
received: determining a threshold value for a parameter indicating
interest; and for each of a plurality of successively received
portions of the media content stream: determining whether a
metadata value of the media content portion meets or exceeds the
threshold value for the parameter; and responsive to a
determination that the metadata value meets or exceeds the
threshold value for the parameter, automatically storing, in a
storage device, a first clip including the portion of the media
content stream, whereby the first clip is made available for later
retrieval; wherein the threshold value is determined, at least in
part, based on an objective determination of interest level that is
independent of preferences of any single user.
2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the
threshold value is determined, at least in part, based on a
determination of a particular user's interest in the portion of the
media content stream.
3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the
threshold value is determined, at least in part, based on a
determination of a particular user's interest in the portion of the
media content stream, based on data from an account associated with
the user on a remote site.
4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:
automatically creating a composite clip comprising at least one
additional clip; and automatically storing the composite clip in
the storage device.
5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein
automatically creating a composite clip comprising at least one
additional clip comprises to automatically arranging the first clip
and the at least one additional clip according to a determination
of interest level in the clips.
6. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein
automatically creating a composite clip comprising at least one
additional clip comprises to automatically arranging the first clip
and the at least one additional clip according to a determination
of a particular user's interest level in the clips.
7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:
displaying, on a display device, a graphical user interface
comprising a link to the first clip.
8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the metadata
value of the media content portion is generated in real time or
near real time.
9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the media
content stream comprises a live broadcast.
10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the
threshold value comprises a threshold for the metadata value.
11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium for automatically
recording a portion of a media content item, comprising
instructions stored thereon, that when executed by a processor,
perform the steps of: receiving a media content stream; and while
the media content stream is being received: determining a threshold
value for a parameter indicating interest; and for each of a
plurality of successively received portions of the media content
stream: determining whether a metadata value of the media content
portion meets or exceeds the threshold value for the parameter; and
responsive to a determination that the metadata value meets or
exceeds the threshold value for the parameter, automatically
storing, in a storage device, a first clip including the portion of
the media content stream, whereby the first clip is made available
for later retrieval; wherein the threshold value is determined, at
least in part, based on an objective determination of interest
level that is independent of preferences of any single user.
12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11,
wherein the threshold value is determined, at least in part, based
on a determination of a particular user's interest in the portion
of the media content stream.
13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11,
wherein the threshold value is determined, at least in part, based
on a determination of a particular user's interest in the portion
of the media content stream, based on data from an account
associated with the user on a remote site.
14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11,
further comprising instructions stored thereon, that when executed
by the processor, perform the steps of: automatically creating a
composite clip comprising at least one additional clip; and
automatically storing the composite clip in the storage device.
15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14,
wherein automatically creating a composite clip comprising at least
one additional clip comprises to automatically arranging the first
clip and the at least one additional clip according to a
determination of interest level in the clips.
16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14,
wherein automatically creating a composite clip comprising at least
one additional clip comprises to automatically arranging the first
clip and the at least one additional clip according to a
determination of a particular user's interest level in the
clips.
17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11,
further comprising instructions stored thereon, that when executed
by a processor, perform the steps of: causing a display device to
display a graphical user interface comprising a link to the first
clip.
18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11,
wherein the metadata value of the media content portion is
generated in real time or near real time.
19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11,
wherein the media content stream comprises a live broadcast.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11,
wherein the threshold value comprises a threshold for the metadata
value.
21. A system for automatically recording a portion of a media
content item, comprising: a media device, configured to receive a
media content stream; an electronic storage device; a processor,
communicatively coupled to the media device and to the electronic
storage device, configured to, while the media content stream is
being received: determine a threshold value for a parameter
indicating interest; and for each of a plurality of successively
received portions of the media content stream: determine whether a
metadata value of the media content portion meets or exceeds the
threshold value for the parameter; and responsive to a
determination that the metadata value meets or exceeds the
threshold value for the parameter, automatically causing the
storage device to store a first clip including the portion of the
media content stream, whereby the first clip is made available for
later retrieval; wherein the threshold value is determined, at
least in part, based on an objective determination of interest
level that is independent of preferences of any single user.
22. The system of claim 21, wherein the threshold value is
determined, at least in part, based on a determination of a
particular user's interest in the portion of the media content
stream.
23. The system of claim 21, wherein the threshold value is
determined, at least in part, based on a determination of a
particular user's interest in the portion of the media content
stream, based on data from an account associated with the user on a
remote site.
24. The system of claim 21, wherein the processor is further
configured to: automatically create a composite clip comprising at
least one additional clip; and automatically cause the storage
device to store the composite clip.
25. The system of claim 24, wherein automatically creating a
composite clip comprising at least one additional clip comprises to
automatically arranging the first clip and the at least one
additional clip according to a determination of interest level in
the clips.
26. The system of claim 24, wherein automatically creating a
composite clip comprising at least one additional clip comprises to
automatically arranging the first clip and the at least one
additional clip according to a determination of a particular user's
interest level in the clips.
27. The system of claim 21, further comprising: a display device,
communicatively coupled to the processor, configured to display a
graphical user interface comprising a link to the first clip.
28. The system of claim 21, wherein the metadata value of the media
content portion is generated in real time or near real time.
29. The system of claim 21, wherein the media content stream
comprises a live broadcast.
30. The system of claim 21, wherein the threshold value comprises a
threshold for the metadata value.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority as a continuation of
U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 14/058,782 for "Dynamic Media
Recording" (Atty. Docket No. THU9006), filed on Oct. 21, 2013,
which is incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Digital video recorders (DVR's) and the like may be used to
record presentations of media content, such as sporting events,
political events, etc. However, even when the subject of an item of
media content is of interest to a user, e.g., a football fan may
generally be interested in a football game, some or all portions of
the item of media content may not be of interest to the user. For
example, a user may not be interested in seeing an entire football
game between teams the user does not follow, or may not have time
to watch an entire game. Unfortunately, mechanisms are lacking to
allow a user to record and view only portions of items of media
content of interest to the user, e.g., exciting portions of a
football game or other sporting event.
DRAWINGS
[0003] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary media content
delivery system.
[0004] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of exemplary media content.
[0005] FIG. 3 is a diagram of an exemplary process for recording
media content.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Introduction
[0006] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary media content
delivery system 100. Using certain elements of the system 100 as
disclosed herein, in an exemplary implementation, a digital media
processing device 140 may selectively, e.g., dynamically, record
portions of a video stream determined likely to be of interest,
e.g., exciting, to a viewer. Accordingly, the media processing
device 140 may be used to generate and store clips 155. Further,
the clips 155 may be presented to a user in a variety of ways,
e.g., presented for selective retrieval by a user, one or more
clips 155 may be arranged together to create a custom program for a
user, etc.
[0007] Accordingly, with reference to certain of the exemplary
elements shown in FIG. 1, a media source 105 in the system 100
includes media content 110, e.g., streaming content such as a video
presentation which in the context of the system 100 may be an event
such as a sporting event or other public event, or a presentation,
e.g., a news presentation, etc. The media content 110 may be
provided via a network 130 to a media device 140 that is generally
located in a customer premises 135. Media content 110 may include
media data 115, e.g., frames of video and associated audio, along
with metadata 120 describing various attributes and or portions of
the media data 115. The media source 105 may also store, e.g.,
included in the metadata 120, interest data 125 related to an item
of media content 110. The interest data 125 generally includes
indicia of likely user interest, e.g., a tag or keyword or the
like, or a numerical value indicating or rating a likely level of
user interest in a portion of the media data 115, e.g., relating to
an excitement level or the like for the portion of media data 115.
A recording module 145 included in the media device 140 may use the
metadata 120, including the interest data 125, and possibly also a
set of rules 150, to generate one or more clips 155 of the content
110.
Exemplary System Elements
Media Source
[0008] In general, media source 105 may include multiple elements
for processing, storing, and providing media content 110 and
related data. Elements of the media source 105 may be local to one
another and/or may be distributed amongst multiple locations. For
example, media source 105 may include one or more computer servers
(some or all of which may be referred to as "media servers") and
data storage devices, e.g., for storing and processing content 110
and other data such as discussed herein.
[0009] In general, the media source 105 may be any one or some
combination of various mechanisms for delivering media content 110,
e.g., one or more computing devices and storage devices, and may
depend on a type of media content 110 being provided. By way of
example and not limitation, media content 110 data may be provided
as video-on-demand through a cable, satellite, or internet protocol
television (IPTV) distribution system, as streaming Internet video
data, or as some other kind of data. Accordingly, the media source
105 may include one or more of a cable or satellite television
headend, a video streaming service that generally includes a
multimedia web server (or some other computing device), or some
other mechanism for delivering multimedia data. In general,
examples of media content 110 include various types of data,
including audio, video, images, etc.
[0010] Media content 110 is generally delivered via the network 130
in a digital format, e.g., as compressed audio and/or video data.
The media content 110 generally includes, according to such digital
format, media data 115 and media metadata 120. For example, MPEG
refers to a set of standards generally promulgated by the
International Standards Organization/International Electrical
Commission Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG). H.264 refers to a
standard promulgated by the International Telecommunications Union
(ITU). Accordingly, by way of example and not limitation, media
content 110 may be provided in a format such as the MPEG-1, MPEG-2
or the H.264/MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding standards (AVC) (H.264
and MPEG-4 at present being consistent), or according to some other
standard or standards. For example, media content 110 could be
audio data formatted according to standards such as MPEG-2 Audio
Layer III (MP3), Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), etc. Further, the
foregoing standards generally provide for including metadata, e.g.
media metadata 120, along with media data 115, in a file of media
content 110, such as the media metadata 120 discussed herein (and
moreover, as discussed elsewhere herein, the metadata 120 may
include other elements such as interest data 125).
[0011] Media content 110 includes media content as it is usually
provided for general distribution, e.g., a sports or news program,
etc., in a form has provided by a distributor of the media content
110 via a media source 105. Alternatively or additionally, media
content 110 may be modified from the form provided by a general
distributor of content (e.g., recompressed, re-encoded, etc.). In
any case, media data 115 generally includes data by which a
display, playback, representation, etc. of the media content 110 is
presented by a media device 140, e.g., on a display device such a
monitor, television set, etc. For example, media data 115 generally
includes units of encoded and/or compressed video data, e.g.,
frames of an MPEG file or stream.
[0012] Media metadata 120 may include metadata as provided by an
encoding standard such as an MPEG standard. Alternatively and/or
additionally, media metadata 120 could be stored and/or provided
separately to a media device 140, apart from media data 115. In
general, media metadata 120 provides general descriptive
information for an item of media content 110. Examples of media
metadata 120 include information such as content 110 title,
chapter, actor information, Motion Picture Association of America
MPAA rating information, reviews, and other information that
describes an item of media content 110. Information for metadata
120 may be gathered from a content producer, e.g., a movie studio,
media information aggregators, and other sources such as critical
movie reviews.
[0013] As already mentioned, the metadata 120 may include other
elements such as interest data 125. Accordingly, generally as part
of metadata 120 in media content 110, interest data 125 may be
provided from the media source 105 to one or more media devices
140. The interest data 125 generally includes one or more indicia
of interest, e.g., a numerical excitement or interest rating, a
descriptive keyword or tag, etc., relating to a portion or portions
of media data 115. Interest data 125 may be provided according to a
variety of mechanisms, e.g., a third party vendor may supply
interest data 125 concerning an item of media content 110 in real
time or near real time as the media content 110, e.g., a live
sporting event, is made available from the media source 105.
[0014] In addition, to specify exciting and/or interesting portions
of media data 115, interest data 125 generally further includes a
pointer or pointers or the like to a location or locations in media
data 115, e.g., according to timestamps or other indices. Such
pointers may be used to access one or more portions of media data
115, e.g., such as may be specified according to pointers or the
like provided in the metadata 120 associated with the media data
115. For example, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary item of
media content 110 with interest data 125 specifying various
segments in the media content 110. As stated above, media data 115
is typically an encoded (e.g., MPEG) video stream or file. Metadata
120 includes indices or the like according to which interest data
125 may point to a specified segment (or segments), e.g., a
specified set of frames of the media data 115 included in the
content 110. Accordingly, clips 155a, 155b, 155c, etc., in a file
or stream of media content 110 may be specified according to
respective indicia of interest, and pointers to respective portions
of media data 115, included in respective items of interest data
125.
Network
[0015] Communications to and from the media source 105, customer
premises 135, and one or more remote sites 170 may occur via the
network 130. In general, the network 130 represents one or more
mechanisms for delivering content 110 from the media source 105 to
a media device 140. Accordingly, the network 130 may be one or more
of various wired or wireless communication mechanisms, including
any desired combination of wired (e.g., cable and fiber) and/or
wireless (e.g., cellular, wireless, satellite, microwave, and radio
frequency) communication mechanisms and any desired network
topology (or topologies when multiple communication mechanisms are
utilized). Exemplary communication networks include wireless
communication networks, local area networks (LAN) and/or wide area
networks (WAN), including the Internet, etc.
Customer Premises
[0016] Turning to the customer premises 135, the media device 140
is generally a device including a computer processor and associated
storage, e.g., volatile memory, nonvolatile memory, etc., and
capable of communicating via the network 130. Exemplary media
devices 140 include a set-top box that includes or is coupled to a
digital video recorder (DVR), a personal computer such as a laptop,
handheld, or tablet computer, a smart phone, etc. Accordingly, it
is to be understood that a media device 140 may be a mobile device
rather than being located in a physical customer premises all (or
even some) of the time.
[0017] The media device 140 may include a display and/or may be
connected to a display device, e.g., a television, or may
incorporate a display device, e.g., a display of a smartphone,
tablet or personal computer. When content 110 is referred to herein
as being "displayed," it is to be understood that such display
could include any possible mode of displaying media data, such as a
display of visual data, audio data, etc. For example, content 110
could be displayed by showing video or image data on a screen with
or without sound, by playing audio data with or without a visual
display, etc.
[0018] The media device 140 generally includes a recording module
145, e.g., a set of instructions stored on a memory of the device
140, and executable by a processor thereof. The recording module
145 is generally configured to identify a portion or portions of
media data 115 in media content 110 that meets at least one
pre-determined criterion of user interest. The recording module 145
is further generally configured to make this identification
according to the indicia of interest included in interest data 125,
as well as possibly according to one or more rules 150.
[0019] For example, the recording module 145 could be configured to
identify interest data 125 included in metadata 120 for a stream of
content data 110, and to determine whether the interest data 125
specifies indicia of interest that should trigger recording of a
portion of media data 115. Continuing this example, metadata 120
for each frame included in an MPEG stream of media data 115 could
include an interest datum 125 providing indicia of interest such as
a numerical excitement rating, e.g., on a scale from 1 to 100.
Then, when the recording module 145 encountered a frame of data 115
associated with indicia of interest at or above a predetermined
threshold, e.g., 75, the recording module 145 could record, i.e.,
capture for storage, that frame of data 115. Further, any
immediately adjacent or contiguous frames of data 115 that met or
surpassed the threshold could likewise be captured and included in
a clip 155 with the first-identified frame of data 115 that met or
surpassed the threshold. Similarly, an interest datum 125 could
specify start and end points, e.g., using timestamps, indices,
etc., for respective starting and ending locations in a stream of
media data 115 between which indicia of interest had a specified
numeric value or associated keyword, a value over a certain
threshold, etc.
[0020] Likewise, an interest datum 125 could specify a tag or
keyword associated with one or more frames of media data 115, and
the recording module 145 could capture for storage, i.e. record,
frames of media data 115 in a clip 155, where the captured frames
of media data 115 were specified by the tags, keyword, etc.
[0021] Rules 150 may provide further parameters, rules, etc. for
capturing a clip 155. Rules 150 may be predefined for all users,
i.e., for all media devices 140, and moreover could be stored by a
media source 105 and provided and/or updated in a memory of the
media device 140 by the media source 105. Alternatively or
additionally, rules 150 may be customized for particular users
and/or media devices 140. For example, a generic rule 150, i.e., a
rule 150 for all media devices 140, could specify that for events
identified in metadata 120 as sporting events, and excitement
rating above a value of 75 should trigger recording of a clip 155,
but for all other events, e.g., news events, an excitement rating
above a value of 85 is required. Further, a custom rule 150 could
specify that for events identified in metadata 120 as sporting
events for a user's favorite team, e.g., an excitement rating above
a value of 60 is required, but for other sporting events in a
specified sport, e.g., baseball, an excitement rating above a value
of 90 is required. Additionally or alternatively, as discussed in
more detail below, a rule 150 could be used to identify an item of
media content 110 for which the recording module 145 should examine
interest data 125.
[0022] As mentioned above, rules 150 could be defined by a media
source 105, and moreover, rules 150 could be included in
instructions comprised in the recording module 145. Additionally or
alternatively, rules 150 could be specified by a user of a media
device 140, e.g., using a graphical user interface (GUI) or the
like provided on a display associated with the media device 140.
For example, such GUI could allow a user to specify keywords, tags,
etc. and/or threshold values for interest ratings, e.g., excitement
ratings, to trigger recording of a clip 155. Accordingly, a rule
150 could specify both a keyword and a threshold for a numerical
interest rating, wherein a combination of the presence of the
keyword and meeting or exceeding the threshold triggers recording
of a clip 155 according to instructions in the recording module
145.
Remote Sites
[0023] A remote site 170, as discussed above, may include a social
media site, an e-commerce site, a news site, a site providing
reference information, etc. A media device 140 could include
instructions for allowing a user to specify a remote site 170 for
posting a clip 155. For example, a GUI provided by the media device
140 could allow a user to specify one or more clips 155 to be
posted to a user's social media account, or could allow a user to
specify that a clip 155 will be automatically posted to a user's
social media account when the interest indicia in interest data 125
associated with the clip 155 match certain keywords, tags, etc.
and/or meets or exceeds a specified numeric threshold. Further, a
user's account on a remote site 170 could be used to provide tags
or the like indicating user interest in subjects that could then be
matched to one or more interest data 125.
Exemplary Process Flows
[0024] FIG. 3 is a diagram of an exemplary process 300 for
recording media content.
[0025] The process 300 begins in a block 305, in which the media
device 140 receives, and analyzes interest data 125 in, media
content 110. The media content 110 may be a stream of a live event,
such as a sporting event or a news event. However, it is possible
that the media content 110 is a prerecorded program or the like. In
one implementation, the media device 140 includes a digital video
recorder (DVR), and uses operations of the DVR to receive and store
media content 110. For example, the media device 140 may include
instructions to receive certain programming providing certain items
of media content 110, e.g., specified sporting events on specified
video channels, and to analyze such items of media content 110 for
possible generation of a clip or clips 155 as described herein.
[0026] In any case, a specific item of media content 110 analyzed
in the block 305 may be selected or identified according to a
variety of mechanisms. For example, a GUI provided by the media
device 140 or some mechanism of the media source 105, e.g., a
webpage or the like, could allow a user to make a selection of one
or more items of media content 110 for which interest data 125
should be analyzed for possible recording of one or more clips 155.
In this example, a user could be presented with a list of possible
programs to select.
[0027] Alternatively or additionally, a user profile or the like
could be stored in the media device 140, and/or at the media source
105 and provided to the media device 140, where the user profile
included information to identify items of media content 110 for
review by the media device 140 for possible generation of one or
more clips 155. Accordingly, such user profile information could be
used in a rule 150 indicating items of media content 110 for which
the recording module 145 should examine interest data 125. For
example, a user profile, which could be generated according to
user-provided input, according to information gathered by user
viewing habits, etc., could identify types of programming, and
attributes of types of programming, of interest to a user. These
program types and/or attributes could be specified in a rule 150.
For example, the media device 140 could store and/or could receive
from the media source 105 data, e.g., one or more rules 150,
indicating that a user of the media device 140 was very interested
in the game of football and/or an identity of a particular football
team.
[0028] In any event, the media device 140 could be configured to
analyzed interest data 125 for items of media content 110 received
from the media source 105 according to broadcasts received over
particular viewing channels available from the media source 105
and/or at particular times, according to media content 110 posted
in a particular category at a particular website, etc. Further, as
discussed above, the media device 140 could use information in
metadata 120, e.g., identifying a type of event, teams playing,
news figures being reported on, etc. to determine whether to review
interest data 125 in an item of media content 110.
[0029] Following the block 305, next, in a block 310, the recording
module 145 checks interest data 125 in the media content 110
metadata 120. If the interest data 125 triggers a predetermined
interest level, e.g., meets or exceeds a predetermined threshold
and/or includes predetermined tags or keywords, then the process
300 proceeds to a block 320. Otherwise, the process 300 proceeds to
a block 315.
[0030] As mentioned above, a user could use a GUI of the media
device 140 to specify a predetermined threshold and/or tags,
keywords, etc. used to trigger an identification of an interest
level for recording a clip 155. However, the predetermined
threshold could also be specified at the media source 105 and
downloaded by the recording module 145. Further, it is possible
that interest data 125 could indicate that an entire item of media
content 110, e.g., an entire football game, has an interest level
for a user such that the entire item of media content 110, e.g., a
football game, political speech, etc., should be recorded, i.e., a
single clip 155 that includes the entire item of media content 110
may be generated.
[0031] Further, the recording module 145 may make use of rules 150
in determining whether interest data 125 triggers recording of a
clip 155. For example, as mentioned above, a rule 150 could specify
an interest data 125 threshold to be met or exceeded for a
particular type of media content item 110, e.g., a football game,
and/or for an attribute of a type of media content item 110, e.g.,
the data 125 threshold could be varied according to the presence or
absence of a particular football team in the media content item
110. As also mentioned above, the recording module 145 could use a
rule 150 to determine whether to examine interest data 125 in an
item of media content 110.
[0032] The block 320 is executed if it is determined that an
interest level has been triggered in the block 310. In the block
320, the recording module 145 records a portion of media data 115
in the item of media content 110 for which it is determined that
the interest level has been triggered. For example, the recording
module 145 could begin recording frames in an MPEG stream of media
data 115 when reaching a frame that was indicated to have an
interest level at or above the predetermined threshold, and could
then complete recording when reaching a frame for which the
interest data 125 indicated was associated with an interest level
below the predetermined threshold. These recorded frames of media
data 115 are then included in a clip 155.
[0033] Following the block 320, in a block 325, the recording
module 145 stores the portion of media data 115 captured in the
block 315 as a clip 155. In general, the recording module 145
includes metadata in the clip 155 that may be copied or derived
from the metadata 120 included in the item of media content 110.
For example, a program or event name may be provided, and interest
level, e.g., an excitement level, could be specified, and other
attributes of the media content item 110 from which the clip 155
was taking could be indicated, e.g., a sport or news event, teams
and/or individuals featured in the clip 155, etc. Further, the clip
155 may be made available to a user in a variety of ways. For
example, a GUI provided by the media device 140 could display a
list of clips 155 generated within a specified period of time. The
clips 155 could be displayed according to various organizational
criteria, such as subject matter (e.g., football, hockey, political
speeches, etc.), interest levels (e.g., more exciting clips 155
listed ahead of less exciting clips 155), etc.
[0034] Further, the module 145 could include instructions to
assemble clips 155 into a composite presentation of media content
110, i.e., a presentation of media content 110 including clips 155
taken from one or more items of media content 110 received from a
media source 105. For example, the module 145 could assemble clips
155 according to a one or more attributes, e.g., subject of the
clip 155, excitement level of the clip 155, etc., e.g., football
plays having a high excitement level, or even a particular kind of
football play, e.g., kickoff returns, having a high excitement
level. Such composite presentations of clips 155 could then be made
available in a GUI provided by the device 140, e.g., listed
according to a description of attributes in the clip 155, e.g.,
excitement level, subject matter, etc.
[0035] A block 315 may follow either the block 310 or the block
325. In the block 315, the recording module 145 determines whether
content 110 continues to be received in the media device 140. If
so, the process 300 returns to the block 305. Otherwise, the
process 300 ends following the block 315.
CONCLUSION
[0036] Computing devices such as those discussed herein generally
each include instructions executable by one or more computing
devices such as those identified above, and for carrying out blocks
or steps of processes described above. For example, process blocks
discussed above may be embodied as computer-executable
instructions.
[0037] Computer-executable instructions may be compiled or
interpreted from computer programs created using a variety of
programming languages and/or technologies, including, without
limitation, and either alone or in combination, Java.TM., C, C++,
Visual Basic, Java Script, Perl, HTML, etc. In general, a processor
(e.g., a microprocessor) receives instructions, e.g., from a
memory, a computer-readable medium, etc., and executes these
instructions, thereby performing one or more processes, including
one or more of the processes described herein. Such instructions
and other data may be stored and transmitted using a variety of
computer-readable media. A file in a computing device is generally
a collection of data stored on a computer readable medium, such as
a storage medium, a random access memory, etc.
[0038] A computer-readable medium includes any medium that
participates in providing data (e.g., instructions), which may be
read by a computer. Such a medium may take many forms, including,
but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, etc.
Non-volatile media include, for example, optical or magnetic disks
and other persistent memory. Volatile media include dynamic random
access memory (DRAM), which typically constitutes a main memory.
Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a
floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other
magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any other optical medium, punch
cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of
holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EEPROM, any other memory
chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can
read.
[0039] In the drawings, the same reference numbers indicate the
same elements. Further, some or all of these elements could be
changed. With regard to the media, processes, systems, methods,
etc. described herein, it should be understood that, although the
steps of such processes, etc. have been described as occurring
according to a certain ordered sequence, such processes could be
practiced with the described steps performed in an order other than
the order described herein. It further should be understood that
certain steps could be performed simultaneously, that other steps
could be added, or that certain steps described herein could be
omitted. In other words, the descriptions of processes herein are
provided for the purpose of illustrating certain embodiments, and
should in no way be construed so as to limit the claimed
invention.
[0040] Accordingly, it is to be understood that the above
description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive.
Many embodiments and applications other than the examples provided
would be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading the
above description. The scope of the invention should be determined,
not with reference to the above description, but should instead be
determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the
full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is
anticipated and intended that future developments will occur in the
arts discussed herein, and that the disclosed systems and methods
will be incorporated into such future embodiments. In sum, it
should be understood that the invention is capable of modification
and variation and is limited only by the following claims.
[0041] All terms used in the claims are intended to be given their
broadest reasonable constructions and their ordinary meanings as
understood by those skilled in the art unless an explicit
indication to the contrary in made herein. In particular, use of
the singular articles such as "a," "the," "said," etc. should be
read to recite one or more of the indicated elements unless a claim
recites an explicit limitation to the contrary.
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