Abstract:
A system and method for generating and playing multimedia presentations. The method synchronous records multimedia data for the presentation. The system includes a record unit, an output unit and a play unit. The record unit processes the timing between slide files and multimedia data during presentation. The output unit converts the output of the record unit to a plurality of web page files. The play unit having a browser processes the web page files to generate the multimedia presentation comprising multimedia data.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims priority from Taiwanese application no. 90108712, filed with the Taiwanese Patent Office, Taiwan, on Apr. 11, 2001, pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d).  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention relates in general to a system and method to generate slides and corresponding multimedia.  
           [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0005]    Slides generated by conventional software, such as Microsoft PowerPoint, only comprise static data. The presenter must operate the software to control the procedure of playback and the effects in coordination with user&#39;s description.  
           [0006]    A disadvantage with the conventional method is that the procedure to play the software and the content of speech may be confusing or impossible without the speaker. Moreover, if the speaker records speech in audio or video in advance, other presenters cannot combine their own audio or video with the content of the presentation.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    The object of the present invention is to provide a system and a method of recording the information to operate the presentation software, such as the playing time of each slide, and the control events to operate the presentation software, such as animation or mouse directions. Then, the presentation software file is transformed to a web page file. The web page comprises the multimedia effect recorded by the speaker in advance. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings, given by way of illustration only and thus not intended to be limitative of the present invention.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 1 is a diagram of the system according to the present invention describing the generation of the synchronous presentation of slides and accompanying multimedia data.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 2 is a diagram of the record unit of the system according to the present invention.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 3 is a diagram of the output unit of the system according to the present invention.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 4 is a diagram of the play unit of the system according to the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0013]    [0013]FIG. 1 shows slide file  100  to be played and corresponding multimedia file  120  comprising video and audio data. The slide file  100  and the multimedia file  120  are the input elements of the system of the present invention. This is a “file mode” of the present system. Next, serial-synchronous edit is performed according to the slide file  100  and the multimedia file  120 . The other mode of the present system is “live multimedia recording mode”. In this mode, the multimedia file  120  is provided by multimedia input device  110 . The record unit  130  loads the slide file  100  and displays the slide file  100  on the slide window in the upper-right region of the monitor, and loads the multimedia files  120  and displays the multimedia file  120  on the slide window in the upper-left region of the monitor. The corresponding slide file  100  and the multimedia file  120  are displayed on the monitor at the same time. Users operate the “Next” and “Last” controls of the user interface  140  to preview the slides or operate “To” to switch the slides or select a scale drawing of the slides. The “Play” function is performed to play the multimedia file  120 , then the “Add Slides” control adds the present slide to the slide file  100 . The simplest use pauses the playing multimedia file  120 , and selects a slide to be played. After adding the slide, the label representing the required playing time of the multimedia file is marked and the number of the slide is assigned. In addition, the stamp can be dragged to the desired slide and the slide added to the slide file. The slides having different efficacy animations are coped respectively. If, for example, there are three efficacy animations in the slide, “Add Slides” must be performed three times to show all the efficacy animations. The length of the label is increased after adding a slide, and the range of each efficacy animation is displayed.  
         [0014]    In FIG. 2, the timing realtionship between the generation of the slide file  210  and the multimedia file  230  by the operating the user interface  290  during showing the slide and the corresponding multimedia file is described. When the user operates the “Add Slides” function of the user interface  290  to add a slide, the input operator  280  generates a event  281  to a synchronous element generator  270 . Then the information of the added slide is obtained by the synchronous element generator  270  from slide processor  240 , for example, the number of the slide and the information of the playing slide is obtained by the synchronous element generator  270  from slide processor  240 , for example, the time stamp of the slide. The synchronous element generator  270  combines the information of the playing slide and the added slide to generate a synchronous element, and then added to the synchronous element link  300 . The generation of the synchronous element link  300  establishes the timing relationship between the slide file  210  and the multimedia file  230 . Therefore, the multimedia output unit  350  obtains the desired synchronous information.  
         [0015]    In FIG. 3, the configuration processor  370  of the multimedia output unit  350  outputs a presentation file  410  according to the output configuration description  371  selected by the user, and provides the display parameter corresponding to the presentation file  410 . The display parameter comprises resolution of image, the position of the image window, the position of slides, the position of the index of the slides, and the setting of adding multimedia and the type of display. Therefore, the multimedia output unit  350  and the slide output unit  360  output files  380 ,  390 , and  400  according to the display parameter. The multimedia output unit  350  receives multimedia data from multimedia data processor  320  and the synchronous elements  330  of the storing element, and generates the multimedia serial file  380 . The data structure of the multimedia serial file  380  comprises a marker region and a script region. The marker region records the continuous time and the corresponding number of the slide of the multimedia serial file  380 . The script region records the corresponding time of the number of the slide of the multimedia serial file  380 . The multimedia serial file  380  is generated during the conversion of the file. The AVI files and the WAV files are suitable for use as Windows Media files to be played on the Internet, and as MPEG or MP3 files. The slide output unit  360  converts the slide file  210  to a slide web page file  390 , viewable on a browser  440 . At the same time, the synchronous briefing controlling JaveScript file  400  is generated by the slide output unit  360 , which is a synchronous presentation-process control file. The synchronous briefing controlling JaveScript file  400  comprises scripts to process the events from the browser  440  and to feed the position of the slide back to the broswer  440 . In this embodiment, languages used with the browser  440  not only include JavaScript, but also VBScript.  
         [0016]    Therefore, the browser  440  cutouts the file having the slides and the multimedia data during the presentation.  
         [0017]    In FIG. 4, the browser  440  comprises a multimedia serial controller  460 . Microsoft Internet Explorer uses Microsoft ActiveX to activate control elements within the HTML web page. The presentation file  430  is loaded first to ensure the position of the displayed window. Then the slide web page file  420  is loaded to display the displayed window of the first page of slides set in the presentation file  430 . Then, the multimedia serial controller  460  starts to play the multimedia serial file  480 , and generates marked events according to the marker region of the multimedia serial file  380 . The event processor  450  of the browser processes the marked events to obtain the corresponding position of the slide web page file  420 . Therefore, when the position of the multimedia serial file  480  to be played is changed, the corresponding slide is obtained and displayed at a predetermined window. When the user selects one of the slides in the index of the slides of the web page, the multimedia serial controller  460  performs the command of the Script region of the multimedia serial file  480 , and goes to the corresponding playing position of the multimedia data according to the number of the slide.  
         [0018]    The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of this invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles of this invention and its practical application to thereby enable those skilled in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the present invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally, and equitably entitled.