Abstract:
A system and method for disseminating digital content, including receiving a video stream having embedded time code markers, copying the video stream, distributing a first copy to a player with a desired delay, distributing a second copy for association of content, and associating content with the second copy during the delay for playing of the first copy and the associated content at the player.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a Continuation of Ser. No. 12/130,529, filed May 30, 2008, entitled “System and Method for Providing Digital Content”, which is herein incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to the field of providing digital content, and more particularly to managing and controlling the presentation of the provided digital content. 
         [0003]    Many systems have been developed and are currently in use for providing digital content, such as movies, music, videos, text, and so forth. Such digital content may be supplied by a provider or holder (a supplier) of the content to a distributor or to the consumer, for example. There is an on-going need to more efficiently provide and distribute such content. Moreover, there is a desire to in the industry to more effectively provide digital content in substantially real time. In addition, there is desire to more efficiently and descriptively provide streaming video from many sources worldwide. 
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION 
       [0004]    An aspect of the invention provides a method for disseminating digital content, including: receiving a video stream having embedded time code markers; copying the video stream; distributing a first copy to a player with a desired delay; distributing a second copy for association of content; and associating content with the second copy during the delay for playing of the first copy and the associated content at the player. 
         [0005]    Another aspect of the invention provides a method for disseminating digital content, including: providing a first copy of a video stream having time code to a first controller; associating content with the first copy via the first controller; passing the content and a second copy of the video stream to a server; imposing a time delay in the second copy provided to the server; passing the content and a third copy of the video stream from the server to an end-user interface; and synchronizing the content with the third copy via the first controller and at least a second controller. 
         [0006]    Yet another aspect of the invention includes a system for disseminating digital content, including: a video encoder configured to encode a video stream and to receive a time code; a first server configured to provide both a first video stream having the time code from the video encoder to a first controller and a second video stream having the time code from the video encoder to a second server; the second server configured to time delay the second video stream; and the first controller configured to associate content with the first video stream and to facilitate synchronization of the content with the second video stream. 
     
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  is a diagrammatical representation of an exemplary user-computer browser or display in accordance with aspects of the present invention; and 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a diagrammatical representation of an exemplary digital content delivery system in accordance with aspects of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0010]    The present technique accommodates a supplier or distributor to offer digital content to an end-user (e.g., customer or consumer). The technique provides for an operator to manage the presentation of the digital content from a location remote from a source of the digital content. Such content may be distributed in substantially real time. 
         [0011]    Again, the present technique is generally directed to disseminating digital content, such as audio, text, video, or audio-visual content, and so on. The digital content which may be streaming and/or progressive download. As discussed below, the technique may allow a provider or operator to remotely manage the presentation, format, and type of digital content provided to the end-user. For example, the layout (placement, size, graphics, shading, etc.) of the video, text, advertisements, and so forth, may be manipulated remotely from a source of the digital content. 
         [0012]    In certain embodiments, the technique enables an operator to associate video advertisements, advertisement markers, text commentary, other markers, other content, and/or formatting changes, and so forth, with a live video stream from a location remote from the source of the video. Advantageously, the display of the video advertisements and text commentary, for example, may be synchronized with the live video, such that advertisements and text commentary appear to the end-user (e.g., consumer) at the intended time. As discussed below, time code markers may be inserted into the digital content (e.g., video stream) to facilitate coordination of the presentation to the end-user. 
         [0013]    It should be noted that traditionally, the placement of advertisements generally entailed placing advertisement insertion hardware/operators at the video source being generated (e.g., at a remote venue such as a sporting event, news event, etc.) and inserting video advertisements directly into the stream. Moreover, text commentary that may be associated with video content has been typically handled separately from the video, without synchronization. In contrast, the present technique accommodates advertisement insertion at a location remote from the video source, as well as association (and synchronization) of commentary (i.e., text strings) with video (e.g., streaming video) from the video source. 
         [0014]    Beneficially, the present technique may provide for avoiding expenditure of resources (e.g., time and money) associated with sending people to remote locations to capture the streaming video and to manage the presentation of the streaming video to the end-user. In addition, the technique may protect against the case where the text commentary is shown either too late or too early relative to the video content. In sum, the present technique facilitates the efficient and readily-available display of quality media content to the consumer. 
         [0015]    As those skilled in the art will recognize, in the entertainment industry, certain entities will generally generate, create, or receive content, while these or other entities will distribute, sell, or otherwise provide the content to users. Throughout the present discussion, reference will be made to various entities, such as suppliers, companies, hosting entities, distributors, users, end-users, customers, consumers, and so on, as well as sites associated with digital content sources and destinations. However, in the present context, any or even all of these should be understood to be any person or entity that transmits or receives digital content. Moreover, it is not necessary for a content source to own the intellectual property rights relating to such content. 
         [0016]      FIG. 1  depicts a media display  10  which may be a browser on a computer display, for example. In the illustrated embodiment, a video component (e.g., video player  12 ) having a video display  14  and controls  16  is positioned in the upper left corner of the display  10 . The display  10  also includes two text boxes  18  and  20  in this example to display scrolling text. Further, in this example, the media display  10  includes a headline component  22 , a search component  24 , and an advertisement component  26 . The text boxes  18  and  20  may have respective titles  28  and  29 , such as “live results” and “live commentary.” However, it should be emphasized that the depicted titles  28  and  29  are only exemplary, and also that the content presented in text boxes  18  and  20  is not limited to the current example. 
         [0017]    In certain embodiments, the time  30  that the text  32  is entered in text box  18  is noted. Similarly, the time  34  that the text  36  is entered in text box  20  is noted. Moreover, text boxes  18  and  20  may also have tabs  38  and  40  for the end-user to select what is displayed in the text boxes  18  and  20  (which may change the titles  28  and  29 ). It should be noted that certain selected content or displays within the text boxes  18  and  20  may not incorporate the time  30  or  34 , or the text  32  or  36 . For example, in lieu of time  30  or  34 , thumbnails of pictures or video may be displayed. In the illustrated example, thumbnails of video (e.g., headline videos) are positioned in the headline component  22 . The headline component  22  includes thumbnails  42  and associated text  44 . As should be apparent, the headline component  22  is only exemplary and may incorporate a wide variety of content in various formats, including content other than headlines and formats other than thumbnails. Lastly, the text boxes  18  and  20  and the headline component  22  may include scroll bars  46 ,  48 , and  50  respectfully. The scroll bars  46 ,  48 , and  50  may allow the user or viewer to scroll up and down to view different entries, thumbnails, and the like. 
         [0018]    In this embodiment, the text box  18  for live results gives a general indication of results for various events. In contrast, the live commentary in text box  20  is associated with the content presented via the video player  12 . Again, however, it should be emphasized that the subject matter and associations of the text and content presented is not meant to be limited by the illustrated example. 
         [0019]    The search component  24  may include a text field  52  and a search button  54 . However, other configurations for searches based on text or drop down menus, for example, may be implemented in the search component  24 . The advertisement component  26  may be a static advertisement or a streaming advertisement, for example. The advertisement component  26  may also be a companion advertisement associated with the video presented (e.g., streaming) in the video display  14  of video player  12 . On the other hand, the content of the advertisement component  26  being displayed may be only peripherally associated or independent of the video presented via video player  12 . Moreover, as discussed below, a video advertisement may be presented in video display  14 , such as with a commercial break of the primary video being presented in video display  14 . Lastly, it should be noted that the present technique of remotely associating content (e.g., advertisement markers, text commentary, etc.) may be implemented without certain features such as search, navigation, companion advertisements, and the like. 
         [0020]      FIG. 2  depicts a system  70  for providing digital content. The digital content may include any object supported by a mark-up language (e.g., hypertext mark-up language or HTML), supported by web application platforms accommodating non-mark-up languages, and so on. The digital content may be obtained and sent from a plurality of different sources. The digital content may include text, audio, video, or audio-visual content, or any combination thereof, and may be streaming or progressive download, or both. 
         [0021]    The system  70  may include components at a venue  72  (e.g., remote venue) which may include a video source  74 . In one example, the remote venue  72  is a sporting event. In another example, the venue  72  is a location of news-reporting event, and so on. The system  70  may also include reflectors  76  and  78  at a company hosting facility  75  for reproducing a copy of the video. The reflectors  76  and  78  may be one or more servers. In this example, the reflector  76  is an internal reflector to interface with components within the company or provider facility components. The reflector  78  is an external reflector to interface with an external network or distributor, for example, such as a content distribution network (CDN). Again, the reflectors  76  and  78  may generate a copy of video provided from the video source  74  or other sources at the remote venue  72 . It should be noted that the reflectors  76  and  78  may be configured to receive and handle video or other content from multiple sources at the same time. Moreover, as discussed below, in certain embodiments, the external reflector  78  may be configured to impose a variable delay (e.g., 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 45 seconds, etc.). 
         [0022]    The system  70  may include components at a company office location  80 , such as a controller  82  for implementing advertisement markers and insertion of the markers and advertisements, commentary input, format changes, and the like. Advertisements may include dynamic advertisements, companion advertisements, scrolling promotions, logos, etc. It should be noted that the referenced locations, such as the company hosting facility  75  and the company office location  80  are only exemplary, and that components of system  70  may be disposed at various locations and other types of facilities not specifically mentioned herein. 
         [0023]    The system  70  may also incorporate components at a content distribution network (CDN)  84 , which may be an external entity for distributing multiple copies of the video. Ultimately, the system  70  may include components at the end-user interface  86 . The interface  86  may be a personal computer of a consumer or end-user at the home or office, for example. The interface  86  may include a media player  88  having a video display  90 , which may correlate, for example, to the video player  12  and video display  14  of  FIG. 1 . In this example, the media player  88  includes a comment display area  92 , which may correspond to text boxes  18  and  20  of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0024]    The actual components and systems used in the present technique for delivery of digital content may be disposed in central and distributed locations. That is, a number of storage devices, servers, communications devices, and so forth, may be connected by a network and residing at various sites and places. Further, the network may include any range of network media and protocols, including conventional telephony connections, Internet connections, cabled and wireless connections, satellite connections, and so forth. Moreover, the content and data for provision of the content and regulation of its use may be communicated in accordance with any suitable protocol, such as the conventional TCP/IP protocol used for Internet communications. Moreover, the exemplary hardware configurations discussed herein are not meant to limit the technique. Indeed, the skilled artisan will recognize that a variety of hardware and software configurations may accommodate the content delivery systems of the present technique. 
         [0025]    In operation of system  70 , at the remote venue  72 , a video or digital content source  74  may feed an encoder  94 . The encoder  94  may translate baseband video to web-suitable video, for example. The encoder  94  may shrink or compress the video or other digital content from the video source  74  and other sources. Further, at the venue  72 , a time code injection service  96  may inject the time into the video encoder to be paired with the video source or feed at a desired frequency, such as every second. The absolute injected time may be based on a selected time zone, such as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), or any other desirable time zone or time reference. As discussed below, the injected time or time stamp may provide part of a basis for synchronizing advertising and commentary content (as well as formatting changes, content changes, etc.) with the video displayed at the end-user interface  86 . 
         [0026]    The output of the encoder  94  may feed the encoded video including the time code or stamp from the time injection service  72  to the internal reflector  76 . The internal reflector  76  may then feed both the external reflector  78  within the company hosting facility  75  and a video component  98  of the controller  82  at the company office location  80 , and so forth. To accommodate the insertion of additional content along with the original video, the controller  82  at the company office facility  80  may include an advertisement insert button  100 , a commentary input area  102 , a commentary submit button  104 , and the like. 
         [0027]    Downstream, the content distribution network  84  (CDN) may include a storage  106  having an advertisement component  108  and a commentary component  109 . The advertisement component  108  may store advertisement manifest files, a list of time codes, and the like. The commentary component  109  may store commentary manifest files and a list of time codes and associated comment text strings, for example. The CDN  84  may include a publishing point  110  (e.g., reflectors) and a plurality of distribution servers  112 . The publishing point  110  may receive a copy of the video or digital content from the external reflector  78  of the hosting facility  75 . The publishing point  110  may then feed multiple copies of the digital content to distribution servers  112  for dissemination to the various end-users, such as an end-user at an interface (viewer computer)  86 . Further, the CDN  84  may provide for on-demand play of past recorded video stored at the CDN  84 , as indicated by reference numeral  111 . Lastly, it should be noted that present technique may bypass the CDN  84  or utilize a subsystem other than a CDN  84  to publish and/or distribute content. Such a subsystem may include, for example, one or more servers, storages, etc. 
         [0028]    The media player  88  may include an advertisement controller  113  and a commentary controller  115 . The advertisement controller  113  may trigger an advertisement play into the video display  90 , as indicated by reference numeral  114 , via insertion of markers or calls based on timing into the media player  88 . The advertisement controller  113  or media player  88  may call out to a server (e.g., external server), for example, to retrieve advertisement content based on the inserted markers and timing. 
         [0029]    The display of the advertisement may occur in the video display (e.g., video display  14  of  FIG. 1 ) and may be temporally positioned at a desired timing, such as with a break or stoppage of the primary video being displayed. On the other hand, the advertisement may be timed at any time including an imposed interruption of the primary video content. In all, the advertisement may be dynamically stitched in a video display  90  and/or associated browser, for example, at the interface  86 . Moreover, the video play back component  90  may also broadcast a current time code to the advertisement controller  113  and/or the commentary controller  115 , as indicated by reference numeral  116 , to facilitate the timing of the display of the advertisements and commentary. It should be noted that controllers  113  and  115 , as well as additional controllers disposed at the interface  86 , may be configured to provide for content other than advertisements or commentary, and also to provide for format changes of the display  88 , for example. 
         [0030]    As mentioned, a beneficial aspect of the present technique is to introduce a delay in one or more of the media servers (e.g., at reflector  78 ) that sits between the encoder  94  at the venue  72  and the consumer or end-user at the viewer interface  86 . A configurable delay (e.g., 20 seconds) may be imposed to provide additional time for the operator at the controller  82  to insert advertisements and/or advertisement markers or calls, type commentary, input timing, make format changes, and so forth, and to synchronize such content or changes with the video viewed by the consumer at display  90 . Moreover, in addition to any imposed delay, there is typically natural delay (e.g., 5-30 seconds and which may be highly variable) as a result of the video being served via a content distribution network (e.g., CDN  84 ). Natural delay (e.g., 5 seconds) may occur between the video encoder  94  and the internal reflector  76 . In the internal path, additional natural delay (e.g., 5 seconds) may occur between the internal reflector  76  and the video display  98  at the operator controller  82 . In the external path, natural delay may occur between the external reflector  78  and the publishing point  110  of the CDN  84 , between the publishing point  110  and the distribution servers  112 , and between the distribution servers  112  and the video display  90  at the consumer interface  86 . 
         [0031]    Again, the actual amount of natural delay at each path or point may be highly variable. With the assumption of an exemplary 5 second delay at each point, the natural delay through the internal path is 10 seconds. Thus, the operator viewing the video stream (from video source  74 ) at the video display  98  at the company office location  80  views the video about 10 seconds delayed from live. The natural delay through the external path in this example is about 20 seconds, a 10 second difference with the internal path. This exemplary 10 second difference in natural delay gives the operator at controller  82  more advance time in addition to the configurable delay imposed at the external reflector  78 . It should be emphasized that the numerical values of time discussed herein for natural delay are only exemplary, and in normal operation, may vary (e.g., 1 second to 30 seconds at each point) over time and from point to point. 
         [0032]    Again, as discussed, a time code is injected (via time injection service  96  in the example of  FIG. 2 ) into the video stream (of video source  74  at encoder  94 ), such as the time at a particular time zone (e.g., GMT). Thus, the video player  88  at the end-user interface  86  responds substantially exactly to the time (e.g., in GMT) that corresponds to the video being played in the video display  90  of the media player  88 . In operation, advertisement insertion operators and commentators (e.g., at the company office facility  80 ) may watch a video stream, for example, via a different media server, which generally does not have a delay (e.g., at video display  98  from internal reflector  76 ). As indicated, in certain embodiments, this video viewed by the operator also does not go through the content distribution network (e.g., CDN  84 ). Thus, because of typical normal delay and any imposed delay of the other video stream passed through the external reflector  78  to CDN  84  and ultimately to the end-user interface  86 , the operators watching the video about 15 to 45 seconds in advance of the end-user or consumer (e.g., at interface  86 ). 
         [0033]    In sum, the operators may employ this advance in time to insert advertisement insertion markers and type text commentary, for example, both of which show up in the video player  88  before the video content with which they are associated. This allows ample time to buffer video advertisements and fetch information related to the commentary, before being displayed in the video display  90  to be viewed by the consumer. Further, the display of these advertisements and commentary (and other content or formatting manipulation) may be synchronized to the approximate or substantially exact point in time at which the operator intended. 
         [0034]    While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.