Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US8239896B2/en
Timestamp: 2018-10-23 02:18:18
Document Index: 656971172

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 1', 'art 1', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art 3', 'art 3', 'art 1', 'art 1', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art 3', 'art 3']

US8239896B2 - Integration of control data into digital broadcast content for access to ancillary information - Google Patents
US8239896B2
US8239896B2 US12128096 US12809608A US8239896B2 US 8239896 B2 US8239896 B2 US 8239896B2 US 12128096 US12128096 US 12128096 US 12809608 A US12809608 A US 12809608A US 8239896 B2 US8239896 B2 US 8239896B2
US12128096
US20090300677A1 (en )
According to some embodiments, the control data may identify one or more hotspots associated with one or more video images. Each hotspot may provide a link to ancillary information associated with the one or more visual components.
By way of example, a digital broadcast signal 105 may be a modulated radiation signal transmitted from a broadcast tower 104, e.g., in the form of an over-the-air broadcast, such as by radiofrequency electromagnetic wave signal. It is noted that the digital broadcast signal 105 transmitted by a given broadcast tower 104 may include multiple digital broadcast channels modulated at different carrier signal frequencies. Broadcast towers 104 associated with different broadcast units 102 may broadcast over different sets of frequencies. For example Broadcaster 1 may broadcast over a first set of carrier frequencies f1 . . . fm and Broadcaster N may broadcast over a different set of carrier frequencies f′1 . . . f′j. There may be some overlap between the two sets of carrier frequencies.
The system 200 may further comprise a graphics subsystem 230, which may include a graphics processing unit (GPU) 235 and graphics memory 240. The graphics memory 240 may include a display memory (e.g., a frame buffer) used for storing pixel data for each pixel of an output image. The graphics memory 240 may be integrated in the same device as the GPU 235, connected as a separate device with GPU 235, and/or implemented within the memory 206. Pixel data may be provided to the graphics memory 240 directly from the CPU 205. Alternatively, the graphics unit may receive video signal data extracted from a digital broadcast signal from the decoder 240. Alternatively, the CPU 205 may provide the GPU 235 with data and/or instructions defining the desired output images, from which the GPU 235 may generate the pixel data of one or more output images. The data and/or instructions defining the desired output images may be stored in memory 206 and/or graphics memory 240. In an embodiment, the GPU 235 may be configured (e.g., by suitable programming or hardware configuration) with 3D rendering capabilities for generating pixel data for output images from instructions and data defining the geometry, lighting, shading, texturing, motion, and/or camera parameters for a scene. The GPU 235 may further include one or more programmable execution units capable of executing shader programs.
In some embodiments, the control data associated with a corresponding video frame group may be included in the group header for that frame group. By way of example a group header 408 may be associated with a frame group 402 containing data for video frames F1, F2 and F3. By way of example the group header 408 may be a data packet containing the control data in some coded form that may be utilized by the program 201.
Examples of suitable control data include, but are not limited to, information identifying the particular broadcast channel, sub-channel, program or frame group with which the control data is associated. Furthermore, the control data may identify particular visual components within the frames F1, F2, F3 that make up the frame group 402. In addition, the control data may identify a location of ancillary information associated with one or more visual components of the frames F.
For example, the user interface 220 may be in the form of a remote control of a type commonly used with a television set or DVR. The interface 220 may include a pause button 221 and one or more control buttons 223 which may include arrow buttons and numbered buttons. The percipient 506 may see something of interest in the image 504. In such a case, the percipient 506 may activate the pause button 221 to freeze the display of the program of which the image 504 is a part. Ancillary information 203 may be presented by the display 250 or stored in the memory 206 or storage 215 in response to a signal initiated by the percipient's activation of the pause button 221 or by a signal generated in response to activation of one or more of the control buttons 223 or some combination of both.
According to another embodiment of the present invention a digital broadcast data stream may be provided as illustrated with respect to FIG. 6. According to a method 600, video control data 602 may be associated with one or more images 604 in a digital broadcast data stream 608. By way of example, the control data may be associated with one or more visual components of one or more video images using an editor 606. By way of example, the editor may introduce time-varying sensitive regions into portions of one or more video images. Examples of techniques for introducing such sensitive regions are described, e.g., in “Time-Varying Sensitive Regions in Dynamic Multimedia Objects: a Pragmatic Approach to Content-Based Retrieval from Video” by Victoria Burrill, Thomas Kirste and Jochen Weiss, Information and Software Technology 1994, Volume 36, Number 4, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
a) receiving a digital broadcast signal, wherein the digital broadcast signal includes data representing one or more video images and control data associated with one or more visual components of the one or more video images, wherein the control data includes different control data components for different corresponding visual components within the same video image, wherein the digital broadcast signal includes data representing one or more video image groups, wherein each video image group includes a group header and a plurality of video images, wherein the control data associated with a corresponding video image group is included in the group header for that video image group, wherein the video images within a given video image group of the one or more video image groups are related to each other by a context that depends on visual components within the video images in the given video image group;
c) using one or more of the control data components for one or more corresponding visual components to present or store a perceptible indication that ancillary information is associated with the one or more corresponding visual components in conjunction with presenting the one or more video images with the display device; and
d) using the one or more control data components to present or store the ancillary information with the display device in response to an input signal.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the control data is associated with one or more objects depicted in one or more of the video images.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the control data is associated with a context associated with the one or more video images.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein c) includes displaying the perceptible indication with the display device while presenting the one or more video images.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein c) includes presenting information guiding a percipient to the ancillary information associated with the control data using the display device.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein c) includes superposing the information guiding the percipient to the ancillary information over one or more of the video images.
7. The method of claim 5 wherein the information guiding the percipient to the ancillary information includes one or more links to one or more resources accessible via an electronic communications network.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein d) includes accessing the one or more resources via the one or more links in response to the input signal.
9. The method of claim 5 wherein the information guiding the percipient to the ancillary information includes a video image identifying the one or more visual components, wherein the image includes one or more links, each link being associated with one or more of the visual components, wherein each link is configured to provide access to the ancillary information associated with the corresponding visual component.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein c) includes pausing presentation of a program containing the one or more video images at a particular image of the one or more video images in response to a pause signal, highlighting the one or more visual components in a manner perceptible to a percipient, and associating one or more links to the ancillary information associated with the one or more visual components.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein d) includes presenting the ancillary information associated with a particular visual component of the one or more visual components in response to a selection input.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein d) includes storing the ancillary information in a memory associated with the digital broadcast receiving device and/or display device.
13. The method of claim 1 wherein d) includes using the control data as an input to a search engine coupled to the digital broadcast receiving device and/or display device and conducting a search within the search engine.
14. The method of claim 1 wherein the input signal is a signal from a remote control associated with the digital broadcast receiving device.
15. The method of claim 1 wherein the ancillary information includes one or more advertisements.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein the control data for the given video image group includes one or more digital links at locations in one or more of the video images in the given video image group that correspond to locations of one or more corresponding visual components.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein using the control data to present or store the ancillary information with the display device in response to an input signal includes creating the perceptible indication by highlighting the one or more visual components.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein highlighting the one or move visual components includes shading the one or more visual components or marking boundaries of the one or more visual components.
19. A digital broadcast receiving device, comprising:
a receiver unit configured to receive programming and data over one or more digital broadcast channels;
a set of processor readable instructions embodied in the memory for execution on the processor, the instructions being configured to implement a method for accessing control data associated with the one or more images embedded in a digital broadcast data stream, the method comprising:
20. The device of claim 19, further comprising the video display device, wherein the video display device is operably coupled to the processor.
21. The device of claim 19, further comprising a backchannel coupled to the processor.
22. The device of claim 21 wherein the backchannel comprises a network interface coupled to an electronic communications network.
23. The device of claim 19 wherein c) includes displaying the perceptible indication with the display device while presenting the one or more video images.
24. The device of claim 19, wherein c) includes presenting information guiding a percipient to the ancillary information associated with the control data using the display device.
25. The device of claim 24 wherein the information guiding the percipient to the ancillary information is in the form of one or more links to one or more resources accessible via an electronic communications network.
26. The device of claim 25 wherein the one or more links are configured to access the one or more resources in response to the input signal.
27. The device of claim 24 wherein the information guiding the percipient to the ancillary information includes a video image identifying the one or more visual components, wherein the image includes one or more hot links, each hot link being associated with one or more of the visual components, wherein each hot link is configured to provide access to the ancillary information associated with the corresponding visual component.
28. The device of claim 19 wherein c) includes presenting information guiding a percipient to the ancillary information over one or more of the video images.
29. The device of claim 19, wherein c) includes pausing presentation of a program containing the one or more video images at a particular image of the one or more video images in response to a pause signal, highlighting the one or more visual components in a manner perceptible to a percipient, and associating one or more links to the ancillary information associated with the one or more visual components.
30. The device of claim 29, wherein d) includes presenting the ancillary information associated with a particular visual component of the one or more visual components in response to a selection input.
31. The device of claim 19 wherein d) includes storing the ancillary information in the memory.
32. The device of claim 19, further comprising a search engine coupled to the digital broadcast receiving device and/or a display device that is interoperable with the digital broadcast receiving device, wherein e) includes using the control data as an input to the search engine coupled and conducting a search with the search engine.
33. The device of claim 19, further comprising a remote control configured to interoperate with the processor, wherein the input signal is a signal from the remote control.
34. A method for providing a digital broadcast data stream having control data associated with one or more images in a digital broadcast data stream, the method comprising:
a) associating control data with one or more visual components of one or more video images, wherein the control data facilitates access to ancillary data associated with the one or more visual components by a receiving device and/or display device usable with a digital broadcast signal generated from the digital broadcast data stream, wherein the control data includes different control data components for different corresponding visual components within the same video image, wherein the digital broadcast data stream includes data representing one or more video image groups, wherein each video image group includes a group header and a plurality of video images, wherein the control data associated with a corresponding video image group is included in the group header for that video image group, wherein the video images within a given video image group of the one or more video image groups are related to each other by a context that depends on visual components within the video images in the given video image group;
35. The method of claim 34, wherein the control data is associated with one or more objects depicted in one or more of the video images.
36. The method of claim 34 wherein the control data is associated with a context of the one or more video images.
37. The method of claim 34, further comprising c) broadcasting the digital broadcast data stream as a digital broadcast signal.
38. The method of claim 34 wherein the control data identifies one or more hotspots associated with one or more video images, wherein each hotspot provides a link to ancillary information associated with the one or more visual components.
39. The method of claim 34 wherein the control data is configured to cause the display device to present information guiding a percipient to the ancillary information associated with the control data.
40. The method of claim 39 wherein the control data is configured to superpose the information guiding the percipient to the ancillary information over one or more of the video images.
41. The method of claim 39 wherein the information guiding the percipient to the ancillary information includes a video image identifying the one or more visual components, wherein the image includes one or more hot links, each hot link being associated with one or more of the visual components, wherein each hot link is configured to provide access to the ancillary information associated with the corresponding visual component.
42. The method of claim 34 wherein the control data is configured to pause presentation of a program containing the one or more video images at a particular image of the one or more video images in response to a pause signal, highlight the one or more visual components in a manner perceptible to a percipient, and associate one or more links to the ancillary information associated with the one or more visual components.
43. The method of claim 42 wherein the control data is configured to present the ancillary information associated with a particular visual component of the one or more visual components in response to a selection input.
44. The method of claim 34 wherein the control data includes input for a search engine.
45. The method of claim 34 wherein the ancillary information includes one or more advertisements.
46. The method of claim 34 wherein the control data is configured to cause the display to present a perceptible indication that ancillary information is associated with the one or more visual components in conjunction with presenting the one or more video images with the display device.
47. The method of claim 46 wherein the control data is configured to cause the display to present the perceptible indication while presenting the one or more video images.
48. The method of claim 34 wherein the control data is configured to cause the display device to present information guiding a percipient to the ancillary information associated with the control data.
49. The method of claim 48 wherein the control data is configured to cause the display device to superpose the information guiding the percipient to the ancillary information over one or more of the video images.
50. The method of claim 48 wherein the information guiding the percipient to the ancillary information includes one or more links to one or more resources accessible via an electronic communications network.
51. The method of claim 50 wherein the one or more links are configured to be activated in response to the input signal.
52. The method of claim 48 wherein the information guiding the percipient to the ancillary information includes a video image identifying the one or more visual components, wherein the image includes one or more hot links, each hot link being associated with one or more of the visual components, wherein each hot link is configured to provide access to the ancillary information associated with the corresponding visual component.
US12128096 2008-05-28 2008-05-28 Integration of control data into digital broadcast content for access to ancillary information Active 2029-11-10 US8239896B2 (en)
PCT/US2009/043389 WO2009146244A1 (en) 2008-05-28 2009-05-08 Integration of control data into digital broadcast content for access to ancillary information
US13560213 Continuation US20120291065A1 (en) 2008-05-28 2012-07-27 Integration of control data into digital broadcast content for access to ancillary information
US20090300677A1 true US20090300677A1 (en) 2009-12-03
US8239896B2 true US8239896B2 (en) 2012-08-07
US20030005441A1 (en) 2001-06-28 2003-01-02 Pioneer Corporation Apparatus and method for displaying electronic program guide
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"ATSC Digital Television Standard Part 1—Digital Television System"—Advanced Television Systems Committee—(A/53, Part 1:2007), Jan. 3, 2007, 22 pages.
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US20120291065A1 (en) 2012-11-15 application
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:ZALEWSKI, GARY M.;REEL/FRAME:021206/0123