Systems and methods for providing immersive media content

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10051318-B2
Application number	US-201514788269-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 30, 2015
Priority date	Jun 30, 2015
Publication date	Aug 14, 2018
Grant date	Aug 14, 2018

Abstract

In one embodiment, a processor implemented method is provided. The processor-implemented method includes receiving raw lighting information corresponding to one or more lighting events that occur during the creation of primary content, during association of supplemental effects on the primary content, or both. The processor-implemented method also includes decoding the raw lighting information to generate supplemental information. The supplemental information corresponds to one or more lighting cues. The processor-implemented method also includes associating the supplemental information with the primary content by linking each of the one or more lighting cues to each of the one or more lighting events.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A processor-implemented method, comprising:
receiving, from one or more hardware control elements of one or more studio lighting systems comprising one or more lighting devices that emit light to produce lighting effects, electronics protocol information conforming to an electronics protocol, the electronics protocol information configured to control, regulate, or both a plurality of lighting elements of the one or more studio lighting systems in a studio according to a first set of one or more lighting events, lighting effects, or both wherein the plurality of lighting elements are introduced into primary content during creation of the primary content in the studio;
converting the electronics protocol information into raw lighting information related to the first set of one or more lighting events, lighting effects, or both;
decoding the raw lighting information into supplemental information, wherein the supplemental information comprises one or more lighting cues that are a reference to the first set of one or more lighting events, lighting effects, or both; and
associating the supplemental information with the primary content, by synchronizing the one or more lighting cues with the primary content, such that the one or more lighting cues trigger a second set of one or more lighting events, lighting effects, or both in an environment separate from the studio, based upon the first set of one or more lighting events, lighting effects, or both.

2. The processor-implemented method of claim 1 , comprising generating an associated content file comprising the primary content and the supplemental information.

3. The processor-implemented method of claim 2 , comprising transmitting the associated content file, via one or more content delivery systems, for viewer consumption.

4. The processor-implemented method of claim 1 , comprising creating the primary content and the first set of one or more lighting events, lighting effects, or both during a live broadcast event.

5. The processor-implemented method of claim 1 , comprising generating a primary content file comprising the primary content and a supplemental information file comprising the supplemental information.

6. The processor-implemented method of claim 5 , comprising linking the primary content with the supplemental information by embedding one or more markers, one or more tags, or both in the supplemental information file, the primary content file, or both.

7. The processor-implemented method of claim 5 , comprising generating and storing a plurality of primary content files for a plurality of primary content and a plurality of supplemental information files for a plurality of supplemental information associated with the plurality of primary content within a cloud database.

8. An electronic device, comprising:
a processor, configured to:
receive supplemental information corresponding to one or more lighting cues, wherein the one or more lighting cues are associated with one or more hardware control elements of a studio lighting system comprising one or more lighting devices that emit light to produce lighting effects that introduces a first set of one or more lighting events, lighting effects, or both into primary content during the creation of the primary content in the studio, wherein the supplemental information is based on decoded raw lighting information converted from electronics protocol information of the studio lighting system, wherein the electronics protocol information conforms to an electronics protocol and is configured to control, regulate, or both the studio lighting system that is used during the creation of the primary content in the studio;
decode the supplemental information to generate one or more command signals, such that the one or more command signals trigger a second set of one or more lighting events, lighting effects, or both of a lighting system in a viewer environment separate from the studio; and
transmit at least one of the one or more command signals to the lighting system disposed in the viewer environment.

9. The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to receive the primary content via a media viewing device.

10. The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to synchronize the primary content with the supplemental information prior to viewer consumption.

11. The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to receive the supplemental information via one or more content delivery systems separate from the media viewing device.

12. A tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium, comprising machine-readable instructions to:
synchronize primary content with supplemental information, by generating a synchronized content file that synchronizes one or more lighting cues, received from one or more hardware control elements of a studio lighting system comprising one or more lighting devices that emit light to produce lighting effects, corresponding to a first set of one or more lighting events, lighting effects, or both introduced into the primary content during the creation of the primary content, wherein the supplemental information is based on decoded raw lighting information converted from electronics protocol information of the studio lighting system, wherein the electronics protocol information conforms to an electronics protocol and is configured to control, regulate, or both the studio lighting system that is used to generate the first set of one or more lighting events, lighting effects, or both during the creation of the primary content in the studio; and
transmit the synchronized content file to a viewer environment separate from the studio via one or more content delivery systems, such that a second set of one or more lighting events, lighting effects, or both can be triggered in the viewer environment based on the synchronized content file, wherein the one or more content delivery systems comprises an Internet-based content provider.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the instructions instruct a computer to receive the primary content through user input.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the instructions instruct a computer to receive the raw lighting information from the studio lighting system configured to produce the first set of one or more lighting events, lighting events, or both and to decode the raw lighting information to generate the supplemental information.

15. The processor-implemented method of claim 1 , comprising simulating the first set of one or more lighting events, lighting effects, or both that occur during the creation of the primary content within the environment separate from the studio.

16. The processor-implemented method of claim 15 , comprising triggering one or more lighting elements within the environment separate from the studio to simulate the first set of one or more lighting events, lighting effects, or both that occur during the creation of the primary content.

17. The processor-implemented method of claim 16 , wherein the one or more lighting elements comprise a lighting fixture, a lighting accessory, a home theater system, a smart home system, or a combination thereof.

18. The processor-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the electronics protocol comprises a digital multiplex protocol (DMX), an 0-10 V lighting control protocol, an architecture for control networks (ACN) protocol, or any combination thereof.

19. The processor-implemented method o

Assignees

• Nbcuniversal Media Llc
• Nbcuniversal Media Llc

Inventors

• Beckett William
• Shirokmann Howard
• Ehrhardt Peter
• Benjamin james
• Schultz Gerald
• Davis Brian
• Biancamano Francis

Classifications

• H04N21/8547

  involving timestamps for synchronizing content · CPC title

• H04N21/43615 Primary

  Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals (home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805) · CPC title

• H04N21/2665

  Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite · CPC title

• H04N21/2187

  Live feed · CPC title

• H04N21/4307

  Synchronising the rendering of multiple content streams or additional data on devices, e.g. synchronisation of audio on a mobile phone with the video output on the TV screen · CPC title