Video data provision

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016014479-A1
Application number	US-201414772635-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jan 31, 2014
Priority date	Mar 5, 2013
Publication date	Jan 14, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Video clips are generated from a sequence of video data for delivery and playback on demand. Each clip ( 101, 102, 103 ) is identified by an event marker ( 1 ) and a pre/post event ratio (PPER). The pre/post event ratio determines the relative duration of the clip before and after the element defined by the event marker. In response to a request for video clip data, identified with reference to the event marker ( 1 ), the discrete elements ( 1, 2, 3, 12 ) of video data making up each clip are allocated to a sequence starting with the element associated with the event marker ( 1 ) and following in an order ( 2, 3, 4, etc) determined by the pre/post event ratio. This allows clips having different durations but having the same PPER to be transmitted to different receivers dependant on channel capacity or reliability. The receiver may compile clips of a selected length by compiling the elements starting at the event marker and adding the elements in a sequence, before and after the event marker, determined by the PPER until a clip of a required length is complete. A sequence of several clips can be compiled, the event markers for different clips having different priorities such that if a short sequence is required, the low priority clips are omitted or abbreviated.

First claim

1 . A method of generating video clips from a sequence of video data for delivery and playback on demand, wherein the sequence is made up of discrete elements of video data, wherein each clip is identified by an event marker and a pre/post event ratio, the event marker defining one of the discrete elements in the sequence, and the pre/post event ratio determines the relative proportions of the duration of the clip before the element defined by the event marker and the duration of the clip after the element defined by the event marker, and wherein, in response to a request for video clip data, identified with reference to the event marker, the discrete elements of video data making up each clip are allocated to a sequence starting with the element associated with the event marker and following in an order determined by the pre/post event ratio.

2 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein the pre/post event ratio is defined by the event marker.

3 . A method according to claim 1 , in which during playback discrete elements are dropped from the clip in reverse order of the sequence to limit the overall duration if the clip to a predetermined value.

4 . A method according to claim 1 , in which during delivery of video data the discrete elements are delivered in accordance with their positions in the sequence.

5 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of clips are generated, and wherein the elements forming the clips are formed into a single sequence determined by their respective event markers and pre-post event ratios.

6 . A method according to claim 5 , wherein elements forming one or more clips early in the order in which the clips are to be played are delivered at a first, high, compression rate, and elements forming subsequent clips are delivered at a second, lower compression rate.

7 . A method according to claim 5 , wherein additional clips and event markers may be added to the database during delivery of video elements to a client device, the data elements relating to the additional clip being inserted into the delivery sequence according to the relative priority orders of additional clips and those forming the original sequence.

8 . A video service platform for generating video clips from a sequence of video data for delivery and playback on demand, comprising:
a video store for storing video sequences in the form of series of discrete elements of video data a retrieval system for retrieving the discrete elements of video data a client interface for receiving a request for a sequence of one or more video clips, each clip requested being defined by an event marker identifying an element of the video data, an event ratio determination processor for identifying a pre/post event ratio associated with each clip requested, the pre/post event ratio determining the relative relative proportions of the duration of the clip before the element defined by the event marker and the duration of the clip after the element defined by the event marker, wherein the retrieval processor is arranged to retrieve the discrete elements of video data, the order in which they are retrieved being determined by the event markers and pre-post event ratios associated with the requested data such that the discrete elements making up each clip are allocated to a sequence starting with the element associated with the event marker and following in an order determined by the pre/post event ratio.

9 . A video service platform according to claim 8 , arranged for delivery of video data such that the discrete elements are delivered in accordance with their positions in the sequence.

10 . A video service platform according to claim 8 , wherein the retrieval processor is arranged to transmit a sequence of video data to the client interface comprising a plurality of clips, and wherein the order in which the elements forming the clips are delivered is determined by a priority order determined by their respective event markers and pre-post event ratios.

11 . A video service platform according to claim 10 , wherein the video store is arranged to add additional clips and event markers to the database during delivery of video elements to a client device, the data elements relating to the additional clips being inserted into the delivery sequence according to the relative priority orders of additional clips and those forming the original sequence.

12 . A client device for retrieving video data from a service platform for display as a sequence of one or more video clips, comprising
a request generation process for transmitting requests for video clip data to the service platform, each video clip requested being defined by an event marker and a pre-post event ratio, a video download system for receiving the requested video clip as a sequence of video elements, a video sequence compiler for assembling the received video data elements into a sequence arranged according to the associated event markers and pre-post event ratios, a presentation system for delivering the compiled sequence to a display device.

13 . A client device according to claim 12 , further comprising a storage device to store video clip elements when received by the download system, to await delivery of other elements which are to be compiled for presentation at earlier points in the resulting sequence.

14 . A client device according to claim 12 , arranged to compile a sequence of a predetermined length by terminating the operation of the download system when the number of delivered elements attains a predetermined number.

15 . A client device according to claim 14 arranged to allow the number of clips within the sequence to vary dynamically during the download process, thereby allowing a clip added to the database during the download process to be added to the sequence within the predetermined sequence duration.

Assignees

• British Telecomm

Inventors

• Gower Andrew Peter
• Johnson Stephen Howard

Classifications

• H04N21/84 Primary

  Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors {(systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73)} · CPC title

• H04N21/23418 Primary

  involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics (television picture signal circuitry for scene change detection H04N5/147; filtering for image enhancement G06T5/00; methods or arrangements for recognising scenes G06V20/00; arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59) · CPC title

• H04N21/433

  Content storage operation, e.g. storage operation in response to a pause request, caching operations · CPC title

• H04N21/437

  Interfacing the upstream path of the transmission network, e.g. for transmitting client requests to a VOD server {(flow control in data networks H04L47/10; streaming protocols, e.g. RTP or RTCP, H04L65/65; scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests in data packet switching networks H04L67/60)} · CPC title

• G11B27/031

  Electronic editing of digitised analogue information signals, e.g. audio or video signals · CPC title