Targeted reprocessing of digital content

Abstract

To provide systems and methods for targeted re-processing of digital content.SOLUTION: A method comprises: receiving content indexed to a timeline; receiving insertion data identifying a timecode on the timeline; encoding the content using the insertion data to provide segmented content, where the content has a segment boundary at the timecode, where a first segment adjoining the segment boundary precedes the segment boundary, and where the second segment succeeds the segment boundary; on the basis of the segmented content, determining an optimal sequence of the segmented content for re-processing; processing the first and second segments to apply a fade-out into or to the first segment and apply a fade-in into or to the second segment.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Background Due to the almost universal popularity of content media, more audio-video (AV: audio-video) content is being produced than ever before and made available to customers. Furthermore, as streaming platforms have become increasingly important distribution hubs for AV content, adjustable bit-rate (ABR: adjustable bit-rate) AV content is also becoming increasingly important due to variable network conditions and differences in data processing capabilities between the various customer devices that receive streaming content. As a result, efficiency or improved post-production for adding AV content, including ABR content, has become increasingly important for producers, owners, or distributors of such content. [Background Art]

[0002] For example, in some use cases, it may be advantageous or desirable to add additional content, such as advertisements, to existing AV content or post-production. If AV content is originally produced without predetermined insertion points for additional content, introducing post-production into that content can create an unpleasant or confusing experience for customers watching the content during playback. For example, advertisements inserted haphazardly into AV content may appear as scenes or even shots in the middle, thereby disrupting the customer's viewing experience in an irritating and jarring way. The traditional method of adding additional content while avoiding this disruption and aesthetic discomfort for the viewer is to re-encode the entire content, this time taking into account the splice points used to adjust the segment boundaries for advertisements or other additional content. However, these traditional methods are undesirable, and in some cases impractical, in terms of both the computation time required to re-encode the content and the quality control (QC) review process. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0003] [Figure 1] This is a diagram illustrating an exemplary system for targeted reprocessing of digital content, achieved through a single implementation. [Figure 2A] This is an illustrative diagram showing a marker that identifies timecodes for inserting additional content into existing digital content, as demonstrated by one implementation. [Figure 2B] This is an illustrative diagram showing the encoded digital content of Figure 2A for generating segment boundaries using one implementation. [Figure 2C] This is an illustrative diagram showing the digital content of Figures 2A and 2B after targeted reprocessing for applying fade-in and fade-out effects within each segment adjacent to the segment boundary at the timecode identified by the marker in Figure 2A, or to each segment, as one implementation. [Figure 3]This is an illustrative diagram showing how additional content is introduced at the insertion point after reprocessing to apply the fade-out and fade-in effects shown in Figure 2C, using a single implementation. [Figure 4] This flowchart outlines an exemplary method for targeted reprocessing of digital content through a single implementation. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0004] Detailed explanation The following description contains specific information relating to the realization of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention can be realized in ways other than those specifically described herein. The drawings and accompanying detailed descriptions in this application are merely intended to guide preferred realizations. Unless otherwise noted, similar or corresponding elements in the drawings may be indicated by the same or corresponding reference numerals. Furthermore, the drawings and illustrations in this application are generally not to scale and are not intended to correspond to actual relative dimensions.

[0005] As mentioned above, when audio-video (AV) content is produced without pre-determined insertion points for additional content, introducing post-production into that content can result in an unpleasant or confusing experience for customers watching the content during playback. For example, additional content in the form of advertisements inserted without careful consideration into AV content may appear as an interruption to the scene, or even an interruption to the shot, thereby disrupting the customer's viewing experience in an jarring and jarring way. The conventional method of adding additional content while avoiding this disruption and aesthetic discomfort for the viewer is to reprocess the entire content, this time taking into account the joining points used to adjust the segment boundaries for advertisements or other additional content. However, as also mentioned above, these conventional methods are undesirable, and in some cases impractical, in terms of both the computation time required to reprocess the content and the quality control (QC) review process.

[0006] This application discloses a system and method for targeted reprocessing of digital content. As defined herein, the term “targeted reprocessing” may refer to either or both of the following: selective reprocessing of one or more sections of previously transcoded content, but smaller than the entire content, to enable the introduction of new additional content, such as advertisements, without adversely affecting the aesthetic integrity of the original content’s creative intent; or targeted selective modification of a media playlist to introduce black segments, such as black slugs, which are known in the present art. The targeted reprocessing solutions disclosed herein enable the near-seamless insertion of additional content into segment boundaries of encoded digital content by favorably reprocessing only the segments deemed necessary to avoid subjective audio or video irregularities resulting from the introduction of additional content at the aforementioned insertion points. As a result, the solution of the present invention advances the aforementioned cutting-edge technology while significantly reducing the time required for reprocessing and the QC time required for verification, because it reprocesses only targeted sequences (sequences) of previously encoded digital content.

[0007] As defined herein, the "fade-out" feature refers to a transition from fully illuminated content to black (darkness), while the "fade-in" feature refers to a transition from black to fully illuminated content. Each fade-out and fade-in can have a relatively short duration, such as half a second (0.5 s), or any other time interval deemed advantageous or desirable, and is used to provide viewers with a subjectively comfortable experience when transitioning from digital content to additional content, such as one or more advertisements, and back.

[0008] As a concrete example, a streaming platform can offer a subscription service that is either ad-supported or ad-free. The present invention's solution for targeted reprocessing of digital content is advantageous in that it enables the content to be delivered as part of an ad-free tier without fade-out or fade-in, and as part of an ad-supported tier with such fade-out and fade-in. In other words, the targeted reprocessing solution disclosed herein provides a clean and uninterrupted experience for the ad-free tier (i.e., without fade-out or fade-in), and a smooth transition (i.e., with fade-in and fade-out) between the streamed content and advertisements for the ad-supported tier. Furthermore, the present invention's solution for targeted reprocessing of digital content is advantageous in that it can be implemented using automated or substantially automated systems and methods.

[0009] As defined herein, “automated,” “automated,” and “to automate” refer to systems and processes that do not require user involvement, such as a system administrator. For example, in some implementations, a human editor or QC technician may review the performance of the systems and methods disclosed herein, but such human involvement is optional. Accordingly, in some implementations, the processes described herein can be executed under the control of the hardware processing components of the disclosed system.

[0010] Furthermore, as defined herein, “digital content” may refer to a wide variety of different types and genres of AV content, as well as video without audio, or audio without video. Specific examples of digital AV content include adjustable bitrate (ABR) content in the form of movies, television episodes or series, video games, and sporting events. In addition, or instead, in some realizations, “digital content” may be a digital representation of identifiers such as people, fictional characters, places, objects, and brands and logos, or “digital content” may include such digital representations, which exist, for example, in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), or mixed reality (MR) environments. Furthermore, this digital content may represent a virtual world that any number of users can experience synchronously and continuously, while providing continuity of data such as person identities, user history, qualifications, ownership, payments, etc. Furthermore, the concepts disclosed in this application can also be applied to digital content that is a hybrid of conventional AV and fully immersive VR / AR / MR experiences such as interactive video.

[0011] Figure 1 shows a diagram of an exemplary system for targeted reprocessing of digital content in one implementation. System 100 includes processing hardware 104 and a computing platform 102 having system memory 106 implemented as a computer-readable non-temporary storage medium. As shown in Figure 1, in one implementation, the system memory 106 stores the software code 110 for targeted reprocessing and optionally stores a content database 108.

[0012] As further shown in Figure 1, the system 100 can be implemented within a user environment that includes a user 124 utilizing a user system 120, which includes a content source 116 providing untranscoded digital content 130 (hereinafter referred to as "digital content 130") and insertion data 126 for the digital content 130, a communication network 112, and a display 122. In addition, Figure 1 shows a communication link 114 that connects the content source 116 and the user system 120 to the system 100 via the communication network 112. Figure 1 also shows reprocessed content 150 corresponding to the digital content 130, provided by targeted reprocessing software code 110.

[0013] Furthermore, system 100 receives content 130 from content source 116 via communication network 112 and network communication link 114. In some implementations, content source 116 can take the form of a content source integrated with computing platform 102, or it can communicate directly with system 100 as shown by the dashed communication link 118. In addition, in some implementations, system 100 can exclude one or both of the content database 108. Therefore, in some implementations, system memory 106 can store targeted reprocessing software code 110 but not the content database 108.

[0014] In the representation of System 100 shown in Figure 1, the targeted reprocessing software code 110 and the arbitrary content database 108 are shown as being stored in System Memory 106 for conceptual clarity. More generally, however, System Memory 106 can take the form of any computer-readable non-temporary storage medium. As used herein, the expression “computer-readable non-temporary storage medium” refers to any medium other than carrier waves or other temporary signals that provides instructions to the processing hardware of the computing platform, such as the processing hardware 104 of the computing platform 102. Thus, computer-readable non-temporary storage mediums can correspond to various types of media, such as volatile and non-volatile media. Volatile media can include dynamic memory, such as dynamic random access memory (dynamic RAM), while non-volatile memory can include optical, magnetic, or electrostatic storage devices. Common forms of computer-readable non-temporary storage media include, for example, optical discs, RAM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), and flash memory.

[0015] Furthermore, while Figure 1 shows the targeted reprocessing software code 110 and the arbitrary content database 108 as being jointly installed (located in the same place) within the system memory 106, this representation is only provided to aid conceptual clarity. More generally, system 100 can include one or more computing platforms, such as computer servers, which can be jointly installed or form an interactively linked, but distributed, system, such as a cloud-based system. As a result, the processing hardware 104 and system memory 106 can correspond to distributed processors and memory resources within system 100. Thus, it is clear that the targeted reprocessing software code 110 and the arbitrary content database 108 can be stored remotely from each other within the distributed memory resources of system 100.

[0016] The processing hardware 104 may include multiple processing units, such as one or more central processing units, one or more graphics processing units, one or more tensor processing units, one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and an application programming interface (API) server. For the purposes of definition, the terms "central processing unit (CPU)," "graphics processing unit (GPU)," and "tensor processing unit (TPU)" as used herein have their meanings as commonly used in the latest technology. In other words, a CPU includes an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) for performing arithmetic and logical operations on the computing platform 102, as well as a control unit (CU) for reading programs such as software code 110 for targeted reprocessing from system memory 106, whereas a GPU can be implemented to reduce the processing overhead of the CPU by performing computationally intensive graphics or other processing tasks. A TPU is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) configured specifically for artificial intelligence (AI) applications such as machine learning modeling.

[0017] Furthermore, as defined herein, the terms “machine learning model” or “ML (machine learning) model” may refer to a mathematical model for making future predictions based on patterns learned from data samples or “training data.” Various learning algorithms can be used to associate relationships between input and output data. These relationships form a mathematical model that can be used to make future predictions for new input data. Such prediction models may include one or more logistic regression models, Bayesian models, or neural networks (NN). Furthermore, “deep neural network” may refer to an NN that utilizes multiple hidden layers between the input and output layers in relation to deep learning, which enables learning based on features not explicitly defined in the raw data. In various implementations, an NN can be trained as a classifier, and an NN can be used to perform image processing or natural language processing.

[0018] In some implementations, the computing platform 102 can correspond to one or more web servers accessible over a packet-switched network, such as the internet. Alternatively, the computing platform 102 can correspond to one or more computer servers located within a private wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), or other type of restricted distribution network or private network. As yet another alternative, in some implementations, the system 100 can be implemented virtually, as in a data center. For example, in some implementations, the system 100 can be implemented in software or as a virtual machine.

[0019] Figure 1 shows the user system 120 as a desktop computer, but this representation is provided only as an example. More generally, the user system 120 can be any suitable mobile or stationary computer device or system that provides a user interface, supports connection to the communication network 112, and has sufficient data processing power to perform the functions belonging to the user system 120 as described herein. For example, in other implementations, the user system 120 may take the form of a laptop computer, a tablet computer, or a smartphone.

[0020] With respect to the display 122 of the user system 120, the display 122 can be physically integrated with the user system 120, or it can be communicatively coupled with the user system 120 but physically separated from it. For example, if the user system 120 is implemented as a smartphone, laptop computer, or tablet computer, the display 122 can generally be integrated with the user system 120. In contrast, if the user system 120 is implemented as a desktop computer, the display 122 can take the form of a monitor separate from the user system 120, which may be in the form of a computer tower. Furthermore, the display 122 of the user system 120 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED) display, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, a quantum dot (QD) display, or any other suitable display screen that performs the physical conversion of signals to light.

[0021] FIG. 2A is an exemplary diagram illustrating a marker 238 that identifies a timecode 236 indexed on a timeline (time series) 228 for inserting additional content into digital content 230A, according to one implementation. Digital content 230A generally corresponds to digital content 130 in FIG. 1. Accordingly, digital content 130 may share any of the characteristics attributed to digital content 230A by the present invention, and vice versa. In other words, like digital content 230A, digital content 130 may be indexed on timeline 228. Note that in some implementations, marker 238 may take the form of, for example, a fixed point insertion time (FPCI) candidate that is known in the current art.

[0022] FIG. 2B is an exemplary diagram illustrating segmented content 230B after encoding to generate segment boundaries 234a, 234b, 234c, 234d, and 234e, and segments 232a, 232b, 232c, 232d, 232e, and 232f (hereinafter "segments 232a to 232f"), where content 230B corresponds to digital content 230A in FIG. 2A. Note that segment boundary 234c in FIG. 2B coincides with timecode 236 on timeline 228 identified by marker 238.

[0023] Regarding the size or duration of segments 232a-232f, for various reasons, restrictions may be imposed on the minimum and maximum segment durations of segments 232a-232f. In practical terms, for example, it is undesirable to have segments containing only a single frame. As a result, it may be the case that a streaming service has a minimum segment duration on the content it delivers, or imposes a minimum segment duration on the content it delivers. Furthermore, for some ABR protocols, the minimum and maximum segment durations can be predetermined, and these values ​​can be included in the content description. For example, the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) live streaming (HLS) requires the content playlist tag EXT-X-TARGETDURATION, which specifies the maximum segment duration for the content being delivered.

[0024] Figure 2C shows a portion of the segmented content 230B in Figure 2B after reprocessing of segments 232c and 232d adjacent to the segment boundary 234c, for one implementation where fade-out 252 is applied to segment 232c and fade-in 254 is applied within or to segment 232d. As described above, the fade-out or fade-in can have a timeline duration of approximately 0.5s, or any other time interval that is deemed advantageous or desirable.

[0025] Note that according to the exemplary implementation shown in FIG. 2C, the segment duration of segment 232c can be predetermined to match the timeline duration of fade-out 252 applied to segment 232c, whereas the segment duration of segment 232d can be predetermined to match the timeline duration of fade-in 254 applied to segment 232d. However, in other implementations, the segment duration of segment 232c can be made longer than the timeline duration of fade-out 252, whereas the segment duration of segment 232d can be made longer than the timeline duration of fade-in 254. Accordingly, in some implementations, instead of being applied to the entire segment 232c, fade-out 252 can be applied within segment 232c, and instead of being applied to the entire segment 232d, fade-in 254 can be applied within segment 232d. In other words, in various implementations, fade-out 252 and fade-in 254 can be applied within respective segments 232c and 232d, or to respective segments 232c and 232d.

[0026] FIG. 3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating introducing additional content to an insertion point provided by reprocessing segments 232c and 232d for applying fade-out 252 and fade-in 254 respectively, as shown in FIG. 2C, according to one implementation. As shown in FIG. 3, the content-added digital content 356 includes originally encoded segments 332b and 332e, reprocessed segments 332c and 332d, and additional content 340, wherein the additional content 340 is located at the insertion point provided between segments 332c and 332d. As further shown in FIG. 3, the additional content 340 includes at least new content 342, and in various implementations, can also include one or both of a black segment 344a preceding the new content 342 and a black segment 344b following the new content 342.

[0027] Segments 332b and 332e roughly correspond to segments 232b and 232e in Figure 2B, respectively. Furthermore, segment 332c to which fade-out 352 is applied, and segment 332d to which fade-in 354 is applied, roughly correspond to segment 232c to which fade-out 252 is applied, and segment 232d to which fade-in 254 is applied, respectively, in Figure 2C. Therefore, according to the present invention, segments 232b, 232c, 232d, 232e, fade-out 252, and fade-in 254 can share any of the characteristics attributable to segments 332b, 332c, 332d, 332e, fade-out 352, and fade-in 354, respectively, and vice versa.

[0028] The functions of system 100 and the targeted reprocessing software code 110 will be further explained with reference to Figure 4. Figure 4 shows a flowchart 460 that presents an exemplary method for targeted reprocessing of digital content in one implementation. Note that, in relation to the method outlined in Figure 4, certain details and features have been excluded from flowchart 460 in order to avoid ambiguity in the description of the features of the present invention as described herein.

[0029] Referring here to Figure 4 in combination with Figures 1 and 1A, the flowchart 460 begins with the step of receiving the indexed digital content 130 / 230A on the timeline 228 (operation 461). In operation 461, the digital content 130 / 230A can be received by the processing hardware 104 of the system 100 by executing the targeted reprocessing software code 110. For example, as shown in Figure 1, in some implementations, the digital content 130 / 230A can be received by the system 100 from the content source 116 via the communication network 112 and network communication link 114, or directly via the communication link 118. However, as further shown in Figure 1, in other implementations, the digital content 130 / 230A can be received by the system 100 from the user system 120 via the communication network 112 and network communication link 114.

[0030] As described above, digital content 130 / 230A can include a wide variety of different types and genres of AV content, as well as either video without audio or audio without video. Specific examples of digital AV content include ABR content in the form of movies, TV episodes or series, video games, and sporting events. In addition, or instead, in some implementations, digital content 130 / 230A may be a digital representation of identifiers such as people, fictional characters, places, objects, and brands and logos, or digital content 130 / 230A may include such digital representations, which may exist, for example, in VR, AR, or MR environments. Furthermore, digital content 130 / 230A can represent a virtual world that any number of users can experience synchronously and continuously, while providing data continuity such as person identity, user history, credentials, ownership, payments, etc. In addition, or instead, digital content 130 / 230A may be a hybrid of conventional AV and fully immersive VR / AR / MR experiences such as interactive video, or may include such a hybrid.

[0031] The flowchart further includes the step of receiving insertion data 126 that identifies a timecode 236 on the timeline 228 (operation 462). The location in the digital content 130 / 230A specified by the timecode 236 contained in the insertion data 126 can be an insertion point for inserting additional content, such as one or more advertisements, into the digital content 130 / 230A. In operation 462, the insertion data 126 can be received by the processing hardware 104 of the system 100 by executing targeted reprocessing software code 110. For example, as shown in Figure 1, in some implementations, the system 100 can receive the insertion data 126 from the content source 116 via the communication network 112 and network communication link 114, or directly via communication link 118. However, as further shown in Figure 1, in other implementations, the system 100 can receive the insertion data 126 from the user system 120 via the communication network 112 and network communication link 114.

[0032] Referring to Figure 2B in combination with Figures 1, 2A, and 4, the flowchart 460 further includes the step of encoding digital content 130 / 230A using inserted data 126 to provide segmented content 230B, the segmented content 230B having a segment boundary 234c at the timecode 236 and having a first segment 232c and a second segment 232d adjacent to the segment boundary 234c, the first segment 232c preceding the segment boundary 234c and the second segment 232d following the segment boundary 234c on the timeline 228 (operation 463). In some implementations, the segmented content 230B can be ABR content or may contain ABR content. In operation 463, encoding the digital content 130 / 230A using the inserted data 126 to provide segmented content 230B can be performed by the processing hardware 104 of the computing platform 102 by executing the targeted reprocessing software code 110.

[0033] In some implementations, flowchart 460 may further include a step of determining the optimal sequence of segmented content (a column of segments) for reprocessing based on the segmented content 230B, such that the optimal sequence includes at least one content segment in addition to the first segment 232c and the second segment 232d (operation 464). For example, content at the beginning of the first segment 232c, content at the end of the second segment 232d, or both, may have certain attributes that, if reprocessing starts or ends there, could cause audible or visual audio artifacts (sound noise), video artifacts (video noise), or both audio and video artifacts when the reprocessed content 150 is played back. The process of identifying the optimal reprocessing sequence of segmented content 232B, including at least the first segment 232c and the second segment 232d, may include a variety of methods to mitigate or eliminate these problems. For example, the process for determining the optimal start and end times for reprocessing may take into account one or more content metadata, such as Dolby Vision® shot metadata, scene change detection, and chunk boundary complexity analysis.

[0034] Operation 464 is optional and can be excluded from the method outlined by flowchart 460 in some implementations. However, in implementations that include operation 464 in the method outlined by flowchart 460, operation 464 can be executed by the processing hardware 104 of the computing platform 102 executing targeted reprocessing software code 110. In various use cases, in addition to the first segment 232c and the second segment 232d of the segmented content 230B, one or more segments included in the optimal reprocessing sequence may precede the first segment 232c and follow the second segment 232d, or one or more of these segments may precede the first segment 232c and one or more of these segments may follow the second segment 232d.

[0035] By referring to Figures 2C and 23 in combination with Figures 1, 2A, 2B, and 4, flowchart 460 reprocesses the first segment 232c / 332c, the second segment 232d / 332d, or the optimal sequence determined in operation 464 to apply fade-out 252 / 352 within or to the first segment 232c / 332c, and fade-in 254 / 354 within or to the second segment 232d / 332d (operation 465). Furthermore, by reprocessing the first segment 232c / 332c and the second segment 232d / 332d, an encoded segment having a segment boundary 234c set as the insertion point for additional content 340 is provided.

[0036] As described above, and as shown in Figure 3, in some implementations, the additional content 340 may include new content 342, black content 344a preceding the new content 342, and black segment 344b following the new content 342. However, in other implementations, the additional content 340 may include new content 342 and either black content 344a preceding the new content 342 or black segment 344b following the new content 342, but not both. In yet another implementation, the additional content 340 may include new content 342, but exclude both black segments 344a and 344b. In other words, in some implementations, the additional content 340 is new content 342. Furthermore, in some implementations, one or both of the first segments 232c / 332c and the second segments 232d / 332d can be excluded, and additional content 340, including one or both of the black segments 344a and 344b, can be inserted between the originally encoded segments 332b and 332e. In various implementations, the additional content 340 can be new content 342 in the form of a single advertisement or one or more advertisements, such as an ad pod (a standard that treats a series of advertisements as a single unit) as is known in the current technology, or the additional content 340 can contain such new content 342.

[0037] The reprocessing performed in operation 465 can be carried out by the processing hardware 104 of the computing platform 102 executing targeted reprocessing software code 110. For example, even after reprocessing the first segment 232c / 332c and the second segment 232d / 332d to provide encoded segments having segment boundaries 234c set as insertion points for additional content 340, the timeline of the segmented content 230B still matches the timeline 228 of the digital content 130 / 230A.

[0038] In addition, it is advantageous that the same playlist used for playing the segmented content 230B before reprocessing can be used for playing the reprocessed segmented content 230B, applying fade-out 252 / 352 within or to segments 232c / 332c and fade-in 254 / 354 within or to segments 232d / 332d. For example, in a realization where the segmented content 230B takes the form of ABR content, the ABR protocol specification for the segmented content 230B can use a playlist format that utilizes a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), such as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), for discrete segment files. In these use cases, existing playlists for segmented content 230B can be used after reprocessing of segments 232c / 332c and 232d / 332d in operation 465.

[0039] Furthermore, regarding the operations described in flowchart 460, operations 461, 462, 463, and 465, or operations 461, 462, 463, 464, and 465, can be executed as automated processes that can compensate for human intervention.

[0040] Accordingly, this application discloses a system and method for targeted reprocessing of digital content. The targeted reprocessing solution disclosed herein enables the near-seamless insertion of additional content into segment boundaries of encoded digital content by favorably reprocessing only the segments deemed necessary to avoid subjective audio or video irregularities that would result from introducing additional content at the aforementioned insertion points. As a result, the solution of the present invention advances the aforementioned advanced technology while significantly reducing the time required for reprocessing and the QC time required for verification, because it reprocesses only targeted sequences of previously encoded digital content.

[0041] From the above description, it is clear that various techniques can be used to realize these concepts without departing from the scope of the concepts described herein. Furthermore, although these concepts have been described with reference to specific realizations, it will be recognized by those ordinary in the art that modifications can be made to the form and details without departing from the scope of these concepts. For this reason, the realizations described should be considered in all respects as illustrative rather than restrictive. It is also clear that this application is not limited to the specific realizations described herein, and that numerous reconfigurations, modifications, and substitutions are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A system comprising a computing platform having processing hardware and system memory for storing software code, The processing hardware executes the software code, Receive digital content indexed on the timeline, The system receives insertion data that identifies the timecode on the timeline, The digital content is encoded using the inserted data to provide segmented content, the segmented content having a segment boundary at the timecode and having a first segment and a second segment adjacent to the segment boundary, the first segment preceding the segment boundary and the second segment following the segment boundary. It is configured to apply a fade-out within or to the first segment, and to apply a fade-in within or to the second segment, A system that generates a fade-out portion within the first segment and a fade-in portion within the second segment by applying the fade-out and fade-in effects, and provides an encoded first segment and an encoded second segment having the segment boundary located between the fade-out portion and the fade-in portion and set as an insertion point for additional content.

2. The processing hardware executes the software code, and further, The system according to claim 1, wherein, before applying the fade-out and fade-in, the system is configured to determine, based on the segmented content, the optimal sequence of segmented content for applying the fade-out and fade-in, the optimal sequence comprising the first segment and the second segment, plus at least one content segment.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the optimal sequence includes a plurality of content segments in addition to the first segment and the second segment, and at least one of the plurality of content segments precedes the first segment or follows the second segment.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the additional content is new content.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the additional content includes at least one advertisement.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the additional content includes new content and black segments that precede or follow the new content.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the additional content includes new content, a first black segment preceding the new content, and a second black segment following the new content.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the same playlist used for playing the segmented content before applying the fade-out and fade-in can be used for playing the segmented content after applying the fade-out and fade-in.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the timeline of the segmented content after applying the fade-out and fade-in effects matches the timeline of the digital content.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the segmented content includes adjustable bitrate (ABR) content.

11. A method used by a system comprising a computing platform having processing hardware and system memory for storing software code, The processing hardware executes the software code to receive digital content indexed on a timeline; The processing hardware executes the software code to receive insertion data that identifies timecodes on the timeline; The processing hardware executes the software code to encode the digital content using the inserted data and provide segmented content, wherein the segmented content has a segment boundary at the time code and has a first segment and a second segment adjacent to the segment boundary, the first segment precedes the segment boundary and the second segment follows the segment boundary. The processing hardware includes the steps of applying a fade-out within or to the first segment, and applying a fade-in within or to the second segment, by executing the software code. A method for providing an encoded first segment and an encoded second segment having the segment boundary located between the fade-out portion and the fade-in portion, and set as an insertion point for additional content, by applying the fade-out and fade-in effects described above.

12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the step of the processing hardware executing the software code to determine, based on the segmented content, the optimal sequence of the segmented content for applying the fade-out and fade-in, wherein the optimal sequence includes at least one content segment in addition to the first segment and the second segment.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the optimal sequence includes a plurality of content segments in addition to the first segment and the second segment, and at least one of the plurality of content segments precedes the first segment or follows the second segment.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the additional content is new content.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the additional content includes at least one advertisement.

16. The method according to claim 11, wherein the additional content includes new content and a black segment that precedes or follows the new content.

17. The method according to claim 11, wherein the additional content includes new content, a first black segment preceding the new content, and a second black segment following the new content.

18. The method according to claim 11, wherein the same playlist used for playing the segmented content before applying the fade-out and fade-in can be used for playing the segmented content after applying the fade-out and fade-in.

19. The method according to claim 11, wherein the timeline of the segmented content after applying the fade-out and fade-in effects matches the timeline of the digital content.

20. The method according to claim 11, wherein the segmented content includes adjustable bitrate (ABR) content.

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