Proxy editing of data streams

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method of a content production system (200) of processing data streams for transmission to an audience, and a content production system (200) performing the method. In an aspect, a method of a content production system (200) of processing data streams for transmission to an audience is provided. The method comprises acquiring (S101) a set of data streams (202a-c) pertaining to an event to be presented to the audience, generating (S102), from the acquired set of data streams (202a-c), a first set of data streams (2oqa-c) to be edited for transmission to the audience, generating (S103), from the acquired set of data streams (202a-c), at least a second set of data streams (204a'-c') being configured to constitute a lower-latency representation of the first set of data streams (2oqa-c), editing (S104) the second set of data streams (204a'-c') according to an editing scheme, applying (S105), to the first set of data streams (204a-c), the editing performed on the second set of data streams (204a'-c') according to said editing scheme to create at least one edited data stream (208) for transmission and transmitting (S106) the at least one edited data stream (208) to the audience.

Description

PROXY EDITING OF DATA STREAMSTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method of a content production system of processing data streams for transmission to an audience, and a content production system performing the method.BACKGROUND

[0002] When producing video content for broadcasting to an audience, the content is typically acquired by a computer referred to as an ingest from multiple video sources, i.e. video cameras including microphones for audio recording, encoded and transported via a network to a production datacentre where the video content is edited as desired before being broadcasted to the audience.

[0003] Traditional broadcast production editing strives to be as close to real time as possible, which requires throughput time of the system - from the video sources to the ingest, through the datacentre and on to the audience - to be very small. This is challenging both from a technical and a cost point-of-view.SUMMARY

[0004] One objective is to solve, or at least mitigate, this problem in the art and thus to provide an improved method of a content production system of processing data streams for transmission to an audience.

[0005] This objective is attained in a first aspect by a method of a content production system of processing data streams for transmission to an audience. The method comprises acquiring a set of data streams pertaining to an event to be presented to the audience, generating, from the acquired set of data streams, a first set of data streams to be edited for transmission to the audience and generating, from the acquired set of data streams, at least a second set of data streams being configured to constitute a lower-latency version of the first set of data streams. The method further comprises editing the second set of data streams according to an editing scheme, applying, to the first set of data streams, the editing performed on the second set of data streams according to said editing scheme to create at least one edited data stream for transmission and transmitting the at least one edited data stream to the audience.

[0006] This objective is attained in a second aspect by a content production system configured to process data streams for transmission to an audience, the system comprising one or more processing units being configured to cause the system to be operative to acquire a set of data streams pertaining to an event to be presented to the audience, to generate, from the acquired set of data streams, a first set of data streams to be edited for transmission to the audience and to generate, from the acquired set of data streams, at least a second set of data streams being configured to constitute a lower-latency representation of the first set of data streams. The system is further operative to edit the second set of data streams according to an editing scheme, to apply, to the first set of data streams, the editing performed on the second set of data streams according to said editing scheme to create at least one edited data stream for transmission and to transmit the at least one edited data stream to the audience.

[0007] Advantageously, as compared to the prior art, rather than having a mixer operator editing directly in the high-quality data streams, the operator now edits the generated lower-quality - and thus lower-latency - data streams being provided, which is far less demanding from a system bandwidth and throughput perspective, while still attaining the same high throughput.

[0008] In an embodiment, the generating of the second set of data streams configured to constitute a lower-latency representation of the first set of data streams comprises configuring the second set of data streams to contain a lower amount of data than the first set of data streams, thereby causing a delay between the first set of data streams and the second set of data streams being transported though the content production system, the caused delay allowing editing of the second set of data streams according to the editing scheme and providing said editing scheme to a production datacentre of the content production system before the first set of data streams arrives at the production datacentre, the production datacentre being configured to apply the editing scheme to the first set of data streams.

[0009] In an embodiment, the configuring of the second set of data streams to contain a lower amount of data than the first set of data streams being performed to cause a delay of 2-3 seconds between the two sets of data streams.

[0010] In an embodiment, the second set of data streams being configured to contain 0.5 - 1 % of the amount of data contained in the first set of data streams.[oon] In an embodiment, the generating of the first set of data streams and the second set of data streams from the acquired set of data streams further comprises compressing the first set of data streams and the second set of data streams.

[0012] In an embodiment, the method further comprises segmenting the acquired set of data streams into frames and assigning a time stamp to each frame of the acquired set of data streams to allow maintaining synchronization of the frames during the editing.

[0013] In an embodiment, the assigning of a time stamp to each frame being based on an acquired International Atomic Time (TAI).

[0014] In an embodiment, a plurality of editing schemes are applied to the first set of data streams resulting in a corresponding plurality of edited data streams being created for transmission.

[0015] In a third aspect, a computer program is provided comprising computerexecutable instructions for causing a content production system to perform steps recited in the method of the first aspect when the computer-executable instructions are executed on a processing unit included in the content production system.

[0016] In a fourth aspect, a computer program product is provided comprising a computer readable medium, the computer readable medium having the computer program according to the third aspect embodied thereon.

[0017] Generally, all terms used in the claims are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the technical field, unless explicitly defined otherwise herein. All references to "a / an / the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc." are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any method disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless explicitly stated.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Aspects and embodiments are now described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] Figure 1 illustrates a prior art video content production system;

[0020] Figure 2 illustrates a video content production system according to an embodiment;

[0021] Figure 3 shows a signalling diagram illustrating a method of processing data streams for transmission to an audience according to an embodiment using the video content production system of Figure 2;

[0022] Figure 4a illustrates three data streams being acquired by an ingest computer of the video content production system of Figure 2;

[0023] Figure 4b illustrates the ingest computer assigning time stamps to frames to the acquired data streams of Figure 4a;

[0024] Figure 4c illustrates a desired editing scheme being applied to the time stamped data streams;

[0025] Figure 4d illustrates a final edited data stream transmitted to an audience;

[0026] Figure 5 shows a signalling diagram illustrating a method of processing data streams for transmission to an audience utilizing time stamping according to an embodiment;

[0027] Figure 6a and 6 illustrates resolving editing of slightly unsynchronized data streams to create an edited final stream where frames are synchronized according to an embodiment utilizing time stamping;

[0028] Figure 7 illustrates creation of multiple customized data streams for transmission according to an embodiment; and

[0029] Figure 8 illustrates a video content production system according to an embodiment.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The aspects of the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which certain embodiments of the invention are shown.

[0031] These aspects may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limiting; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and to fully conveythe scope of all aspects of invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description.

[0032] Figure 1 illustrates a prior art video content production system 100. Multiple video cameras 101a, 101b, 101c are arranged at an event to be recorded, such as e.g. a sports event, a concert, a TV studio debate, etc. As is understood, the cameras maybe embodied in the form of TV cameras, smart phone cameras, drone cameras etc.

[0033] In order to cover e.g. a cross-country skiing world cup race, the numerous video cameras loia-c (and associated microphones) are placed along the crosscountry skiing race course for recording the event. Data streams i02a-c including video (and typically also audio) recorded by each camera loia-c are acquired by a processing device referred to as an ingest 103. In practice, the ingest maybe implemented in the form of an off-the-shelf desktop computer, potentially equipped with a frame grabber card to allow physical input interfaces such as Serial Digital Interface (SDI) cables.

[0034] While three cameras loia-ioic are shown for illustrative purposes, an event such as a cross-country skiing world cup race is typically covered by tens of cameras.

[0035] The ingest 103 will typically receive the data streams i02a-c in an uncompressed format from the video cameras loia-c and compress the streams using an appropriate format before transferring the compressed streams lo a-c to a production datacentre 105.

[0036] Further shown in Figure 1 is a production control application 106 operated by a mixer operator 107 (or team of operators) editing the data streams lo a-c supplied to the production datacentre 105 such that a final, edited data stream 108 ultimately can be transmitted to viewers of the event. Hence, the mixer operator 107 utilizes the production control application 106 to edit directly in the data streams lo a-io c passing though the production datacentre 105 for creating the final data stream 108 that is transmitted to the viewers of the event. As is understood, the transmission maybe performed by traditional television broadcasting, cable television transmission, via the Internet (commonly referred to as Internet TV), etc.

[0037] As is understood, while the ingest computer 103 and the production datacentre 105 typically are located geographically close to the actual event being recorded to minimize throughput time, the production control application 106 and the mixer operator 107 may be located remote from the event.

[0038] In an example, the mixer operator 107 may edit the data streams 104a- 104c passing though the production datacentre 105 such that the data stream 102a of the first camera 101a is transmitted during a first time period, after which the data stream 102b of the second camera 101b is transmitted for a second time period, followed by the data stream 102c of the third camera 101c being transmitted for a third time period, and so on. Thus, the data stream 108 ultimately being transmitted is typically generated by the mixer operator 107 switching between the data streams 1043-1040 provided to the production datacentre 105. Shown in Figure 1 is further a multiview display 109 on which the mixer operator 107 may view the data streams 1043-1040 to be edited as well as the data stream 108 that is finally being transmitted.

[0039] As previously mentioned, traditional broadcast production editing as illustrated in Figure 1 strives to be as close to real time as possible, which requires throughput time to be very small. This is challenging both from a technical and a cost perspective. Further, even if state-of-the art equipment is utilized to provide for a minimum throughput time, the mixer operator 107 will still have to perform the editing, which in itself will delay the final transmission of the edited data stream 108.

[0040] Figure 2 illustrates a video content production system 200 according to an embodiment. Reference is further made to Figure 3 showing a signalling diagram illustrating a method of processing data streams for transmission to an audience according to an embodiment using the video content production system of Figure 2.

[0041] Similar to the traditional approach of Figure 1, multiple cameras 201a- 201c are arranged at an event to be presented to an audience, in this example along a cross-country skiing race course to be covered, and a resulting set of uncompressed data streams 202a-c of the cameras 20ia-20ic are acquired by the ingest computer 202 in step S101 as shown in Figure 3.

[0042] However, in contrast to the video content production system 100 of Figure 1, while a first set of high-quality data streams 2oqa-c generated from the set of data streams 202a-c acquired by the ingest computer 203 in S101 still are forwarded inS102 to the production datacentre 205 in the embodiment of Figure 2 (for subsequent transmission to the audience), a second set of lower-quality data streams 204a’, 204b’, 204c’ is further generated from the data streams 202a-c received by the ingest computer 202 in S101 and sent to a proxy editing unit 210 in step S103.

[0043] In other words, the second set of data streams 2O4a’-c’ sent to the proxy editing unit 210 in S103 is a lower quality representation of the first set of data streams 2oqa-c sent to the production datacentre 205 in S102; while the content of the data streams are identical, the quality of the second set of data streams 2O4a’-c’ is much lower and will thus arrive at the proxy editing unit 210 before the first set of data streams 2oqa-c arrives at the production datacentre 205. This effectively causes the second set of data streams 2O4a’-c’ to constitute a lower-latency representation of the first set of data streams 2oqa-c.

[0044] It may be envisaged that the second set of lower-quality data streams 204a’, 204b’, 204c’, i.e. constituting a set of lower-latency data streams 204a’, 204b’, 204c’ as compared to the first set of data streams 2O4a-c, are analysed using e.g. machine learning (ML) or artificial intelligence (Al) to identify features of the content of the streams, such as e.g. a particular language being spoken, a specific nation flag being shown, a particular situation occurring, etc. This may also include performing speech-to-text data processing or automatic dubbing.

[0045] Further, while exemplifying embodiments herein illustrate that a first and a second set of data streams are utilized in the system 200, it maybe envisaged that further streams are generated at the ingest computer 203, such as a third set of data streams having an intermediate latency, i.e. a higher latency than the second set but a lower latency than the first set.

[0046] In an example, the high-quality data streams 2oqa-c provided to the production datacentre 205 in step S102 may have a data rate of 50-100 Mb / s and a latency of 3 seconds from a point in time where the ingest computer 203 receives the recorded data streams 202a-c in S101 from the cameras 20ia-c to a point in time where the high-quality data streams 2oqa-c arrive at the production datacentre 205, while the lower-quality data streams 2O4a’-c’ provided to the proxy editing unit 210 in S103 may have a data rate of only 1 Mb / s and a latency of 0.5 seconds from the point in time where the ingest computer 203 receives the recorded data streams from the cameras 20ia-c in step S101 to when then the lower-quality data streams 2O4a’-c’arrives at the proxy editing unit 210. It may alternatively be that a different coding is applied to the second set of data streams 2O4a’-c’ to create a lower-latency representation of the first set of data streams 2oqa-c.

[0047] Advantageously, in the embodiment of Figures 2 and 3, a mixer operator 207 (or team of operators) edits in step S104 via production application 206 the lower-quality data streams 2O4a’-c’ being provided to the proxy editing unit 210.

[0048] The desired editing scheme applied by the mixer operator 207 in S104 to the set of lower-quality data streams 2O4a’-c’ is thereafter applied in step S105 to the high-quality data streams 2oqa-c passing through the production datacentre 205 such that a final, edited data stream 208 ultimately can be transmitted to viewers of the event in S106. As is understood, the mixer operator may make up the editing scheme more or less on-the-fly or may apply a predetermined editing scheme resulting in a desired data stream to be finally transmitted (or a combination thereof).

[0049] Shown in Figure 2 is further a multiview display 209 on which the mixer operator 207 may view the lower-quality data streams 2O4a’-2O4c’ to be edited as well as the result of the editing which ultimately will produce the final data stream after the editing scheme has been applied to the high-quality data streams 2oqa-c in the production datacentre 205.

[0050] An advantage with the embodiment illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 as compared to the prior art approach of Figure 1 is that rather than having the mixer operator 207 editing directly in the high-quality data streams 2oqa-c, the operator now edits the lower-quality data streams 2O4a’-c’ provided to the proxy editing unit 210, which is far less demanding from a system bandwidth and throughput perspective.

[0051] Thus, as previously mentioned, while the high-quality data streams 2oqa-c provided to the production datacentre 205 may have a data rate of e.g. 50-100 Mb / s and a latency of 3 seconds from a point in time where the ingest computer 203 receives the recorded data streams 202a-c from the cameras 20ia-c in S101 to a point in time where the high-quality data streams 2oqa-c arrive at the production datacentre 205 in S 102 and the editing scheme is applied to the high-quality data streams 2oqa-c via the proxy editing unit 210 in S105, the lower-quality data streams204a’-c’ provided to the proxy editing unit 210 in S103 may have a data rate of only 1 Mb / s and a latency of 0.5 seconds from the point in time where the ingest computer 203 receives the recorded data streams 202a-c from the cameras 20ia-c to a point in time where the lower-quality data streams 2O4a’-c’ arrive at the proxy editing unit 210 and the mixer operator 207 performs the editing in S104 according to the desired editing scheme, which scheme thereafter is supplied to the production datacentre 205 in S105 and applied to the high-quality data streams 2oqa-c for creating the final data stream 208 in S106.

[0052] Hence, there is no need for the mixer operator 207 to perform editing directly in the data streams 2oqa-c passing though the production datacentre 205 for creating the final data stream 208 that is transmitted to the viewers of the event.

[0053] A further advantage of utilizing the proxy editing unit 210 to edit the lower-quality (and thus low-latency) data streams 2O4a’-2O4c’ in S104 is that, as exemplified hereinabove, the mixer operator 207 is given a relatively long time to apply the editing scheme to the lower-quality data streams 2O4a’-2O4c’ before the editing scheme also is applied to the high-quality data streams 2oqa-c in the production datacentre 205. In step S105 (the latency from the ingest computer 203 to the proxy editing unit 210 is exemplified to be 0.5 seconds while the latency from the ingest computer 203 to the production datacentre 205 is exemplified to be 3 seconds).

[0054] In other words, in contrast to the editing approach applied in the prior art scenario of Figure 1, the mixer operator 207 does not cause a further delay of the high-quality data streams 2oqa-c by also determining which editing scheme should be in S105 applied to generate the final data stream 208 in step S106. Rather, upon the high-quality data streams 2oqa-c arriving at the production datacentre 205m S102, the editing has already been performed in step S104 on the lower-quality data streams 2O4a’-2O4c’ in the proxy editing unit 210 and the corresponding editing scheme can instantly be applied in step 105 to the high-quality data streams 2oqa-c passing through the production datacentre 205 without causing further delay in creating the final data stream 208 in step S106.

[0055] As a consequence, even if in the prior art scenario of Figure 1 high-end low-latency equipment is utilized such that the latency is, say, 1 second from a point in time where the ingest computer 103 receives the recorded data streams i02a-cfrom the cameras loia-c to a point in time where the high-quality data streams 104a- c arrive at the production datacentre 105 for editing by the mixer operator 107 via the production control application 106 (rather than the exemplifying 3 seconds of the embodiment of Figure 3 and 3), the editing by the mixer operator 107 will cause a considerable delay of, say, 2-2.5 seconds.

[0056] Hence, the throughput time from the point in time where the ingest computer 103 receives the recorded data streams i02a-c from the cameras loia-c to a point in time where the high-quality data streams loqa-c finally have been edited to generate the final data stream 108 to be transmitted to the viewers is about the same as that of the embodiment of Figures 2 and 3, albeit with a far more expensive equipment being utilized.

[0057] Advantageously, the system 200 of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 2 is thus capable of providing the same performance as the prior art system of Figure 1, albeit at a far lower cost.

[0058] In an optional embodiment, as also shown in Figure 2, the mixer operator 207 may, via the proxy editing unit 210, communicate with personnel at the event, such as a camera operator via a return feed 211. For instance, if the mixer operator 207 determines during the editing of the lower-quality data streams 2O4a’-2O4c’ that a different camera angle is to be applied or that some particular content should not be transmitted, then the camera operator(s) may comply with such request upon the mixer operator 207 performing the request via the return feed 211.

[0059] Again, while the ingest computer 202 and the production datacentre 205 - as well as the proxy editing unit 210 - typically are located geographically close to the actual event being recorded to minimize throughput time, the production control application 206 and the mixer operator 207 (and the multiview display 209) maybe located remote from the event.

[0060] Figures 4a-d show a schematic view of the ingest computer 203 in an embodiment applying a time stamp T to each frame of the acquired data streams 202a-c to be subsequently edited by the proxy editing unit 210 to create a final data stream 208 for transmission to the viewers.

[0061] Reference will further be made to the signalling diagram of Figure 5 illustrating the method of processing data streams for transmission to an audience according to an embodiment where the time stamping is applied.

[0062] Shown in Figure 4a are three data streams 202a-c being acquired by the ingest computer 203 in step S101. As illustrated in Figure 4b, upon receiving the three streams 202a-c, the ingest computer 203 assigns a time stamp T in step Sioia to a portion of each data stream referred to in the following as a frame. Segmenting data streams into frames is well-known in the art and will not be discussed in detail herein. In case of transmission over the Internet, these frames are commonly referred to as data packets. In the example of Figure 4b, the three streams are each segmented into 12 sequential frames, each associated with a time stamp T1-T12 in Sioia.

[0063] In an embodiment, a time indication referred to as International Atomic Time (TAI) is acquired by the ingest computer 203 and assigned to each frame. In other words, each frame (typically having a certain predetermined length) is associated upon receipt by the ingest computer 203 with the current TAI.

[0064] As previously described, the ingest computer 203 will generate, from the data streams 202a-c received by the ingest computer 202 in S101, the first set of data streams 204a, 204b, 204c and send to the production datacentre 205 in step S103 as well as the second set of lower-quality data streams 204a’, 204b’, 204c’ and send to the proxy editing unit 210 in step S103. In this particular embodiment, each frame of the data streams transmitted in steps S102 and S103 are associated with a time stamp T1-T12.

[0065] Figure 4c illustrates the desired editing scheme being applied by the mixer operator 207 in step S104 via the production control application 206 to the second set of lower-quality data streams 204a’, 204b’, 204c’ passing through the proxy editing unit 210 by taking into account the time stamping performed by the ingest computer 203 in Sioia.

[0066] As illustrated by means of the marked-up frames in Figure 4c, the editing scheme applied in this particular example indicates that frames of the second stream 204b’ stamped with Ti and T2 initially is to be selected for transmission, while frames T3 and T4 of the first stream 204a’ subsequently are selected for transmission, before frames T5, T6 and T7 of the second stream 204b’ are selected.

[0067] Thereafter, frames T8, T9 and T10 of the third stream 204c’ are selected, followed by frame Tn of the second stream 204b’ before ending with frame T12 of the first stream 204a4.

[0068] This editing scheme is sent to the production datacentre 205 in S105, where the editing scheme finally is applied to the high-quality streams 2O4a-c in order to create the final edited stream 208 illustrated in Figure 4d, which final stream 208 is transmitted to the viewers in step S106. As is understood, the editing of the higher-quality data streams 2043-2040 in the production datacentre 205 has the same appearance as the editing of the lower-quality data streams 204a’, 204b’, 204c illustrated in Figure 4c.

[0069] The editing scheme is typically continuously provided in S105 to the production datacentre 205 as it is applied by the mixer operator 207 to the lower- quality data streams 204a’, 204b’, 204c’ in the proxy editing unit 210 in S104. For instance, the first four frames Ti -T4 maybe edited and the corresponding editing scheme is provided in S105, followed by the next four frames T7 -T8 being edited and the corresponding editing scheme being provided in S105, and so on.

[0070] Editing and mixing of video and / or audio streams in a distributed setting where sources can be spread widely apart generally requires some means of timing to keep the streams synchronized. Distance, network-capacity, peripheral equipment throughput, etc., all adds to latency of the streams. When receiving the streams for editing and mixing, it is important that the streams all join-up correctly and that synchronization is maintained in order to provide a correct sequence of frames when providing the final edited data stream for transmission.

[0071] In the embodiment of Figures 43-d and 5, TAI is stamped on each video frame. TAI is an absolute time-format, meaning that no additional synchronization of sources is necessary.

[0072] Advantageously, since TAI is an absolute time-format, this is valuable information when maintaining synchronization of the data streams. The timing is kept intact and allows the video stream of an event to be reproduced, re-edited and mixed as long as the original video streams are available.

[0073] Figure 6a illustrates a scenario where due to e.g. different latencies in different transport paths in the system 200, the three streams 204a’-c’ are slightly shifted in time in relation to one another, and thus become unsynchronized.

[0074] However, as illustrated in Figure 6b, due to the time stamps T1-T12 being assigned to the data streams 202a-c in step 101a by the ingest computer 205, the proxy editing unit 210 (and ultimately the production datacenter 205) may still edit the streams 204a’-c’ (and ultimately streams 204a-c) such that each frame in the final edited stream is synchronized. This will generally require some buffering.

[0075] While in Figure 4d, a single edited data stream is transmitted to the viewers, it is envisaged in an embodiment that multiple customized streams are transmitted.

[0076] For instance, in the case of a cross-country skiing world cup race, it may be that e.g. a Swedish audience prefers a slightly different final data stream as compared to a Norwegian audience, potentially focusing more on the Swedish skiers and vice versa.

[0077] In another example, if a football match is to be transmitted, it may be that supporters of the home team prefers a different data stream than those of the away team.

[0078] In a further example, in case some viewers pay for a premium edition of an event, such as e.g. a live concert, it maybe that the data stream of the premium edition is based on more close-up camera views as compared to the non-premium edition.

[0079] Figure 7 illustrates such a scenario where a first edited final data stream identical to that of Figure 4d is transmitted to viewers of the non-premium edition, while a second edited final data stream is created comprising only frames of the data streams 204b and 204c recorded by more up-front cameras 201b and 201c (where the first six frames T1-T6 originate from the second stream 204b, while the following six frames T7-T12 originate from the third stream 204c). Thus, in such a scenario, a first editing scheme is applied to create the first final edited data stream while a second editing scheme is applied to create the second final edited data stream. While two final streams are illustrated to be created in Figure 7, any appropriate number of final streams (each potentially being different from the other) may be created andultimately transmitted in step S107, e.g. one being edited for transmission to Swedish viewers, another being edited for transmission to Norwegian viewers, yet another being edited for transmission to German viewers, etc.

[0080] Figure 8 illustrates a content production system 200 configured to process data streams for transmission to an audience according to an embodiment, where the steps of the method performed by the content production system 200 in practice are performed by multiple processing units arranged in the system 200, where generally each of the ingest computer 203, the production datacentre 205, the production control application 206 and the proxy editing unit 210 comprises one or more processing units. Thus, the content production system 200 comprises at least one processing unit 212 embodied in the form of one or more microprocessors arranged to execute a computer program 213 downloaded to a storage medium 214 associated with the microprocessor, such as a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Flash memory or a hard disk drive. The processing unit 212 is arranged to cause the system 200 to carry out the method according to embodiments when the appropriate computer program 213 comprising computer-executable instructions is downloaded to the storage medium 214 and executed by the processing unit 212. The storage medium 214 may also be a computer program product comprising the computer program 213. Alternatively, the computer program 213 maybe transferred to the storage medium 214 by means of a suitable computer program product, such as a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) or a memory stick. As a further alternative, the computer program 213 may be downloaded to the storage medium 214 over a network. The processing unit 212 may alternatively be embodied in the form of a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), etc. The system 200 further comprises a communication interface 215 (wired and / or wireless) over which the system 200 is configured to transmit and receive data.

[0081] The aspects of the present disclosure have mainly been described above with reference to a few embodiments and examples thereof. However, as is readily appreciated by a person skilled in the art, other embodiments than the ones disclosed above are equally possible within the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended patent claims.

[0082] Thus, while various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method of a content production system (200) of processing data streams for transmission to an audience, comprising: acquiring (S101) a set of data streams (202a-c) pertaining to an event to be presented to the audience; generating (S102), from the acquired set of data streams (202a-c), a first set of data streams (2oqa-c) to be edited for transmission to the audience; generating (S103), from the acquired set of data streams (202a-c), at least a second set of data streams (2O4a’-c’) being configured to constitute a lower-latency representation of the first set of data streams (2oqa-c); editing (S104) the second set of data streams (2O4a’-c’) according to an editing scheme; applying (S105), to the first set of data streams (2O4a-c), the editing performed on the second set of data streams (2O4a’-c’) according to said editing scheme to create at least one edited data stream (208) for transmission; and transmitting (S106) the at least one edited data stream (208) to the audience.

2. The method of claim 1, the generating (S103) of the second set of data streams (2O4a’-c’) configured to constitute a lower-latency representation of the first set of data streams (2O4a-c) comprising: configuring the second set of data streams (2O4a’-c’) to contain a lower amount of data than the first set of data streams (2O4a-c), thereby causing a delay between the first set of data streams (2O4a-c) and the second set of data streams (2O4a’-c’) being transported though the content production system (200), the caused delay allowing editing (S104) of the second set of data streams (2O4a’-c’) according to the editing scheme and providing said editing scheme to a production datacentre (205) of the content production system (200) before the first set of data streams (2O4a-c) arrives at the production datacentre (205), the production datacentre (205) being configured to apply (S105) the editing scheme to the first set of data streams (204a- c).

3. The method of claim 2, the configuring of the second set of data streams (204a’- c’) to contain a lower amount of data than the first set of data streams (2O4a-c) being performed to cause a delay of 2-3 seconds between the two sets of data streams.

4. The method of claim 3, the second set of data streams (2O4a’-c’) being configured to contain 0.5 - 1 % of the amount of data contained in the first set of data streams (2O4a-c).

5. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the generating (S102, S103) of the first set of data streams (2O4a-c) and the second set of data streams (2O4a’-c’) from the acquired set of data streams (202a-c) further comprises compressing the first set of data streams (2O4a-c) and the second set of data streams (2O4a’-c’).

6. The method of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: segmenting (Sioia) the acquired set of data streams (202a-c) into frames and assigning (Sioia) a time stamp to each frame of the acquired set of data streams (202a-c) to allow maintaining synchronization of the frames during the editing (S104).

7. The method of claim 6, the assigning (Sioia) of a time stamp to each frame being based on an acquired International Atomic Time, TAI.

8. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein a plurality of editing schemes are applied (S105) to the first set of data streams (2oqa-c) resulting in a corresponding plurality of edited data streams being created for transmission.

9. A computer program (213) comprising computer-executable instructions for causing a content production system (200) to perform steps recited in any one of claims 1-8 when the computer-executable instructions are executed on one or more processing units (212) included in the content production system (200).

10. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium (214), the computer readable medium having the computer program (213) according to claim 9 embodied thereon.

11. A content production system (200) configured to process data streams for transmission to an audience, the system (200) comprising one or more processing units (212) being configured to cause the system (200) to be operative to: acquire (S101) a set of data streams (202a-c) pertaining to an event to be presented to the audience; generate (S102), from the acquired set of data streams (202a-c), a first set of data streams (2o a-c) to be edited for transmission to the audience; generate (S103), from the acquired set of data streams (202a-c), at least a second set of data streams (204a’-c’) being configured to constitute a lower-latency representation of the first set of data streams (204a-c); edit (S104) the second set of data streams (204a’-c’) according to an editing scheme; apply (S105), to the first set of data streams (204a-c), the editing performed on the second set of data streams (204a’-c’) according to said editing scheme to create at least one edited data stream (208) for transmission; and transmit (S106) the at least one edited data stream (208) to the audience.

12. The content production system (200) of claim 11, further being operative to, when generating (S103) the second set of data streams (204a’-c’) configured to constitute a lower-latency representation of the first set of data streams (204a-c): configure the second set of data streams (204a’-c’) to contain a lower amount of data than the first set of data streams (204a-c), thereby causing a delay between the first set of data streams (204a-c) and the second set of data streams (204a’-c’) being transported though the content production system (200), the caused delay allowing editing (S104) of the second set of data streams (204a’-c’) according to the editing scheme and providing said editing scheme to a production datacentre (205) of the content production system (200) before the first set of data streams (204a-c) arrives at the production datacentre (205), the production datacentre (205) being configured to apply (S105) the editing scheme to the first set of data streams (204a-c).13- The content production system (200) of claim 12, the configuring of the second set of data streams (2O4a’-c’) to contain a lower amount of data than the first set of data streams (2O4a-c) being performed to cause a delay of 2-3 seconds between the two sets of data streams.

14. The content production system (200) of claim 13, the second set of data streams (2O4a’-c’) being configured to contain 0.5 - 1 % of the amount of data contained in the first set of data streams (2O4a-c).

15. The content production system (200) of any one of claims 12-14, further being operative to, when generating (S102, S103) the first set of data streams (2O4a-c) and the second set of data streams (2O4a’-c’) from the acquired set of data streams (202a- c), compressing the first set of data streams (2O4a-c) and the second set of data streams (2O4a’-c’).

16. The content production system (200) of any one of claims 12-15, further being operative to: segment (Sioia) the acquired set of data streams (202a-c) into frames and assigning (Sioia) a time stamp to each frame of the acquired set of data streams (202a-c) to allow maintaining synchronization of the frames during the editing (S104).

17. The content production system (200) of claim 16, the assigning (Sioia) of a time stamp to each frame being based on an acquired International Atomic Time, TAI.

18. The content production system (200) of any one of claims 12-17, wherein a plurality of editing schemes are applied (S105) to the first set of data streams (204a- c) resulting in a corresponding plurality of edited data streams being created for transmission.

Images