Selective Audio Compression for Accelerated Media Playback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional audio compression techniques for accelerated media playback fail to selectively compress specific audio segments within a predefined playback time period while maintaining user comprehension, as they cannot effectively determine which segments to play back and at what compression rates.
Innovation Solution
A system that analyzes audio segments for similarity, assigns priority weights, removes lower-priority segments if needed, and adjusts playback speeds to fit the predefined time, using real-time and historical location data to optimize playback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If audio segments are uniformly accelerated to match video playback speed, then playback time is reduced, but pitch increases making user comprehension difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different compression rates to different audio segments based on their content type and importance. Critical segments (dialogue, narration) maintain original speed and quality, while non-critical segments (music, sound effects) are compressed at higher rates, allowing time reduction without compromising user comprehension
Solution Approach 2:
The audio track is divided into multiple segments that are processed independently. Each segment is analyzed and assigned a compression rate based on its characteristics, enabling selective acceleration that maintains intelligibility while reducing overall playback time
2Speed
If audio compression is applied to accelerate playback, then playback speed increases, but audio quality and comprehension deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Different quality levels are applied to different audio segments. Critical segments maintain high quality with minimal or no compression, while non-critical segments use higher compression rates, achieving speed increase without uniformly degrading audio quality
Solution Approach 2:
Compression is selectively applied only to portions of the audio track where it is acceptable to lose some quality for the sake of time reduction, rather than applying compression uniformly to the entire audio track
3Device complexity
If all audio segments are processed at the same compression rate, then processing is simplified, but optimal playback time cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The audio track is segmented into multiple portions based on content analysis, and each segment is processed at an optimized compression rate. This segmentation enables precise control over playback time while managing processing complexity through automated classification
Solution Approach 2:
The compression rate parameter is dynamically adjusted based on segment characteristics. The system changes compression parameters (rate, quality level) for different segments to optimize the balance between processing complexity and playback time reduction
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are disclosed herein for selective audio segment compression for accelerated playback of media assets. A playback speed of the video segment of a media asset is calculated based on the duration of the video segment and a received playback time period. A priority weight for each of the various audio segments is then determined. The audio segments with the lowest priority weight are removed from the group of various audio segments. The system then determines whether the duration of the remaining audio segments exceeds the received playback time period. If so, the system modifies the remaining audio segments by removing another audio segment with the lowest priority weight from the remaining audio segments. The system then rechecks whether the received playback time period is exceeded. If not, the system generates for playback the video segment based on the video playback speed and the remaining audio segments.