Automatic Closed Captioning Based on User Behavior

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Users often miss important dialogue while watching content without closed captioning, requiring manual rewind and re-enabling, which is cumbersome and detracts from the viewing experience.

Innovation Solution

A system that automatically determines when to display closed captioning based on user behavior patterns, analyzing aggregated data to identify when multiple users request captioning on or off during specific parts of a program, allowing for automatic activation and deactivation during playback.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If closed captioning is manually turned on and off by users, then users can control when captioning is displayed, but users may miss important dialogue and have to rewind content, which is cumbersome and detracts from viewing enjoyment

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecaptioning availabilityVSAvoidmanual control convenience
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system automatically manages closed captioning display without requiring user intervention. It analyzes user behavior patterns (such as rewinding actions or volume adjustments) to autonomously determine when to activate or deactivate captioning, allowing the system to serve itself rather than requiring manual user control for each captioning decision

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system monitors user interactions with the content (such as rewinding, pausing, or volume changes) and uses this feedback to automatically adjust captioning display. When the system detects behaviors indicating the user may have missed dialogue, it automatically enables captioning in response to that feedback

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Reliability

If closed captioning is always displayed, then users never miss dialogue, but users cannot control when captioning is shown and may be disturbed during portions where audio is sufficient

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedialogue comprehensionVSAvoiduser preference adaptation
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The closed captioning display dynamically adjusts based on real-time user behavior rather than being statically always-on or always-off. The system continuously monitors user actions and adapts captioning display status accordingly, enabling seamless transitions between captioned and non-captioned states to match user needs throughout the viewing experience

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies different captioning display qualities to different time segments of the content based on local user behavior patterns. Rather than uniformly displaying captions throughout, it selectively applies captioning only to specific portions where user behavior indicates need, such as when rewinding occurs or volume is reduced, leaving other portions without captions when audio is sufficient

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Ease of operation

If the system automatically activates closed captioning based on user behavior, then manual intervention is reduced and viewing enjoyment is improved, but the system complexity increases due to behavior analysis requirements

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveautomatic controlVSAvoidbehavior analysis system
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses a multi-functional behavior analysis mechanism that serves multiple purposes: it monitors user interactions for captioning decisions, tracks viewing patterns for future recommendations, and analyzes engagement metrics for content optimization. This universal behavior analysis infrastructure supports automatic captioning activation while reducing overall system complexity through shared functionality

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP3542542B1Automatic display of closed captioning information
Publication Date: 2023.09.27 ROKU INC
  • EP3542542B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3542542B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3542542B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Disclosed herein are system, method, and computer program product embodiments for the automatic display of closed captioning information. An embodiment operates by accessing user behavior information for a program. It is determined, based on the user behavior information, that multiple closed captioning requests overlap during a portion of the program. A start time indicating when to begin and an end time indicating when to end display of closed captioning information for the overlapping portion is calculated. The program including the start time and the end time corresponding to the overlapping portion is provided for playback, wherein during a playback of the program, the closed captioning information is automatically displayed between the start time and the end time.