Crossfade Metadata for Seamless Playlist Playback

Solution Overview

Problem

Online media content providers lack tools to efficiently share and disseminate curated playlists or mixes of content, requiring users to download or stream large files for each interpretation, leading to inefficient network traffic and user experience issues.

Innovation Solution

A content curation service that generates metadata for crossfade transitions, allowing seamless playback by identifying time encoding information and crossfade points, enabling users to create and share unique playlist interpretations without retransmitting entire files, and providing a user interface for selecting and modifying metadata for improved listening experiences.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If users download or stream large files for each playlist interpretation, then complete content availability is achieved, but network traffic increases and access time is extended

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent availabilityVSAvoidaccess time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the playlist interpretation into two separate components: the base content file and the metadata file containing crossfade points. This allows users to download the large content file once and reuse it with multiple smaller metadata files representing different interpretations, reducing redundant network traffic while maintaining complete content availability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of copying and retransmitting entire playlist files for each interpretation, the system generates and transmits only small metadata copies that reference the base content file. These metadata files contain crossfade point information that can be applied to the original content file, achieving multiple interpretations without redundant data transmission.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

2Reliability

If users download or stream large files for each playlist interpretation, then complete content availability is achieved, but network traffic increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontent availabilityVSAvoidnetwork traffic

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the playlist interpretation into two separate components: the base content file and the metadata file containing crossfade points. This allows users to download the large content file once and reuse it with multiple smaller metadata files representing different interpretations, reducing redundant network traffic while maintaining complete content availability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of copying and retransmitting entire playlist files for each interpretation, the system generates and transmits only small metadata copies that reference the base content file. These metadata files contain crossfade point information that can be applied to the original content file, achieving multiple interpretations without redundant data transmission.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

3Ease of manufacture

If crossfade points are generated without considering audio information, then metadata generation is simplified, but disruptive transitions occur during playback

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemetadata generationVSAvoidplayback quality

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary analysis of audio information (such as lyrics timing and audio characteristics) before generating crossfade points. This preliminary action ensures that crossfade transitions are placed at appropriate locations in the audio content, avoiding disruptive transitions during important audio segments while maintaining efficient metadata generation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS10417279B1Customized cross fades for continuous and seamless playback

Publication Date: 2019.09.17 AMAZON TECH INC

AI summary

Systems and methods are provided for curating playlists of content for provisioning and presenting to users a seamless cross fade experience from one piece of content to the next within the playlist. In embodiments, information that identifies portions of content without audio or video data may be maintained. Further, metadata may be generated that identifies a cross fade points for the content in response to receiving input from a user device of a user. In an embodiment, each cross fade point may identify a time window of the content for interleaving with other content. In accordance with at least one embodiment, the metadata may be transmitted based at least in part on a selection of the metadata for the content.