Distributed Video Annotation via Media Flow Engine
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current digital video editing systems face challenges in efficiently merging human-sourced annotations with broadcast files, especially for live events, as they require dedicated personnel and high bitrate digital video manipulation, limiting real-time editing and scalability.
Innovation Solution
A system and method utilizing a media flow engine in communication with clients and a workflow service to perform digital video editing in near real-time, allowing multiple video feeds to be edited efficiently without local access or high bitrates, using distributed annotation systems and transcoding to enable remote, high-information content annotation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If dedicated personnel occupy computer monitors to enter annotations directly at the editing device, then annotation accuracy is improved, but system complexity and operational difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a centralized annotation server as an intermediary between annotators and the video editing system. Annotators submit annotations through simplified client interfaces, and the server handles the complex processing of merging annotations with broadcast files, thereby reducing local system complexity while maintaining annotation accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a separate annotation data layer that copies and processes metadata independently from the high-bitrate video data. This allows annotations to be handled as lightweight data structures rather than requiring direct manipulation of complex video streams, simplifying the overall system architecture
2Manufacturing precision
If high bitrate digital video is manipulated locally at the editing device, then video quality is maintained, but bandwidth requirements and data transmission costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments video processing into two distinct components: quality-preserving video data remains stored centrally without local manipulation, while annotation operations are performed on separate metadata representations. This segmentation allows video quality to be maintained through centralized storage while bandwidth is reduced by processing only lightweight annotation data locally
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates simplified proxy representations of video content that contain only the necessary temporal and spatial information for annotation purposes. These copies enable annotators to work with low-bandwidth data while the original high-quality video remains intact in centralized storage, eliminating the need to transmit or manipulate high-bitrate video locally
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple video feeds are edited simultaneously with local access requirements, then editing capability is provided, but scalability and remote access are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The centralized annotation server acts as a mediator that enables multiple annotators to simultaneously access and annotate different video feeds from remote locations. The server manages concurrent connections, coordinates annotation activities, and merges results, providing full editing capability without requiring local video access and enabling scalable remote participation
4Loss of time
If annotations are merged with broadcast files in real-time for live events, then timeliness is improved, but processing complexity and time requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the annotation workflow into independent, parallelizable tasks that can be distributed across multiple processing units. By dividing the merging process into discrete operations that can execute concurrently, the system achieves real-time processing for live events while reducing the complexity burden on any single processing unit through task distribution
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for having a media engine, client, workflow engine and server. The media engine takes digital or analog real-time video or video-on-demand as an input. Clients connect to the media engine, workflow engine and server. Depending on the client's capabilities, including software features, training and location, the workflow engine will drive required units of work to the client asking them to be fulfilled. This system enables efficient offline, real-time or faster than real-time editing, tagging and indexing of media by one or more clients at the same time. Unlimited numbers of users, tags and indexing functions to take place in parallel on a single video feed at the same time and managed through a rule based workflow engine.