Automated DVD Menu Generation Using Scene Markers

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Solution Overview

Problem

The creation of menus and scene selections for DVD presentations is often time-consuming, requiring manual specification and association of scene selection links with video clips, necessitating an automated method for producing menus and scene selections from marked-up multi-image content.

Innovation Solution

A computerized method that identifies markers in multi-image content to generate scenes, allowing for automatic creation of menus and scene selections, which can be referenced and used to produce a packaged presentation on a DVD.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If manual specification and association of scene selection links with video clips is used, then precision of scene selection is improved, but time consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvescene selection precisionVSAvoidmenu creation time

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

Markers are placed on video clips during the editing process in application 110 before the DVD packaging process. This preliminary action captures scene selection information in advance, so that during DVD authoring in application 105, the markers are automatically processed to generate scene selections without requiring manual specification, thus resolving the contradiction between precision and time consumption

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The marker information from the editing application is copied and transferred to the DVD packaging application. This copying mechanism preserves the scene selection data without requiring re-entry or manual re-specification, maintaining precision while eliminating redundant manual work and reducing time consumption

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

2Productivity

If automated generation of menus and scene selections is implemented, then productivity is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveDVD presentation production speedVSAvoidprocess complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

Markers serve as an intermediary data structure between the video editing application and the DVD packaging application. These markers carry scene selection information through the interface between applications, enabling automated processing without requiring complex integration logic, thus improving productivity while keeping the manufacturing process manageable

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The automated menu generation process is segmented into distinct steps: marker identification, scene selection generation, and menu assembly. This segmentation allows each step to be handled independently with clear input-output relationships, reducing overall process complexity while maintaining high productivity through automation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS7694225B1Method and apparatus for producing a packaged presentation

Publication Date: 2010.04.06 APPLE INC

AI summary

Some embodiments of the invention provide a computerized method for creating a scene selection from a marker for a multi-image content. The method allows identification of a multi-image content. The multi-image content includes several markers. Each marker represents an image of the multi-image content. The markers are identified to generate several scenes. Each generated scene is referenced to its corresponding marker from which it is identified.