Identification and Timing Data for Media Synchronization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current multimedia systems fail to effectively leverage advanced capabilities for content delivery and consumption, as they often rely on 'dumb' methods that do not fully utilize the potential of smart devices, leading to inadequate synchronization and personalized experiences for media content.
Innovation Solution
The use of Identification-and-Timing (IAT) data to enable the creation, delivery, and synchronized consumption of media content, allowing for personalized audio, interactive secondary content, and synchronized delivery of primary and companion content by embedding timing information directly into media streams without modifying the content, thus improving user experiences and compatibility with existing technologies.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional 'dumb' content delivery methods are used, then compatibility with existing systems is maintained, but synchronization accuracy and personalized experience capabilities deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the timing information from the media content by introducing a separate IAT data structure that carries timing metadata independently from the actual media frames. This allows the timing data to be processed separately for synchronization purposes without modifying the media content itself, thereby improving synchronization accuracy while maintaining system compatibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary IAT data structure that acts as a mediator between the media content and the playback system. This intermediary carries timing information that enables precise synchronization without requiring changes to the media content or the existing playback infrastructure, thus improving measurement precision without proportionally increasing device complexity.
2Productivity
If timing information is embedded into media streams, then synchronization capability is improved, but data processing overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts timing information from the media content stream and places it in a separate IAT data structure. This extraction allows the timing data to be processed independently and efficiently, improving content delivery efficiency without significantly increasing the overall data volume, as the timing metadata is compact and can be generated once during content creation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter representation by using efficient data structures for timing information (such as timestamps and frame identifiers) that convey precise timing data with minimal overhead. This allows accurate synchronization to be achieved with a small increase in data volume, as the timing parameters are encoded in a compact format.
3Reliability
If advanced media processing capabilities are utilized, then user experience quality is improved, but memory requirements and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-generating and embedding IAT timing data during the media content creation and encoding process. This allows playback devices to simply read and use the pre-computed timing information without performing complex real-time analysis, thereby improving user experience quality while minimizing computational resource consumption during playback.
Solution Approach 2:
The media content itself carries its own timing information through the IAT data structure, enabling it to be self-sufficient for synchronization purposes. This eliminates the need for external timing services or complex device-side timing analysis, reducing computational resource consumption while maintaining high reliability of the user experience.
Data Source
AI summary
An input media signal that carries input media content is received. The input media content is used to generate output media content in an output media signal. It is determined whether identification-and-timing (IAT) data is to be authored for the output media content. In response to determining that the output IAT data is to be authored for the output media content, output IAT data is authored for the output media content. At least a part of the output IAT data for at least a part of the output media content is encoded, along with the part of the output media content, into the output media signal. In some example scenarios, this output media signal then contains the IAT data and other related data for synchronization of additional media content with the output media content in content rendering/presentation operations.