Live-Stream Event Clock Detection for Synchronized Annotations

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing content delivery platforms face high computational resource usage due to the need for computationally intensive analytics on multiple live-stream media items of the same event to synchronize annotation content, which increases latency and resource demands.

Innovation Solution

Identify a reference point, such as an event clock and event period, within frames of media items and generate mapping data to apply annotation content across multiple media items without re-analyzing them, using the event clock and period as a common reference.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If computationally intensive analytics are performed on multiple live-stream media items to synchronize annotation content, then annotation synchronization accuracy is improved, but computational resource usage increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveannotation synchronization accuracyVSAvoidcomputational resource usage
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an event clock as an intermediary reference that mediates between multiple live-stream media items. Instead of performing complex analytics to directly synchronize annotations across multiple items, the system uses the event clock as a common reference point that all items can independently align to, significantly reducing computational requirements while maintaining synchronization accuracy

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system extracts timing information from the event clock and copies it to multiple media items as a reference. This allows all media items to use the same timing reference without requiring continuous complex analysis, reducing computational load while maintaining precise annotation synchronization

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

2Measurement precision

If computationally intensive analytics are performed on multiple live-stream media items to synchronize annotation content, then annotation synchronization accuracy is improved, but latency increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveannotation synchronization accuracyVSAvoidlatency
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary extraction of event clock timing information from media items during the buffering period before live delivery. By preparing the timing reference in advance rather than computing it in real-time, the system reduces latency while maintaining synchronization accuracy during the actual broadcast

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The event clock serves as a pre-established intermediary reference that eliminates the need for real-time complex analytics. All synchronization decisions are based on this pre-extracted timing information, significantly reducing processing latency while maintaining accurate annotation synchronization

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Measurement precision

If computationally intensive analytics are performed on multiple live-stream media items, then annotation content synchronization is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveannotation synchronization accuracyVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts only the essential timing information (event clock) from media items during buffering, separating this critical synchronization data from the rest of the media content. This extraction approach simplifies the system by focusing only on the necessary timing reference rather than performing comprehensive complex analytics on all media data

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system copies the extracted event clock timing reference to all media items that need synchronization. This simple copying mechanism replaces complex inter-item analysis, reducing system complexity while maintaining the ability to synchronize annotations across multiple items accurately

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentEP3794465B1Event progress detection in media items
Publication Date: 2025.07.30 GOOGLE LLC
  • EP3794465B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3794465B1 patent drawingFigure 2A
  • EP3794465B1 patent drawingFigure 2B

AI summary

One or more frames sampled from a media item of an event that is concurrently being streamed to one or more users of a content delivery platform are received. The one or more frames are analyzed to identify one or more candidate event clocks within the one or more frames. Whether a candidate event clock of the one or more candidate event clocks satisfies one or more conditions for each of the one or more frames is determined. Responsive to determining that the candidate event clock of the one or more candidate event clocks satisfies the one or more conditions, the candidate event clock is identified as an actual event clock used to time the event and mapping data that maps the actual event clock to a timestamp associated with a respective frame of the one or more frames of the media item is generated.