Media Clip Synchronization Using Inconsistency Measures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for synchronizing media clips recorded by diverse devices lack a global synchronization solution, as they often propagate errors and are not adaptable to continuously expanding collections of media clips, leading to inconsistencies and challenges in aligning recordings with a global time reference.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that calculate pairwise relative time offsets and inconsistency measures using at least three relative time offsets, employing a minimum-spanning tree algorithm to synchronize media clips, ensuring global synchronization and adaptability to new additions, even if errors occur in pairwise matching.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If pairwise synchronization methods are used to align media clips, then synchronization can be achieved for pairs of clips, but errors propagate and global synchronization consistency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges pairwise synchronization results into a global synchronization framework by calculating inconsistency measures that aggregate errors across multiple pairs. This combining approach allows the system to maintain high precision for individual pair alignments while detecting and correcting propagation errors through global consistency checks, thereby resolving the contradiction between pair-level precision and global reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms through inconsistency measures that continuously monitor and evaluate the consistency of synchronization results across multiple media clip pairs. When inconsistencies are detected, the system uses this feedback to adjust and refine the synchronization parameters, ensuring global consistency while maintaining pair-level precision. This feedback loop prevents error propagation and maintains both precision and reliability.
2Productivity
If traditional synchronization methods are used, then existing media clips can be synchronized, but the system cannot adapt to continuously expanding collections of media clips
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the synchronization system adaptable to continuously expanding collections of media clips. The inconsistency measure calculations and MST updates are designed to dynamically adjust when new clips are added, allowing the system to maintain synchronization accuracy without requiring complete reprocessing. This dynamic approach enables the system to handle growing datasets while preserving both throughput and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses preliminary action by pre-calculating and storing inconsistency measures and MST structures for existing media clips before new clips are added. When new clips arrive, the system can leverage these pre-computed structures to quickly integrate the new clips into the global synchronization framework, avoiding the need to reprocess all existing clips. This preliminary preparation maintains high productivity while enabling continuous adaptation to expanding collections.
3Measurement precision
If pairwise relative time offsets are calculated for all media clip pairs, then comprehensive synchronization information is obtained, but computational complexity increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the complete set of pairwise time offset calculations into manageable segments based on the MST structure. Instead of processing all possible pairs uniformly, the system segments the synchronization graph into a spanning tree structure that selects the most critical pairwise relationships. This segmentation reduces computational complexity while maintaining measurement precision by focusing calculations on the essential synchronization paths rather than all possible pairs.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by assigning different levels of computational effort to different pairs of media clips based on their importance in the synchronization graph. Pairs that form critical paths in the MST receive more computational resources for precise time offset measurement, while less critical pairs receive reduced attention. This local differentiation maintains high accuracy for essential synchronization relationships while significantly reducing overall computational complexity compared to uniform processing of all pairs.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system include identifying a plurality of media clips pertaining to an event, for each pair of the plurality of media clips, calculating pairwise relative time offsets for pairs of media clips from the plurality of media clips, calculating, by a processing device, an inconsistency measure, in which the inconsistency measure of a pair of media clips is calculated using at least three relative time offsets and one of the at least three relative time offsets is a relative time offset of the pair of media clips, and synchronizing the plurality of media clips based on resulting calculated inconsistency measures.