Media Clip Sharing via Waypoint Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional media player devices lack the ability to conveniently share specific portions of digital media content, such as media clips, with others, especially when they are not present in the same location or time, due to limitations in time and location shifting capabilities and network bandwidth requirements.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that allows users to define waypoints marking the beginning and end of media clips, which are then communicated to another media player device along with meta-data, enabling the extraction and sharing of only the relevant media clips, rather than the entire content, thereby preserving network bandwidth and facilitating quick transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If location shifting is used to redirect the entire stream of digital media content from a first media player device to a second media player device, then the user can access content on a remote device, but the network bandwidth and throughput rate requirements become excessively high, especially for high quality formats
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the digital media content into distinct portions or clips, allowing the user to select and share only specific segments rather than the entire content stream. This is achieved through the clip sharing module that identifies and extracts particular portions of the content based on user selection, thereby reducing the quantity of data that needs to be transmitted over the network while maintaining content access flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts only the necessary portions of digital media content that the user wants to share, rather than transmitting the entire content stream. The clip sharing module extracts specific clips or segments from the original content, and only these extracted portions are transmitted to the remote device, significantly reducing network bandwidth consumption while preserving the ability to access content flexibly.
2Reliability
If the entire selection of digital media content is transferred from one media player device to another, then complete content sharing is achieved, but the transfer time and network resources are excessively consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the digital media content into manageable clips or segments, allowing selective sharing of only the portions the user intends to share. The clip sharing module processes and transmits only these segmented clips rather than the entire content, thereby maintaining reliable content sharing for the selected portions while dramatically reducing transfer time and network resource consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial action by transferring only the specific portions of digital media content that the user wants to share, rather than transferring the entire content. The clip sharing module enables users to select and share only relevant clips, achieving sufficient content sharing reliability for the intended purpose while minimizing transfer time and network usage.
3Ease of operation
If conventional media player devices record digital media content for time shifting, then users can view content at a convenient time, but the ability to share recorded content with other devices is not provided
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the time shifting functionality with the clip sharing capability into a single integrated system. The media player device records digital media content for time shifting, and the same device includes a clip sharing module that enables users to select and share specific clips from the recorded content with remote devices. This combination provides both time shifting convenience and content sharing versatility without requiring separate systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements multi-functionality by designing the media player device to perform both time shifting and clip sharing operations. The device can record content for later viewing and also extract and share specific clips with other devices, making it a universal platform that handles multiple content management tasks through integrated functionality.
4Adaptability or versatility
If high quality digital media content is streamed in near real time to a remote device, then location shifting is achieved, but the network bandwidth requirements are not always met, making location shifting not always viable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the high quality digital media content into smaller clips, allowing the user to select and share only specific portions. This segmentation reduces the total data transfer volume required for location shifting, making it viable even when network bandwidth is limited, while still providing the adaptability of accessing content on remote devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts only the necessary clips from the high quality digital media content that the user wants to share, rather than transmitting the entire high bandwidth content stream. This extraction approach reduces the data transfer volume to only what is essential, enabling location shifting functionality to work reliably even under constrained network bandwidth conditions.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for generating and sharing media clips are described. Consistent with some embodiments, while a selection of digital media content (e.g., a movie, television program, audio track, and so on) is being presented at a media player, a user creates one or more sets of waypoints (e.g., time markers) that define the boundaries (e.g., beginning and end) of one or more media clips. These waypoints are communicated from one media player device to another, enabling the receiving media player device to retrieve and play back the media clips from a source other than the media player device where the waypoints were generated.