Time-Stamped Mark Objects for Media Metadata Retrieval
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Solution Overview
Problem
Media players often lack the ability to provide users with detailed information about specific moments in media content, such as the instruments played or locations in a scene, beyond basic metadata like 'now playing' or radio station genres.
Innovation Solution
A media player can accept user input to create a 'mark object' during playback, which uses metadata organized by time to search for additional information, including keywords or URLs, allowing for local or remote searches to retrieve related data, such as artist names, instrument types, or location details.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If basic metadata like 'now playing' or radio station genres is provided, then the media player can display simple information, but detailed information about specific moments in media content (instruments, locations, etc.) cannot be provided
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments media content information by creating time-stamped mark objects that divide the media content into discrete segments with associated metadata. Each mark object contains a reference to a specific time point in the media content and links to detailed information about that segment (instruments, locations, people, etc.), allowing detailed information retrieval without requiring the entire system to be complex.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces mark objects as intermediary elements between the media content and detailed information. These mark objects serve as mediators that store time references and link to external metadata sources, enabling the media player to access detailed information without directly integrating complex databases or processing systems into the player itself.
2Adaptability or versatility
If detailed information about specific moments in media content is provided, then user experience is enhanced, but the media player requires additional functionality beyond basic playback
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-creating mark objects with time references and associated metadata during media content production or pre-processing. This allows the media player to simply retrieve and display pre-prepared information without requiring complex real-time analysis or user-initiated searches, maintaining ease of operation while providing detailed information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback by allowing users to interact with the media content (such as pausing or seeking to specific points) and automatically retrieving relevant detailed information based on the current playback position. The system provides feedback information about the media content at the current time point without requiring explicit user requests for each piece of information.
3Measurement precision
If metadata is organized by time to enable detailed searches, then information about specific time points can be retrieved, but additional data processing is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments metadata into discrete mark objects, each associated with a specific time point or time range in the media content. This segmentation allows the system to quickly locate and retrieve only the metadata relevant to the current playback position without processing or searching through entire metadata sets, improving data processing efficiency while maintaining time-specific accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-organizing metadata into time-stamped mark objects during content production or pre-processing. This preliminary organization enables efficient real-time retrieval during playback, as the system only needs to match the current playback time with pre-sorted mark objects rather than performing complex searches during actual use.
Data Source
AI summary
A media object being played by a user may be marked by creating a mark object comprising the playback time when the mark was created. The time may be used to reference metadata with information about the media object at the time referenced. The metadata may be used to launch web searches corresponding to elements of the media at the time in question, for example, a back up singer at a point in a music track or the name of a resort in a movie. The searches may be performed from media player or the mark object may be transferred to a networked computer for performing the searches. The technique is equally applicable to portable media players, software or firmware media players on computers, or set top boxes.