Media Program Identification Across Content Sources
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge lies in locating related media programming across various content sources, as different sources use diverse formats and techniques for metadata, making it difficult for viewers to find specific programs across broadcast, on-demand, and online platforms.
Innovation Solution
A media distribution system that includes a server with a processor to identify media programs from multiple sources by formatting media data objects with uniform identifiers, allowing for combined search results across different content sources, such as digital video recorders, broadcast sources, and online programming sources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate searches are conducted for each content source using different metadata formats, then comprehensive coverage of all content sources is achieved, but search complexity and time consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary component that translates and normalizes metadata from different content sources into a unified format. This intermediary layer handles the format conversion between various metadata schemas (e.g., MPEG-7, SMIL, XMP) and the system's standardized format, enabling seamless integration of multiple content sources without increasing search complexity for end users.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the parameter format of metadata by applying transformation rules that convert source-specific metadata parameters into standardized parameters. This parameter normalization process allows the search system to handle diverse metadata formats uniformly, maintaining versatility while reducing operational complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple metadata formats are supported from different content sources, then content compatibility is improved, but data processing and comparison difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements homogeneity by enforcing a standardized metadata schema across all content sources. The system defines a universal metadata structure with consistent field names, data types, and formats that all content providers must adhere to. This homogeneous approach simplifies data processing and comparison while maintaining compatibility through the standardized interface.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary translation layer converts heterogeneous metadata from various sources into the standardized homogeneous format. This mediator handles format conversion, data validation, and normalization, reducing the processing difficulty by presenting a uniform data structure to the search and comparison operations.
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive metadata from all content sources is collected, then search accuracy is improved, but information processing time and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-processing and normalizing metadata during content ingestion rather than during search operations. Metadata is validated, transformed, and indexed in advance with standardized formats, so that during search operations, the system only needs to perform efficient queries on already-processed data, significantly reducing processing time while maintaining accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the metadata processing into distinct stages: collection, validation, normalization, indexing, and querying. By dividing the comprehensive metadata processing into manageable segments, the system can process information efficiently at each stage without overwhelming the system, maintaining search accuracy while reducing overall processing time.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are provided for identifying instances of media programming available within a media distribution system. An exemplary method involves searching a listing of media programming available from a first content source using search criteria indicative of a desired media program to identify an instance of the desired media program available from the first content source, obtaining a target program identifier associated with the desired media program from that instance, identifying another instance of the desired media program in a second listing of media programming available from another content source using the target program identifier, and providing a combined search result that indicates availability of the desired media program from the content sources.