Media Scroll-Line Selection With Fixed Markers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable electronic devices face challenges in accurately and efficiently selecting and editing media content due to limited screen size, making it difficult to select precise segments of audio or video files for tasks like creating ringtones or clips, as existing methods require extensive use of zoom controls and scrolling, which can be time-consuming and cumbersome.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus displays a partial media scroll-line allowing user input to mark start and end points and scroll the media timeline relative to the selection segment, enabling repositioning without moving the markers, thus allowing accurate selection and editing of media content segments without needing to use zoom functions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the entire media scroll-line is displayed on a portable device screen, then the user can see the full media timeline, but the screen size limitation makes it difficult to select precise segments accurately
Solution Approach 1:
The media scroll-line is divided into multiple segments that can be displayed separately. The display shows a current segment with markers, while other segments are available for scrolling. This segmentation allows the limited screen area to present detailed views of specific portions, enabling accurate marker placement without requiring the entire timeline to be visible simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces scrolling as an additional dimension of interaction. Instead of trying to fit the entire timeline into the limited 2D screen space, the system allows users to navigate through different temporal segments by scrolling. This transforms the problem from a spatial constraint into a temporal navigation task, maintaining measurement precision while adapting to the display area limitation.
2Measurement precision
If zoom controls are used to enlarge the media scroll-line for precise selection, then selection accuracy improves, but the process becomes time-consuming and cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-loads and makes available multiple segments of the media scroll-line through scrolling, so that when users need to select a precise segment, the relevant portion is already displayed at the appropriate scale. This eliminates the need for iterative zooming operations, as the desired level of detail is readily accessible through efficient scrolling navigation rather than progressive magnification.
Solution Approach 2:
The display dynamically adjusts which segment of the media scroll-line is visible based on user scrolling input, rather than requiring static zoom operations. This dynamic repositioning allows users to quickly navigate to any segment of interest and perform selections without the time-consuming process of repeatedly adjusting zoom levels to find the optimal viewing scale.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the media scroll-line is scrolled to reposition markers, then the selection segment moves to different portions, but traditional scrolling moves both the scroll-line and markers together making precise repositioning difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the markers from the scrolling motion. When users scroll the media scroll-line, only the scroll-line background moves while the markers remain fixed in their positions. This separation allows users to navigate to different segments and then independently adjust marker positions without the complexity of managing both scroll-line and marker movement simultaneously, greatly simplifying the repositioning operation.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of moving markers along with the scroll-line during scrolling (the conventional approach), the system inverts this behavior by keeping markers stationary while the scroll-line moves beneath them. This reversed approach provides greater control and simplicity, allowing users to first position the scroll-line to show the desired segment, then independently adjust markers if needed, rather than trying to coordinate both movements.
Data Source
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AI summary
An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: display a partial portion of a media scroll-line on a display; allow user marking input of respective start and end points to the partial portion of the media scroll-line, the marked start point and end point together defining a selection segment of the partial portion; and allow user scrolling input to the media scroll-line itself to scroll the media scroll-line on the display relative to the selection segment to re-position the selection segment to a different partial portion of the media scroll-line to allow for selection of the re-positioned selection segment.