Media Asset Synchronization via Feature Comparison and Offset Adjustment

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional systems fail to accurately synchronize playback of media assets from different sources due to the lack of closed caption text and varying timing of additional content, leading to distracting acceleration or deceleration of playback to align the media assets.

Innovation Solution

A media guidance application compares features in media assets from multiple sources, determining the synchronization offset and either transmits supplemental content or pauses playback to align the sources without significantly affecting the user experience.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional systems accelerate or decelerate playback to align media assets from different sources, then the media assets can be synchronized, but the playback quality is degraded and user experience is distracted

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesynchronization accuracyVSAvoidplayback quality degradation

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary analysis of media assets from multiple sources before playback begins, detecting features and calculating synchronization offsets in advance. This allows the system to determine the appropriate synchronization strategy (supplemental content transmission or playback pause) before the actual playback starts, avoiding the need for distracting acceleration or deceleration during viewing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces an intermediary synchronization mechanism that compares media assets from different sources and inserts supplemental content or pauses playback to align timing. This intermediary approach avoids directly manipulating the playback speed of the original media assets, thereby preserving playback quality while achieving synchronization.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If conventional systems use closed caption text to align media assets, then synchronization can be achieved, but the method fails when closed captions are not available or timing varies

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesynchronization capabilityVSAvoidcompatibility with all media sources

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of relying on closed caption text, the system creates visual and audio feature representations (fingerprints) of the media assets. These feature copies are extracted and compared across different sources to determine synchronization offset, enabling the system to synchronize media assets without requiring closed captions to be present or accurate.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The system replaces the mechanical reliance on closed caption text with a digital feature extraction and comparison mechanism. By analyzing visual frames and audio characteristics directly from the media streams, the system achieves synchronization without the limitations of closed caption dependency, thereby improving adaptability across different media sources.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Reliability

If the media guidance application transmits supplemental content to synchronize sources, then synchronization is achieved, but additional content is added to the playback

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesynchronization accuracyVSAvoidtotal content duration

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies different synchronization strategies to different scenarios based on the calculated time offset. When the offset is large, supplemental content is transmitted to the ahead source. When the offset is small, playback is simply paused. This localized quality adjustment minimizes the addition of supplemental content while maintaining synchronization accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the synchronization parameter (supplemental content transmission vs. playback pause) based on the magnitude of the time offset between sources. By dynamically adjusting this parameter, the system achieves synchronization with minimal supplemental content addition, preserving the original content duration as much as possible.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS10419794B2Systems and methods for synchronizing media asset playback from multiple sources

Publication Date: 2019.09.17 ROVI PRODUCT CORP

AI summary

Systems and methods are described herein for synchronizing playback of media assets from multiple sources. For example, if a media asset is being delivered from two sources, a media guidance application may compare features in the media asset from the two sources and determine the amount of time that the two sources are out of synchronization. If the amount of time is greater than a threshold amount of time, the media guidance application may transmit supplemental content to a device receiving the media asset from the source that is ahead, such that the two sources are synchronized after the supplemental content is finished. If the amount of time is less than a threshold amount of time, the media guidance application may instruct the device receiving the media asset from the source that is ahead to pause the media asset until the two sources are synchronized.