Media Synopsis Delivery via Intermediary Device
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
When a user joins a shared television system mid-program, existing technologies do not provide a seamless way to catch up on missed content without interrupting the viewing experience of others, as they often require manual intervention or may not account for the user's preferences and viewing context.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that detects a request for a synopsis of a missed media program segment, identifies relevant subject matter from upcoming content, determines an optimal presentation time, and generates a summary to be presented at that time, considering user preferences and the viewing context, using metadata analysis and automated video summarization techniques.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a user invokes a playback session with a digital video recorder to view a recorded program, then the user can access missed content, but the viewing experience of other users on the same television system is interrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary device (such as a mobile phone, tablet, or portable media player) that acts as a mediator between the digital video recorder and the user. This intermediary allows the user to view missed content on a personal device while the main television system continues to play the program for other users without interruption. The intermediary receives the playback signal from the DVR and displays it separately, thus resolving the conflict between accessing missed content and maintaining uninterrupted viewing for others.
2Speed
If a user watches a program on a shared television system, then the user can view content in real-time, but the user cannot catch up on missed portions without disrupting the ongoing presentation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the program content into different portions: the main program continues to play on the television system for real-time viewing, while missed segments are separately extracted and made available for playback on an intermediary device. This segmentation allows users to simultaneously access real-time content on the main display and catch up on missed segments on a personal device without one affecting the other.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by recording and storing the program content in advance on the digital video recorder. This pre-recording enables the content to be made available for later playback on an intermediary device, allowing users to catch up on missed segments at their convenience without disrupting the real-time presentation on the main television system.
3Loss of information
If the system provides a synopsis of missed content, then the user can catch up on important information, but the presentation of the synopsis may interrupt the ongoing program
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the synopsis of missed content from the main program flow and presents it separately on an intermediary device. This extraction allows the synopsis to be delivered to the user without interrupting the ongoing program on the main television system. The synopsis is taken out from the continuous playback stream and made available as a separate information stream on the user's personal device.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds another dimension to the content delivery by providing the synopsis through a different channel (the intermediary device) rather than interrupting the main program flow. This dimensional separation allows users to access missed information in parallel with the ongoing program, eliminating the need to pause or interrupt the main presentation for synopsis delivery.
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, facilitating access to a synopsis of a missed portion of a media program, identifying subject matter in a segment of content in the media program that has not been presented, determining a particular time for presenting the summary according to the subject matter in the segment of content, and initiating a presentation of the summary at the particular time. Other embodiments are disclosed.