Overlay Content Insertion via Tag Matching in Compressed Video
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for inserting overlay content into video signals, especially those using compression standards like MPEG, face challenges such as video quality degradation and high costs due to the need for decoders and encoders, and struggle with maintaining synchronization and modifying compressed video signals.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that append tags with identifying information to both video and overlay content signals, allowing for the selection and insertion of overlay content without separate decoders and encoders, enabling close correlation and modification of compressed video signals, and supporting advanced transrating systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a decoder and encoder are used to insert overlay content into a video signal, then the overlay content can be inserted, but the video quality degrades and the cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-tagging video segments and overlay content with identification information before the insertion process. This allows the overlay content to be matched and inserted into the correct video segments without requiring full decoding and re-encoding, thereby maintaining video quality while enabling overlay insertion.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts only the necessary identification tags from the video signal and overlay content, rather than processing the entire video stream through decoders and encoders. This selective extraction approach enables overlay insertion while avoiding the quality degradation associated with full decode-reencode cycles.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a decoder and encoder are used to insert overlay content into a video signal, then the overlay content can be inserted, but the cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential identification tags from video and overlay content, eliminating the need for expensive decoder and encoder hardware. This extraction-based approach significantly reduces system cost while maintaining overlay insertion functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses tag copying and matching instead of full video signal copying through decoders and encoders. By working with small tag data rather than entire video streams, the system achieves overlay insertion capability with minimal hardware requirements and reduced cost.
3Productivity
If motion compensation is used in compressed video signals, then compression efficiency is improved, but synchronization is destroyed when frames are altered
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by tagging video segments before compression and alteration. This pre-tagging ensures that even when motion compensation alters frame data, the identification tags remain intact and can restore synchronization by correctly identifying which overlay content belongs to which video segment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces identification tags as an intermediary between the compressed video signal and overlay content. These tags act as a mediator that preserves synchronization information even when motion compensation modifies the video frames, allowing the system to maintain both compression efficiency and synchronization reliability.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple video streams are processed, then service coverage is improved, but the number of decoders and encoders increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by creating a single overlay insertion system that can process multiple video streams simultaneously using the same tag-matching mechanism. Instead of requiring separate decoders and encoders for each stream, the universal tag-based approach enables one system to handle multiple streams, expanding service coverage without proportionally increasing hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses tag copying across multiple video streams rather than full signal copying through multiple decoders and encoders. This allows the same overlay content to be inserted into multiple streams by matching tags, enabling expanded service coverage with minimal additional hardware.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, apparatus, and systems for managing the insertion of overlay content into a video signal are provided. A video signal is received from a video source. In addition, overlay content is provided in one or more overlay content signals. A tag is appended to the video signal and/or the overlay content signals. The tag contains identifying information. Overlay content selected from one of the overlay content signals may then be inserted into the video signal in accordance with the identifying information to produce a modified video content. The identifying information may comprises various types of information identifying the source or subject matter of the overlay content or video signal, the destination of the overlay content or video signal, information identifying the geographic region where the overlay content is to be inserted, or key words or other information to enable matching of the overlay content with an appropriate video signal.