Timestamped Ancillary Data Synchronization
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Solution Overview
Problem
The synchronization of scores, official timekeeping, and statistics with the presentation of audio/visual programs of game events is challenging in streaming environments, particularly when time-shifting occurs, as existing data formats do not allow for synchronized transmission of ancillary data with the main audio/visual content, leading to potential desynchronization and a cluttered presentation.
Innovation Solution
Timestamping ancillary data such as scores and statistics with milestones in the recording of game events enables synchronized presentation alongside the audio/visual program, using a system comprising capture, scoreboard, collection, timestamping, program, and information servers to ensure that ancillary information is transmitted and displayed correctly, even in time-shifted scenarios.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If ancillary data (scores, statistics) is transmitted separately from the audio/visual program, then the presentation can be uncluttered and displayed in separate areas, but synchronization between the ancillary data and the game play visuals may be lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces timestamps as an intermediary mechanism that mediates between the separately transmitted ancillary data and the audio/visual program. Each ancillary data element is tagged with a timestamp indicating its corresponding moment in the game event, allowing the receiving device to synchronize presentation without embedding the data within the audio/visual stream. This resolves the contradiction by enabling separate transmission while maintaining synchronization through the timestamp intermediary.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by attaching timestamps to ancillary data elements before transmission. The timestamps are generated and associated with the ancillary data in advance, based on the time the corresponding game event occurred. This preliminary tagging enables the receiving device to automatically synchronize the presentation of ancillary data with the audio/visual program without requiring real-time coordination, thus maintaining synchronization accuracy while allowing separate transmission.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the audio/visual program is time-shifted for later playback, then viewing flexibility is improved, but synchronization of ancillary data with the delayed presentation becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-tagging ancillary data with timestamps that reference specific moments in the audio/visual program before any time-shifting occurs. These timestamps serve as permanent markers that remain valid regardless of when or how the program is played back. When the audio/visual program is time-shifted for later playback, the receiving device uses these pre-attached timestamps to automatically retrieve and synchronize the corresponding ancillary data, maintaining synchronization reliability while enabling viewing flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The timestamp acts as an intermediary that decouples the ancillary data from the actual playback timing of the audio/visual program. Instead of relying on real-time synchronization signals that would break with time-shifting, the timestamp intermediary allows the receiving device to independently determine when to present each ancillary data element based on its reference to the audio/visual program timeline. This enables reliable synchronization even when the program is played back hours, days, or weeks after recording.
3Reliability
If scores and statistics are presented as overlays during game play, then synchronization is easily maintained, but the visual presentation becomes cluttered
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the extraction principle by removing ancillary data from the visual overlay space and presenting it in separate display areas. Instead of embedding scores and statistics within the game play visuals as overlays or cutaways, the system extracts these elements and displays them in dedicated regions of the display device. This extraction eliminates the visual clutter caused by overlays while maintaining synchronization through the use of timestamps that reference the audio/visual program timeline.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies dimensionality change by moving ancillary data from the two-dimensional visual overlay space into a separate temporal dimension for presentation. Instead of competing for space within the game play visual field, ancillary data is presented in separate display areas with timing controlled by timestamps. This dimensional separation allows both the game play visuals and ancillary data to be presented clearly without overlapping, while synchronization is maintained through temporal coordination via timestamps.
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments are generally directed to use of ancillary information related to play of a game event in which actions in the game are timestamped to enable synchronized presentation alongside an audio/visual program of the game event. An apparatus includes logic to receive a program data comprising a video recording of a game event, receive ancillary data including an indication of an action related to play of the game event, a first timestamp indicating a first time for start of the video recording, and a second timestamp indicating a second time for the action; visually present the video recording in a first portion of the display; and use the first and second timestamps to synchronize a visual presentation of the action in a second portion of the display with a depiction of the action in the visual presentation of the video recording. Other embodiments are described and claimed herein.