Video Conference Client Metadata Navigation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Users joining an ongoing video conference often lack access to the history of the conference, making it difficult to understand the context and events that have occurred prior to their joining.

Innovation Solution

A video conference system that includes a client device capable of receiving and concatenating recorded media streams with meta data, allowing users to navigate through chronological events by generating a video signal that combines media streams and meta data, enabling intuitive browsing of past events.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Speed

If streaming technologies are used for video conferencing, then real-time transmission is achieved, but users joining late cannot access conference history

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvereal-time transmission speedVSAvoidconference history information
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary recording of the video conference stream and generates metadata in advance. When a user joins late, the recorded content and metadata are already prepared and can be immediately transmitted, eliminating the need to catch up on past events.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The conference content is segmented into discrete events with metadata tags (e.g., presentations, discussions, breaks). Users can selectively access specific time segments or event types, making it efficient to retrieve relevant historical information without transmitting the entire conference recording.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Loss of information

If complete conference recording is transmitted to late-joining users, then full history is provided, but transmission time and bandwidth are excessive

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveconference history completenessVSAvoidtransmission time
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts only the essential metadata (event types, timestamps, key participants) from the complete conference recording. This extracted metadata is transmitted to late-joining users to provide a concise overview, while full recording transmission is optional and on-demand.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements a tiered information delivery approach: first transmitting partial information (metadata summary) for quick orientation, then allowing users to request additional details or specific segments if needed. This avoids transmitting excessive data while ensuring completeness on demand.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Loss of information

If detailed metadata is displayed alongside video, then user understanding is improved, but interface complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveevent information clarityVSAvoiduser interface complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The interface displays metadata with varying levels of detail in different regions. Critical event information (type, timestamp) is always visible, while additional details (participant names, discussion topics) are available on-demand through expanded views or contextual menus, maintaining a clean primary display.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP2745509B1Technique for video conferencing
Publication Date: 2021.06.30 TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)
  • EP2745509B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP2745509B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP2745509B1 patent drawingFigure 5

AI summary

A video conferencing technique is described. A video conference client device implementing the technique comprises a communication unit configured to receive a first media stream representing a recorded video conference and further configured to receive meta data related to the first media stream, the meta data representing events in the video conference, a processing unit connected to the communication unit and configured to carry out a concatenation process during which at least a part of the first media stream and at least a part of the meta data are concatenated into a video signal, and a man machine interface unit connected to the processing unit. The man machine interface unit comprises a display unit configured to display the video conference on the basis of the video signal and an input unit configured to generate, based on an input, a video conference navigation signal. The processing unit is configured to control play out of the video signal in dependence on the video conference navigation signal. The use of the video conference navigation signal and the meta data enables a user to easily navigate through the history of the video conference. Additionally, a second media stream (e.g., a live stream) may be received.