Non-linear Video Review Buffer Navigation via Tile Grid
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Solution Overview
Problem
Linear navigation methods for live video review buffers are tedious and prone to over/undershooting, making it difficult for users to locate specific points in buffered video content.
Innovation Solution
A non-linear video navigation system using a video tile grid user interface, where video content is indexed by time codes and displayed as a grid of tiles, allowing users to navigate and focus on specific time windows, with options for fast forwarding, rewinding, and frame-by-frame progression, while optionally surfacing secondary video content during fast forward/rewind operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If linear navigation methods are used for live video review buffers, then the system implementation is simple, but the ease of operation deteriorates and users experience repeated cycles of overshooting/undershooting
Solution Approach 1:
The video review buffer is segmented into discrete time-based clips that are displayed as individual tiles in a grid interface. Each tile represents a specific time window, allowing users to navigate directly to desired segments rather than linearly scrubbing through the entire buffer. This segmentation transforms the continuous navigation problem into discrete, manageable units.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a spatial dimension to video navigation by displaying time-based clips as tiles arranged in a grid layout on the user interface. This transforms the traditional one-dimensional linear scrubber into a two-dimensional grid interface, where users can visually scan and select specific time points by clicking on corresponding tiles, adding spatial organization to temporal navigation.
2Speed
If fast forward/rewind operations are used, then navigation speed improves, but precision deteriorates causing overshooting/undershooting
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-generates and displays multiple time-based clip thumbnails as tiles in the grid interface before the user initiates navigation. These preliminary visual representations allow users to preview different time segments and make informed selection decisions, eliminating the need for trial-and-error fast forwarding or rewinding to locate desired content.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical scrubbing motion of traditional linear navigation with a direct selection mechanism. Instead of continuously moving a playhead through the buffer, users directly click on target tiles representing specific time windows, substituting incremental mechanical adjustment with instantaneous digital selection and enabling precise positioning without overshooting.
3Loss of time
If linear navigation is used, then the device complexity remains low, but the time required to locate specific points increases
Solution Approach 1:
The video review buffer is divided into multiple time-based clips displayed as individual tiles in a grid, allowing users to simultaneously view and select from multiple time segments. This segmentation enables parallel visual scanning and direct selection, dramatically reducing the time required to locate specific points compared to sequential linear navigation through the entire buffer.
Solution Approach 2:
By organizing time-based clips into a spatial grid layout, the system adds a visual dimension to navigation. Users can rapidly scan the two-dimensional grid to locate desired time points rather than linearly progressing through one-dimensional time, significantly reducing search time while maintaining manageable system complexity through standard UI paradigms.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a method for non-linear navigation of video content includes: receiving the video content in a live video review buffer, where the video content is indexed according to a time code index, defining video content windows in the video content according to blocks of time according to the time code index, displaying a grid of video tiles, where each of the video tiles is associated with one of the video content windows in the live video review buffer, defining an in-focus status for one of the video tiles, and in response to user input, navigating the video content window associated with the video tile with the in-focus status.