CN101385016A - Multimedia transmission system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing online sharing of multimedia applications and files. A central server acts as a receiving, organizing, and playback point for multimedia applications from multiple users located at secure locations of specific members authorized to access the central server.

Description

Multimedia transmission system and method

technical field

The present invention relates to multimedia transmission. More specifically, the present invention relates to online digital media sharing and Internet-based communications.

Background technique

The capture and sharing of images is as old as the history of images. Thousands of years ago, humans used cave paintings to record what they saw. In the 19th century, photography gave us tools other than paint and brushes. Throughout the 20th century, the still image came into motion. Although photography and filmmaking have been mainstream for decades, we still haven't set out to understand the full potential of what will happen when digital technology removes the cost and technical barriers associated with film and tape media.

In particular, the digitization of photography and videography has blurred the lines between the two. Most consumer "one-button" digital cameras already have both image and video modes. With the ever-increasing capacity of removable memory cards (the "film" of the future), ordinary digital cameras will soon be able to capture high-quality still images as well as hours of digital video. Additionally, most future mobile phones will include high quality photo and video capture, making it easy to see where we are at the beginning of a new era of pervasive image capture.

With the ability to snap a photo or video at any time, consumers will prefer efficiency and will choose to save and share all their media in one place, which until now has not been how people manage their personal media. Mainly due to technical reasons, people usually keep photos and videos separately. Photos go in shoeboxes and albums, videos in boxes near the TV. With the technical barriers between photos and videos removed, the inventor imagines that people should do the logical thing: keep all their memories together—regardless of format. After all, while new cameras allow people to shoot in multiple formats seamlessly, people still go to just one football game or just one wedding. When it comes to sharing, consumers will insist on keeping everything together so that it doesn't cause trouble for family and friends.

As new cameras blur the line between photography and videography, another groundbreaking trend is poised to redefine how we record history: the web-connected camera. Until recently, cameras were stand-alone devices, so any transfer of media from the camera involved some form of film processing or manual media transfer. As camera manufacturers have begun adding networking capabilities to digital cameras, they have unleashed the ability to transfer photos and videos from the camera with the simple push of a button. In particular, wirelessly connected cameras are giving rise to a whole new paradigm of personal media sharing: "in-context" personal media sharing. With common digital cameras becoming WiFi capable, and more and more people adopting camera phones, snapping a video and sending it instantly to a family member or friend—directly from the camera—will become mundane.

Although online services for sharing personal media exist, none of these services meet the needs driven by the trends mentioned above. First, existing services lack the necessary level of cross-media integration. Existing services are for sharing photos or videos. What is needed is a complete and tightly integrated toolset to seamlessly share and manage multiple types of media. Second, existing solutions only provide rudimentary ways to communicate directly with the shared media store. As files become larger and the number of people transferring personal media directly from their cameras to media storage platforms continues to grow, there will be more advanced mechanisms for transferring media from cameras to media sharing services, and from media sharing services to others growth needs.

Thus, there is a need in the art to capture and share multimedia files online and among people. The technology should be efficient, easy to use, and globally accessible so that it can be used and accessed throughout the world with minimal training and guidance. Additionally, the technology should give the user the flexibility to present files in any type, order, and timing the user desires.

Contents of the invention

The invention discloses a system and method for uploading, editing, managing and sharing digital media. The present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art by providing a higher level of integration and an advanced user interface that seamlessly handles and presents multiple media formats, such as photos and videos. Additionally, the present invention advances the state of the art to the point where photographers and videographers can transfer content directly from their cameras to predetermined storage and sharing areas - and transfer media from storage areas to other connected hosts.

In some example embodiments, the invention includes a central server, processor, and/or computer system that supports the example methods and systems outlined herein. Additionally, in some exemplary embodiments, the invention encompasses a communication network required for interfacing between multiple hosts and the system. Server configurations and requirements can be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art after understanding the invention described herein.

The techniques described here provide the ability to upload various types of media, such as photos and videos, to an online storage area. The present invention provides security permissions to restrict access to online storage areas according to the specific preferences of a particular user. Within a user account, a user can create multiple logical groups, which can be buckets (or "albums"), to better organize media. Such logical groups are formed by a combination of folders on the server and some relational database storage. Each bucket can be given a unique user-defined email address. Media can be sent directly to storage by emailing the content as an attachment. Thus, a particular user may have multiple albums for better organization, each with its own unique email address for sending media to that album. Users can also synchronize content between the online storage area and other hosts according to user-defined synchronization rules. Account holders can set upload permissions so that only certain users are able to upload to the online repository, whether by email method, synchronization, or utilizing the system's standard web-based upload tools.

In some exemplary embodiments, the present invention allows each storage area to be shared over the Internet by assigning appropriate permissions. Users can select from a library of predefined appearance and layout templates to customize the appearance of shared views of the online store.

The present invention enables viewers of a shared storage area to browse multiple media formats through a unique user interface convention that distinguishes between photos and videos. In addition, shared storage area viewers can view content through a multimedia slideshow that automatically plays a series of photos and/or videos sequentially without the viewer needing to advance from one item to the next.

The present invention enables viewers viewing a shared storage area to subscribe to the storage area. In this way, each online store can have an associated subscriber list. The present invention is able to send email updates to subscribers of new media added to the online store according to user-defined subscription rules.

The present invention provides the ability to create rich-HTML email or MMS messages using media stored in an online storage area. The present invention provides a library of appearance and layout templates from which a user can customize a rich-HTML email or MMS message. The present invention automatically embeds resized images into emails according to the selected email template. The emails provide HTML links to the corresponding media.

The present invention also provides the ability to create rich-HTML email or MMS messages based on video selected from an online store. The invention allows a user to manually create still images from frames within a video, or the invention can automatically create a series of still images from frames within video content. The present invention then provides the user with the ability to select or deselect screen "shots" that the user wants to include in the rich-HTML email. The user can then customize the format of the rich-HTML email by selecting a skin and layout from a library of skins and layouts. The present invention automatically embeds selected images from a video into an email according to a selected email template. The email provides an HTML link to the corresponding video.

The present invention also includes an ordering process by which a user can order photo prints, specialty merchandise, and backup copies of specified media items in an online storage area. The present invention enables users to define permissions so that users can allow others to order items, as well as set restrictions on ordering activity. The present invention provides a process by which a user can prepay for a specific number of items.

The invention also includes a process for transferring media from a removable memory card mailed to an operations center and matching said media with the correct corresponding user account.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a sharable online storage area according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 shows an uploader according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 illustrates automatic upload and synchronization according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows a postal mail sending process according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 shows a management view according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a shared view in a thumbnail layout according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a shared view in a quick view layout according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 shows a shared view in a journal layout according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 9 shows a shared view showing a customized black appearance in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 10 shows a sample mail according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 11 shows an integrated multimedia slide show according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 12 illustrates a playable media indicator in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 13 illustrates vidogram creation according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 14 shows a sample "excerpt" style email in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 15 shows the steps involved in creating a snippet style email according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

The present invention provides a more robust, intelligent and versatile sharing and transmission system for multimedia files, including photos, audio and video, and the like. Through use of the present invention, a user is able to create and/or browse a multimedia presentation and share the multimedia presentation with selected users who have the option to receive some or all of the presentation. There are many other possibilities within the scope of the present invention, which may be discovered in light of this disclosure.

In order to better understand the invention and its many uses and operations, a number of unique terms are used throughout this disclosure to describe the invention. Definitions and examples of use of these terms as used herein and throughout the disclosure are given. Definitions and effects of the terms used herein will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art after careful consideration of the present disclosure.

One of the components of the invention evident in the exemplary embodiments described here is the multimedia online storage area (also defined as "PickleBox"). The PickleBox is the central organizational unit within the system, also known as a "Pickle". A user's account consists of an Inbox and a series of PickleBoxes. PickleBox is where users save and share their personal media. For example, create a PickleBox for your child's graduation, another PickleBox for your niece's wedding, another to hold photos and videos of your Halloween party, and so on. Each PickleBox functions as an album holding multimedia files related to a particular user-defined category or event. However, such a PickleBox is not limited to album functions.

PickleBox offers a unique combination of elements found in e-mail mailboxes, online photo albums, blogs and list servers all in one. Figure 1 provides an illustrative overview of the functionality supported by PickleBox 100. Figure 1 shows the individual units with various functions. For example, multiple perspectives may be selected, including management view 140 and shared view 150 . Some of these functions are described here, while others will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon careful consideration of the present disclosure.

An active upload unit refers to an upload initiated by the account holder 110 - as opposed to an automatic upload 112 which is automatically initiated by the account holder's PC or other data feed source, such as a mobile phone, PDA or Internet, etc. When actively uploading, the user will use the Pickle upload tool as shown in Figure 2. The process generally consists of selecting a file 220 from a file window 232 in the account holder's PC using the active upload unit 242 .

The automatic upload/sync function shown in Figure 3 enables the account holder 310 to designate a file, group of files, folder or group of folders on the account holder's computer 332 that will be automatically synchronized with the user's PickleBox 300 . Account holder 310 can specify a schedule for the synchronization process, such as having media 320 or 322 synchronized at night. The synchronization process is multidirectional. Thus, new items uploaded to the account holder's PickleBox 300 from another user 312 who has permission to upload content, or from an account holder 310 who uploads media from another device, such as a mobile phone and a wifi camera, may is copied to the account holder's PC 332. The synchronization process is used to intelligently manage the synchronization load in order to optimize speed. The smallest files are synced first, and the largest files are synced last.

The upload via email feature refers to emailing individual media directly to the account holder's Pickle account. Account holders are able to send Pickle emails to their account inbox, or directly to PickleBox. Account holders have the ability to assign a different email address to each PickleBox in their account. Thus, any Pickle account may have numerous email addresses associated with different PickleBoxes within the account.

The email-in process requires a number of steps, which will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art after careful consideration of this disclosure, including (but not limited to): Implementing security measures to allow space Minimize; run a virus scan; parse email messages; extract primary data from email messages; and strip email attachments and queue attachments to a media compression/processing server. After the media is processed, the media is saved. Likewise, the email process detects if inbound emails are from certain sources that do not include photos or videos as attachments (eg, Sprint picture mail). Depending on the source, the process may involve retrieving the media from another server on the Internet and feeding it into the process for additional processing in the media compression/processing step.

Although PickleBox can be set to accept all uploads from various authorized users, some degree of moderation can be applied to control content. For example, PickleBox permissions may be set to require uploaded media to be approved by the account holder before uploaded media enters the PickleBox.

As shown in Figure 4, the Postal Mail-In process allows the account holder to send the memory card from the camera to the central processing company (470) by filling out an online form. The request is processed, a packing slip is mailed to the account holder (471), and the account holder puts the packing slip and memory card together (472). An employee of the company can then extract the content from the memory card (473) and place the content in the account holder's account (474). Once the media has been transferred, a return envelope is generated (475) with which the clerk will mail the memory card back to the account holder (476). This process is designed for account holders who wish to avoid prolonged uploads of extremely large files. One exemplary process that may be used is outlined in the flowchart of Figure 4, although other processes are possible.

The management view shown in Figure 5 enables the account holder to manage the media in the PickleBox 500's list. See, for example, management view 140 for PickleBox 100 in FIG. 1 . The management view 540 provides a compact list view as well as a thumbnail view.

PickleBox 500 provides a flexible set of permissions 544 that enable account holders to flexibly control who can do what with their accounts. Permissions 544 include (but are not limited to):

Upload:

Set up who can upload or email directly to PickleBox

Sets which PickleBoxes require content to be checked before it is included in the PickleBox

Set who can upload content without approval and who needs approval

Set upload limits for those who are allowed to upload

Browsing rights:

Allow anyone to view PickleBox

Only invite people to view PickleBox

Set password to access PickleBox

Allow specific groups to view PickleBox

Print permission

Allow others to print or download original versions of the media in your PickleBox

Set print limits for those with permission to print

As shown in Figures 6-9, the shared view of the PickleBox provides multiple ways in which the PickleBox 600 can be presented to others. Web-based layout and appearance templates enable account holders to create customized Web-based layouts for content within the PickleBox 600, such as thumbnail view 652, quick view 754, log view 856, and black (black) view 958. In addition, the user can view the content in the PickleBox through a data feed (such as RSS) and a mobile phone of choice. Other views are also possible and within the scope of the invention.

As mentioned above, the shared view can be displayed in a variety of configurations. In one configuration, the thumbnail layout 652 presents individual image or video files 620 with small graphics under each PickleBox. The video clip will have a small indicator 624 to distinguish itself from the standard photo. In the quick view layout 754, individual photo and video files 724 are presented in small thumbnail format on one side, while a larger image of the selected thumbnail is presented on the screen. In log view 856, files 822 are presented, which may be photos or videos. If file 822 is a video file, indicator 824 informs the user that this is a video file and that the video file can be clicked on to watch the video. In black view 958, photo and video files are presented with a black background to make the thumbnails stand out more.

Various generators for PickleMail, Videogram and Invitation are possible and within the scope of this disclosure. Pickle enables users to create different types of HTML/rich emails based on the content saved in their PickleBox:

PickleMail : An HTML-based email containing selected media from one or more PickleBoxes. PickleMail recipients will see thumbnail images that, when clicked, will cause the user to view the corresponding source media file. Additionally, users can select the Play Slideshow button on PickleMail to view a sequential slideshow representation of all media items included in PickleMail. Figure 10 is an example of PickleMail's appearance features.

Videogram : A special email that enables users to embed a screenshot of a video in an email. A more detailed discussion of Videogram is provided below.

Invitation : An HTML-based email that embeds a link to an image of a specific PickleBox that the user wishes to invite others to view.

Any type of special email created above can be sent, addressed to individuals or to subscription lists. For the ordering process, the account holder can enable the PickleBox to allow viewers of the shared view to order print, CD/DVD, backup and specialty merchandise using the content in the PickleBox.

Each PickleBox can have a subscription list. While browsing a PickleBox's shared view, the viewer can sign up to be included in a subscription list. Account holders may also create and manage subscription lists. Subscription management capabilities enable subscribers to automatically receive email updates when the content of the PickleBox changes. Subscribers can specify how often subscribers receive email updates.

One of the many unique advantages of the present invention is the ability to prepare and present integrated multimedia slideshows. As shown in Figure 11, Pickle offers account holders a unique integrated slide show capability. Conventional online photo slideshows automatically allow account holders to browse a series of digital photos by displaying each photo for a predetermined period of time that the account holder can set. The Pickle slideshow feature is unique because it extends the slideshow concept to various photo, video, audio file and graphic file formats. The account holder can choose to play a photo-only slide show 1180, where the account holder specifies a time limit for each photo to be displayed. The account holder may also choose to play a video and audio only slide show 1181, where the slideshow automatically advances after the audio or video file is played. Another option for account holders is to generate a hybrid slideshow 1182 of photos with audio and video, where the account holder specifies a time limit for each photo to be displayed, and after the media finishes playing, a slideshow containing audio or video Slice forward. Thus, a user can select a group of photos and/or videos, hit play, sit and wait, and have the photos, videos, and other media play sequentially—without any further user intervention. Specifically, the slideshow feature can determine when a video or audio file has finished playing and automatically present the next media file queued for viewing in the slideshow.

The slideshow player (or "PicklePlayer") can be played from any remote location, such as another website or mobile device, and is designed to link directly with the appropriate PickleBox. The slideshow player can periodically poll the PickleBox data feed for information on whether any new content has entered the PickleBox. The slideshow player can then play the slideshow on the Pickle site, or the slideshow can be posted by the user to another website. In this way, content residing in the PickleBox can be viewed/played on any website.

Another aspect of the invention is the playable media indicator in the image border, as shown in FIG. 12 . In the Pickle user interface, both playable media (video and audio) and photos can be associated with images. For example, clicking one image plays a video file, while clicking another image presents a zoomed-in photo associated with the clickable image. From an application design perspective, the challenge is to indicate to the user which images are linked with still photos or graphics, and which images are linked with playable media.

When designing the Pickle user interface, in order to signal to the user whether the thumbnail corresponds to playable media, a unique technique is designed: a play button 1224 is arranged within the frame of the image. This technique is used for thumbnail-sized images as well as larger images.

6-8 are a series of screenshots illustrating how Pickle can use the playable media indicator 1224 in different contexts of the application.

As shown in the flow diagram of Figure 13, Pickle provides users with the ability to select a video from their media collection and easily create an email containing screenshots from the video. First, the account holder selects a video (1390). The account holder can then choose to automatically select screen "shots" (1391), or manually select which screen "shots" to include (1392). Once the screen "shot" is selected, the account holder can complete the email (1393) and send it to their recipients (1394). Additionally, Videogram provides a link to said video so that Videogram recipients can click on the link to view the corresponding video.

An exemplary embodiment of a PickleMail template enables account holders to create unique layouts of images in HTML/rich emails, similar to image picker style formatting. An "excerpt" layout is an image layout that preserves no space between images. The example given in Figure 14 represents a pickle-style PickleMail layout. Although some web-based photo collections offer this layout, none of them provide the user with a simple point-and-click by selecting media 1520 and 1522 from the account holder's PickleBox 1562, layout selection 1564, address entry 1566 message body 1568 process, the ability to create snippet-style emails, as shown in Figure 15. Snippet styles are able to support many images as well as images of different sizes.

In implementing the invention in its various possible forms, Pickle utilizes industry standard Web-based application development tools and techniques to implement the capabilities described herein. Media processing and video screenshots are implemented using off-the-shelf media processing server technology. PickleBox's e-mail capabilities for receiving and sending e-mails are achieved through custom integration of standard e-mail server technology and Pickle systems. To achieve the synchronization capability, Pickle utilizes a custom software client running on the account holder's personal computer. The client works in concert with the server-based Pickle system to provide synchronization features.

The present invention has numerous unique features and functions that distinguish it from any sharing system conventionally available. Such advantages include (but are not limited to): the PickleBox concept as described above and shown in FIG. Concept of the ability for datafeeds (such as RSS and others) to distribute content from online storage areas; polling of datafeeds by the slideshow to see if there are new items to display in the PickleBox; attaching a distribution list to the PickleBox, Idea to automatically forward items uploaded to PickleBox to a distribution list (email address or mobile phone number for MMS messages); idea to automatically sync; idea to post mail delivery; idea to Videogram; playable media indicator in the border of an image . Many other features and attributes will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art after careful consideration of the present disclosure. All such attributes explicitly stated above, or apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, are within the scope of the invention.

The foregoing disclosure of preferred embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. The above disclosure is not exhaustive, nor is it intended to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many changes and modifications to the embodiments described herein will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the above disclosure. The scope of the present invention is limited only by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Furthermore, when describing typical embodiments of the present invention, the specification presents the method and/or process of the present invention in the form of a specific sequence of steps. However, the method or process should not be limited to the particular sequence of steps described in the sense that the method or process does not rely on the particular sequence of steps described. Other sequences of steps are also possible as known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, the specific order of the steps presented in the specification should not be construed as limitations on the claims. In addition, claims directed to the method and/or process of the present invention should not be limited to performing the steps in the order recorded, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the order of the steps can be varied and still remain within the spirit and spirit of the present invention within range.

Claims (20)

1. A system for sharing multimedia files online, said system comprising: central server; Media files stored on the server in logical groups, where each logical group may include a different type of media file; and A processor associated with a server wherein media files uploaded or emailed to the server are stored in specific logical groups based on a destination identifier of the emailed or uploaded files. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the media files are selected from the list comprising image files, audio files and video files. 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the server is capable of presenting the media files in a predetermined order. 4. The system of claim 1, wherein access to media files by multiple users is controlled by a single controller. 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the multimedia presentation created by the processor is available to viewers, said viewers may or may not be designated. 6. The system of claim 5, wherein said representations include image files, audio files, and video files. 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the media files are sent to the central server by electronic mail. 8. The system of claim 7, wherein emailed media files are automatically directed to a specific logical group on the server based on the email address used. 9. A system for sharing multimedia files online, said system comprising: central server; files stored on the server, wherein the files include different types of media stored in logical groups; and a processor on the server, wherein the processor automatically sequentially renders the files. 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the central server includes a plurality of hosts. 11. The system of claim 9, wherein said files are selected from a list comprising image files, audio files and video files. 12. The system of claim 9, wherein access to the file by multiple users is controlled by a single controller for the file. 13. The system of claim 9, wherein the multimedia presentation created by the processor is available to designated viewers. 14. The system of claim 13, wherein said representations include image files, audio files, and video files. 15. The system of claim 9, wherein the files are sent to the central server by electronic mail. 16. The system of claim 15, wherein emailed files are automatically included in a specific location on the server depending on the email address used. 17. A method for online sharing of multimedia files, said method comprising: Automatically upload multiple multimedia files to logical groups within a central server; and The files are rendered sequentially. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the multimedia file is selected from the list comprising image files, audio files and video files. 19. The method of claim 17, wherein said order is set by a user. 20. The method of claim 17, wherein access to the file by multiple users is controlled by a single controller for the file.

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