Methods and apparatus for filtering content from a presentation stream using signature data
View Patent ↗Described herein are methods and apparatus for the identification of locations in a presentation stream based on metadata associated with the presentation stream. Locations within a presentation stream are identified using signature data associated with the presentation stream. The identified locations within a presentation stream may be utilized to identify boundaries of segments within the presentation stream, such as segments of a show and interstitials (e.g., commercials) of the show. The identified portions of a presentation stream may then be utilized for filtering segments of content during presentation.
1. A method for processing an audio/video stream, the method comprising:
providing a first audio/video stream including at least one segment of a show, at least one interstitial of the show and closed captioning data;
receiving location information for the first audio/video stream, the location information including a text string associated with a video location within the first audio/video stream, and the location information including search boundary offsets relative to the video location;
receiving a signature of a portion of the first audio/video stream wherein the signature refers to waveform characteristics of the portion of the first audio/video stream;
processing the closed captioning data to locate an instance of the text string in the closed captioning data
identifying an intermediate video location within the first audio/video stream, the identified intermediate video location corresponding to the instance of the text string located in the closed captioning data;
identifying search boundaries within the first audio/video stream by applying the search boundary offsets to the identified intermediate video location;
processing content of the first audio/video stream within the search boundaries, wherein the processing searches for the signature to identify a signature-based video location in the first audio/video stream;
locating boundaries of the at least one segment by applying segment boundary offsets to the identified signature-based video location;
filtering the interstitial from the first audio/video stream to generate a second audio/video stream including the segment of the show, wherein the filtering uses the located boundaries of the at least one segment; and
outputting the second audio/video stream for presentation by a display device.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the location information and the signature further comprise:
receiving the location information, in association with the signature, separately from the first audio/video stream.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signature comprises a search portion of audio data of the first audio/video stream, and wherein processing the content of the first audio/video stream within the search boundaries further comprises:
processing the audio data of the first audio/video stream within the search boundaries to identify the signature-based video location corresponding with the portion of the audio data.
4. A method for processing a stream of data, the method comprising:
recording a first presentation stream of video data including at least one segment of a show and at least one interstitial of the show;
receiving location information referencing a location within the first presentation stream, the location information including a text string corresponding to closed captioning data for the first presentation stream;
receiving a signature of a portion of the first presentation stream corresponding with the location, the signature identifying a transition in the video data from a first luminance value for a first frame of the video data to a second luminance value for a second frame of the video data;
receiving search boundary offsets specified relative to the location referenced by the received location information;
processing the closed captioning data to locate an instance of the text string in the closed captioning data;
identifying an intermediate video location within the first presentation stream, the identified intermediate video location corresponding to the instance of the text string located in the closed captioning data;
identifying search boundaries within the first presentation stream by applying the search boundary offsets to the identified intermediate video location;
computing average luminance values for a plurality of frames of the video data of the first presentation stream, wherein the plurality of frames are within the search boundaries;
processing the average luminance values to identify the transition from the first luminance value to the second luminance value based on the signature, the transition corresponding with a signature-based video location within the first presentation stream;
processing the first presentation stream to identify boundaries of the segment of the show based on the signature-based video location and at least one segment boundary offset;
filtering the interstitial from the first presentation stream to generate a second presentation stream including the segment of the show, wherein the filtering uses the identified boundaries of the segment of the show; and
outputting the second presentation stream for presentation by a presentation device.
5. A digital video recorder comprising:
a communication interface that receives a first audio/video stream including a segment of a show, an interstitial of the show and closed captioning data;
a storage medium;
control logic communicatively coupled to the communication interface and the storage medium that:
coordinates storage of the first audio/video stream onto the storage medium;
receives location information including a text string associated with a video location within the first audio/video stream, a signature of a portion of the first audio/video stream and search boundary offsets specified relative to the video location, wherein the signature refers to waveform characteristics of the portion of the first audio/video stream;
processes the recorded first audio/video stream to identify search boundaries within the first audio/video stream based on the closed captioning data, the location information and the search boundary offsets;
searches for the signature in the first audio/video stream within the search boundaries, to identify a signature-based video location in the first audio/video stream;
locates boundaries of the segment of the show by applying segment boundary offsets to the identified signature-based video location; and
filters the interstitial from the first audio/video stream to generate a second audio/video stream including the segment of the show, wherein the filtering uses the located boundaries of the segment of the show; and
an audio/video interface communicatively coupled to the control logic that outputs the second audio/video stream for presentation by a display device.
6. The digital video recorder of claim 5 , wherein the control logic receives the location information in association with the signature and the search boundary offsets separately from the first audio/video stream.
7. The digital video recorder of claim 5 , wherein the signature comprises a search portion of audio data of the first audio/video stream, and wherein the control logic processes the audio data of the first audio/video stream within the search boundaries to identify the signature-based video location corresponding with the portion of the video data.
8. The digital video recorder of claim 5 , wherein the signature comprises a search portion of video data of the first audio/video stream, and wherein the control logic processes the video data of the first audio/video stream within the search boundaries to identify the signature-based video location corresponding with the portion of the video data.
9. An apparatus comprising:
a communication interface that receives a first presentation stream of video data including a segment of a show and an interstitial of the show, and that further receives location information referencing a location within the first presentation stream, a signature of a portion of the first presentation stream corresponding with the location, and search boundary offsets specified relative to the location referenced by the received location information, the signature identifying a transition in the video data from a first luminance value for a first frame of the video data to a second luminance value for a second frame of the video data, wherein the location information includes a text string corresponding to closed captioning data for the first presentation stream;
control logic communicatively coupled to the communication interface that:
processes the first presentation stream to identify search boundaries within the first presentation stream based on the closed captioning data, the location information, and the search boundary offsets;
computes average luminance values for a plurality of frames of the video data of the first presentation stream, wherein the plurality of frames are within the search boundaries;
processes the average luminance values to identify the transition from the first luminance value to the second luminance value based on the signature, the transition corresponding with a signature-based video location within the first presentation stream;
processes the first presentation stream to identify boundaries of the segment of the show based on the signature-based video location and at least one segment boundary offset; and
filters the interstitial from the first presentation stream to generate a second presentation stream including the segment of the show, wherein the filtering uses the identified boundaries of the segment of the show; and
an audio/video interface communicatively coupled to the control logic that outputs the second presentation stream for presentation on a presentation device.
10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the communication interface receives the location information in association with the signature and the search boundary offsets separately from the first presentation stream.