Systems and methods for font file optimization for multimedia files
View Patent ↗Methods and systems of generating and displaying textual information for a multimedia file are provided. An optimized font file is created that matches the text data of the multimedia file and optionally a number of predetermined text characters. The optimized font file may also be further configured to conform to a specific memory and/or timing constraint.
1. A method of generating at least one font file customized to a specific multimedia file that includes textual elements, the method comprising:
receiving a multimedia file including audio data, video data, and a track containing subtitle textual elements and a corresponding original font file by a processor;
identifying a plurality of time segments within the multimedia file including audio data, video data, and associated textual elements using the processor;
generating a unique character set for each time segment including each of the characters in the textual elements associated with the time segment;
generating at least one modified font file for each time segment including fewer characters than the original font file, and all of the characters in the unique character set associated with the time segment, by the processor, wherein each modified font file is specifically matched to the textual elements associated with an identified time segment;
marking each modified font file to signify a time period during the playback of audio data and video data in which the modified font file is dynamically accessible within the memory of a playback device for rendering associated textual elements; and
incorporating the modified font files into the multimedia file.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the textual elements in the corresponding portion of the multimedia file include a plurality of characters and the generated at least one modified font file contains representations that only match the plurality of characters.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the textual elements in the corresponding portion of the multimedia file additionally include a plurality of predetermined characters and the generated at least one modified font file contains representations that only match the plurality of the characters and the plurality of predetermined characters.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the generated font file is smaller in file size than the original font file.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein generating the at least one modified font file further comprises determining an amount of memory available to process the font file and segmenting the original font file such that each segment can fit into the amount of available memory as it is processed.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the generated font file is not guaranteed to be useable for another multimedia file different from the received multimedia file.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the generated font file is useable only for the received multimedia file.
8. The method of claim 1 further comprising rendering textual information for display by using the textual elements and the generated font file.
9. The method of claim 1 further comprising associating at least one video track with the at least one modified font file.
10. The method of claim 1 further comprising associating a hierarchy of tags with a plurality of textual elements and a generated font file.
11. The method of claim 1 further comprising associating a single modified font file with an identified time segment, spanning the entire duration of the movie.
12. The method of claim 1 further comprising associating each modified font file with each identified time segment.
13. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of time segments collectively corresponds to an overall timeline of a video presentation.
14. The method of claim 13 further comprising tracking the overall timeline and rendering subtitle information at specific time periods using only a modified font file that corresponds to the time segment associated with the tracked timeline.
15. The method of claim 1 further comprising rendering textual information for display by using the text data and the plurality of font files.
16. The method of claim 1 wherein the textual elements includes a plurality of characters and the generated font files collectively contain representations that only match the plurality of characters.
17. The method of claim 1 further comprising associating at least one track in the multimedia file with a generated font file.
18. The method of claim 1 further comprising associating at least one track in the multimedia file with several font files simultaneously.
19. The method of claim 1 further comprising associating at least one tag in the multimedia file with a textual element that is not a subtitle.
20. The method of claim 1 , wherein each modified font file is marked with start and end time-code values.
21. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the at least one modified font files is described using a first tag element within the multimedia file and subsequent tag elements following the first tag element are used to host all the textual elements with which the modified font file is associated.
22. A method of generating textual information for a multimedia file, the method comprising:
receiving text data, an original font file and a multimedia file having audio and video data by a processor;
generating an optimized font file from the text data and the original font file by the processor, the generated font file being specifically matched to the text data and different from the original font file; and
associating at least one metadata tag in the multimedia file with a textual element of the text data that is not a subtitle.
23. A textual information rendering system for generating textual information for a multimedia file, the system comprising:
a demultiplexer configured to extract text data from a multimedia file including audio data, video data, and a track containing subtitle textual elements;
a processor configured to:
identify a plurality of time segments within the multimedia file;
generate a unique character set for each time segment including each of the characters in the textual elements associated with the time segment;
generate at least one modified font file for each time segment including fewer characters than the original font file, and all of the characters in the unique character set associated with the time segment, wherein each modified font file is specifically matched to the textual elements associated with an identified time segment;
mark each modified font file to signify a time period during the playback of audio data and video data in which the modified font file is dynamically accessible within the memory of a playback device for rendering associated textual elements; and
incorporate the at least one modified font file into the multimedia file; and
memory coupled to the processor and storing the at least one modified font file.
24. The system of claim 23 further comprising:
a video decoder module integrated with the processor and configured to decode the video data;
an audio decoder module integrated with the processor and configured to decode the audio data; and
a text rendering engine configured to decode the extracted text data and to display text information by utilizing one of the at least one modified font files and the decoded text data.
25. The system of claim 23 wherein the processor segments the original font file prior to storing the original font file.