PATTERN BASED VIDEO FRAME NAVIGATION AID

1 . A system comprising:

a processing unit in communication with memory;

a functional unit in communication with the processing unit, the functional unit having tools to support file navigation, the tools comprising:

a profile manager to capture a first and second set of data, wherein the first set comprises data corresponding to a viewed portion of a data file by a first entity, and the second set comprises data corresponding to the viewed portion of the data file by a second entity;

the profile manager to form a first navigation profile from the first set of data and a second navigation profile from the second set of data;

a storage manager to aggregate the formed navigation profiles;

the profile manager to identify a combined viewing pattern from the aggregation; and

a recommendation manager in communication in the storage manager, the recommendation manager to recommend a portion of the data file for a second viewing based on the combined viewing pattern;

a visual display to display the recommended portion of the data file; and

the visual display to support gestural navigation within the displayed portion including navigation between graphical representations of data categories.

2 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising the visual display to graphically represent the aggregation of navigation profiles, including a graphics manager to capture a viewing frequency of data within the data file based upon the aggregation of captured viewed portions of the data file.

3 . The system of claim 2 , further comprising the graphics manager to support gestural selection of at least one subset within the data file from the graphical representations.

4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the gestural selection is selected from the group consisting of: physical contact between the user and the visual display, and physical contact between a stylus and the visual display.

5 . A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage device having program code embodied therewith, the program code executable by a processor to:

capture a first and second set of data, wherein the first set comprises data corresponding to a viewed portion of a data file by a first entity, and the second set comprises data corresponding to the viewed portion of the data file by a second entity;

form a first navigation profile from the first set of data and a second navigation profile from the second set of data;

aggregate the formed navigation profiles;

identify a combined viewing pattern from the aggregation;

recommend a portion of the data file for a second viewing based on the combined viewing pattern;

display the recommended portion of the data file on a visual display; and

support gestural navigation within the displayed portion including navigation between graphical representations of data categories.

6 . The computer program product of claim 5 , further comprising program code to graphically represent the aggregation of navigation profiles, including capture a viewing frequency of data within the data file based upon the aggregation of captured viewed portions of the data file.

7 . The computer program product of claim 6 , wherein the gestural navigation further comprises gestural selection of at least one subset within the data file from the graphical representations.

8 . The computer program product of claim 7 , wherein the gestural selection is selected from the group consisting of: physical contact between the user and the visual display, and physical contact between a stylus and the visual display.

9 . The computer program product of claim 5 , further comprising program code to maintain a profile of one or more viewing preferences based on view characteristics, and recommend at least one portion of the file for viewing based on a common characteristic.

10 . The computer program product of claim 5 , wherein the data file is a video file and the navigation profile includes data selected from the group consisting of: a skipped portion, a fast-forwarded portion, a re-played portion, a volume increase, a volume decrease, and combinations thereof.

11 . A method comprising:

capturing a first and second set of data, wherein the first set comprises data corresponding to a viewed portion of a data file by a first entity, and the second set comprises data corresponding to the viewed portion of the data file by a second entity;

forming a first navigation profile from the first set of data and a second navigation profile from the second set of data;

aggregating the formed navigation profiles;

identifying a combined viewing pattern from the aggregation;

recommending a portion of the data file for a second viewing based on the combined viewing pattern;

displaying the recommended portion of the data file on a visual display; and

supporting gestural navigation within the displayed portion including navigating between graphical representations of data categories.

12 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising graphically representing the aggregation of navigation profiles, including capturing a viewing frequency of data within the data file based upon the aggregation of captured viewed portions of the data file.

13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising gesturally selecting at least one subset within the data file from the graphical representations.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the gesture is selected from the group consisting of: physical contact between the user and the visual display, and physical contact between a stylus and the visual display.

15 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising maintaining a profile of one or more viewing preferences based on view characteristics, and recommending at least one portion of the file for viewing based on a common characteristic.

16 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the data file is a video file and the navigation profile includes data selected from the group consisting of: a skipped portion, a fast-forwarded portion, a re-played portion, a volume increase, a volume decrease, and combinations thereof.

17 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the gestural navigation further comprises a selection selected from the group consisting of: selecting separate portions of a recommended portion of the data file and selecting separate attributes associated with a recommended portion of the data file.

18 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising capturing viewing frequency of data within the file based upon the aggregation of captured viewed portions of the data file.

19 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the formed first navigation profile comprises a viewing pattern of viewed portions of the first set of data and at least one portion omitted from viewing, and the formed second navigation profile comprises a pattern of viewed portions of the second set of data and at least one portion omitted from viewing.

20 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the graphical representations are selected from the group consisting of:

a first category with respect to a second category; and

a third category with respect to the second category.