SYNCHRONIZING FILTER METADATA WITH A MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATION
A method, system and apparatus for applying and synchronizing filter information with a multimedia presentation, such as a movie provided in a video-on-demand context, to suppress objectionable content. In one example, filter information, which includes an indicia of a portion of the multimedia presentation including objectionable content and a type of suppression action, is provided on either a set-top-box or a video-on-demand server. A user selects a particular video-on-demand presentation, and the selection is transmitted to the set-top-box. Additionally, whether in a video-on-demand, DVD, or other environment it may be necessary to synchronize filter with the multimedia content so that the proper objectionable content is suppressed.
1 . A method for applying multimedia content filter data with a multimedia content presentation comprising:
receiving filter data comprising:
at least one filter identifying a portion of a multimedia content presentation having, the at least one filter associated with a type of content suppression of the portion of the multimedia content presentation; and
synchronization information comprising an identifier of a position within the multimedia content presentation;
matching an attribute of the multimedia content presentation with the identifier of the synchronization information;
determining, based on the matched attribute with the identifier, a position of the portion of the multimedia content presentation; and
suppressing, based on the at least one filter, a presentation of the portion of the multimedia content presentation.
2 . The method of claim 1 wherein the identifier of the synchronization information is at least one of image data, audio data, and close caption data.
3 . The method of claim 1 wherein the identifier of the synchronization information is at least two of image data, audio data, and close caption data.
4 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:
obtaining the synchronization information from a content server to synchronize the at least one filter with the portion of the multimedia content presentation.
5 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:
providing for transmission of the multimedia content presentation from a remote content server to a client device.
6 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:
providing for reading of the multimedia content presentation from a removable storage media.
7 . The method of claim 1 wherein the identifier comprises compressed data corresponding to the attribute of the multimedia content presentation.
8 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:
decoding an encoded portion of the multimedia content presentation prior to matching the attribute of the multimedia content presentation with the identifier of the synchronization information.
9 . The method of claim 1 wherein determining the position of the portion of the multimedia content presentation comprises:
determining a time lapse between a position of the matched attribute of the multimedia content presentation to the portion of a multimedia content presentation of the filter data.
10 . The method of claim 1 wherein the identifier comprises at least one of a plurality of pixels of a frame of the multimedia content presentation, a row of pixels of the frame of the multimedia content presentation, or the entirety of the pixels of the frame of the multimedia content presentation.
11 . The method of claim 1 wherein the portion of the multimedia content comprises objectionable content.
12 . The method of claim 1 wherein the portion of the multimedia content comprises a commercial.
13 . The method of claim 1 wherein suppressing the presentation of the portion of the multimedia content presentation comprises at least one of a skipping, blurring, and muting action of the portion of the multimedia content presentation.
14 . A system for applying multimedia content filter data with a multimedia content presentation, the system comprising:
a processing device; and
a non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with instructions, when executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to perform the operations of:
receiving filter data comprising at least one filter identifying a portion of a multimedia content presentation, the at least one filter associated with a type of content suppression of the portion of the multimedia content presentation and synchronization information comprising an identifier of a position within the multimedia content presentation;
matching an attribute of the multimedia content presentation with the identifier of the synchronization information;
determining, based on the matched attribute with the identifier, a position of the portion of the multimedia content presentation; and
suppressing, based on the at least one filter, a presentation of the portion of the multimedia content presentation.
15 . The system of claim 14 wherein the identifier of the synchronization information is at least one of image data, audio data, and close caption data.
16 . The system of claim 14 wherein the identifier of the synchronization information is at least two of image data, audio data, and close caption data.
17 . The system of claim 14 wherein the instructions further cause the processing device to perform the operation of:
obtaining the synchronization information from a content server to synchronize the at least one filter with the portion of the multimedia content presentation.
18 . The system of claim 14 wherein the instructions further cause the processing device to perform the operation of:
providing for transmission of the multimedia content presentation from a remote content server to a client device.
19 . The system of claim 14 wherein the instructions further cause the processing device to perform the operation of:
providing for reading of the multimedia content presentation from a removable storage media.
20 . The system of claim 14 wherein the identifier comprises compressed data corresponding to the attribute of the multimedia content presentation.
21 . The system of claim 14 wherein the instructions further cause the processing device to perform the operation of:
decoding an encoded portion of the multimedia content presentation prior to matching the attribute of the multimedia content presentation with the identifier of the synchronization information.
22 . The system of claim 14 wherein determining the position of the portion of the multimedia content presentation comprises:
determining a time lapse between a position of the matched attribute of the multimedia content presentation to the portion of the multimedia content presentation.
23 . The system of claim 14 wherein the identifier comprises at least one of a plurality of pixels of a frame of the multimedia content presentation, a row of pixels of the frame of the multimedia content presentation, or the entirety of the pixels of the frame of the multimedia content presentation.
24 . The system of claim 14 wherein the portion of the multimedia content comprises objectionable content.
25 . The system of claim 14 wherein the portion of the multimedia content comprises a commercial.
26 . The system of claim 14 wherein suppressing the presentation of the portion of the multimedia content presentation comprises at least one of a skipping, blurring, and muting action of the portion of the multimedia content presentation.