Audible, Inc.

Lucent Technologies Inc.

At&t Bell Laboratories

At+t Corp.

Steven Charles Dzik

Guy A Story, Jr

Yuh-Tay Liow

M Reha Civanlar

Guy Ashley Story, Jr

Ajay Arora

John F Ribera

Alexander Galkin

Mahendra Pratap

Minakanagurki V Ranganath

Mugur F Tolea

Jerome Prestinario

Anthony James Catanzaro

Will Lopes

Charles Hull

A content alignment service is described that may generate content synchronization information to facilitate the synchronous presentation of corresponding audio content and textual content. In some embodiments, portions of body text (as opposed to front matter, such as a table of contents; or back matter, such as an index) in the textual content are identified and synchronized with corresponding audio content. In one example application, an audiobook may be synchronized with an electronic book. As the body text portions of the electronic book are consumed, corresponding words of the audiobook may be audibly presented.

Aligning body matter across content formats

Systems and methods are disclosed enabling recommendations of content items available in multiple formats based on an expected difficulty of a user in comprehending individual formats of the content item. For example, a user wishing to increase reading fluency may be provided with a recommendation for a multi-format content item including both an e-book and an audiobook. The recommended multi-format content item may be selected such that the e-book is expected to be somewhat difficult for the user to comprehend, and such that the audiobook is expected to be relatively less difficult for the user to comprehend. Thereafter, the user may simultaneously consume multiple formats of the recommended content item (e.g., by listening to the audiobook simultaneously to reading the e-book) in order to increase reading fluency.

Multi-format content recommendations to improve format fluency

A content alignment service may generate content synchronization information to facilitate the synchronous presentation of audio content and textual content. In some embodiments, a region of the textual content whose correspondence to the audio content is uncertain may be analyzed to determine whether the region of textual content corresponds to one or more words that are audibly presented in the audio content, or whether the region of textual content is a mismatch with respect to the audio content. In some embodiments, words in the textual content that correspond to words in the audio content are synchronously presented, while mismatched words in the textual content may be skipped to maintain synchronous presentation. Accordingly, in one example application, an audiobook is synchronized with an electronic book, so that as the electronic book is displayed, corresponding words of the audiobook are audibly presented.

Identifying corresponding regions of content

Digital items of dynamic content may be navigated by content elements associated with the item of dynamic content. In some embodiments, a voice command or natural language query is obtained from a user to whom the item of dynamic content is being presented. The voice command or natural language query may be processed to identify a content element to which the user wishes to navigate. The item of dynamic content may then be presented starting at a presentation position at or near a presentation position with which the content element is associated.

Selecting presentation positions in dynamic content

Systems and methods are provided for graphically representing associations between one or more stories and one or more referents of interest. In some embodiments, a score may be determined for each of a set of stories based at least in part on a number of associations between the given story and one or more referents of interest. A graphical representation of the stories may then be presented for display. The graphical representation may include indicia, where each indicium graphically indicates the strength of association between a given story and the one or more referents of interest. The strength of association for a given story may be determined, for example, based at least in part on the determined score for the story.

Graphically representing associations between referents and stories

A presentation analysis service may obtain presentation information from one or more computing devices that are presenting the item of content. The presentation information may be used to generate recommendations to be provided to a user that is consuming the item of content and/or to a provider of items of content. Further, the presentation information may be used to adapt a presentation of the item of content.

Content presentation analysis

Systems and methods are provided for causing aural and/or visual presentation of representative content in response to a request to progress or navigate through audio content at a scan rate exceeding a threshold playback rate. In some embodiments, a current position marker in the audio content may be repeatedly updated based on the scan rate. For each updated position of the current position marker, one or more characteristic words associated with the content near the current position marker may be determined. A continuous presentation of the determined characteristic words may be generated and presented aurally and/or visually in order to provide an indication as to the subject matter of the content at the current position.

Presenting representative content portions during content navigation

Systems and methods are provided for enabling a user to associate a story with one or more referents. In some embodiments, information representing a first version of a story may be caused to be displayed, and in the display of information representing the first version of the story, a user may be enabled to associate a referent with a first point in the first version of the story, where the referent is at least one of an event, a character, an object, a subject, a time, a place and a person. In some embodiments, the referent may be automatically associated with a second point in a second version of the story based at least in part on a point map associated with the first version of the story and the second version of the story.

Systems and methods for associating stories with related referents

Systems and methods are provided for displaying relationships between stories. In some embodiments, a plurality of referents that are each related to a first story may be caused to be displayed, where a referent is at least one of an event, a character, an object, a subject, a time, a place and a person. A user may be enabled to select one of the plurality of referents in order to view identification information identifying at least one other story, where the other story is also associated with the selected referent. In response to user selection of one of the plurality of referents, identification information identifying the at least one other story that is associated with the selected referent may be caused to be displayed.

Systems and methods for determining relationships between stories

Systems and methods are provided for graphically representing associations between one or more points in a story and one or more referents of interest. In some embodiments, a score may be determined for each of a set of points in a story based at least in part on a number of associations between the given point in the story and one or more referents of interest. A graphical representation of the points in the story may then be presented for display. The graphical representation may include indicia, where each indicium graphically indicates the strength of association between a given point in the story and the one or more referents of interest. The strength of association for a given point in the story may be determined, for example, based at least in part on the determined score for the point.

Graphically representing associations between referents and points in a story

The invention comprises a system and method for correcting jitter and frame erasure in packet voice communication systems with out severely affecting the voice quality of the signal to be easily noticed by a listener. A packet is retrieved from a buffer, a pitch of the packet is determined, and the pitch of the packet is processed in a manner determinative of whether a next packet has arrived.

Method and apparatus for jitter and frame erasure correction in packetized voice communication systems

Improved curve plotting techniques are disclosed for drawing a substantially smooth curve in real time, from a plurality of sampled points, as the points are sampled, on a point-by-point basis. The curve is substantially smooth in that it has a continuously changing slope of G.sup.1 continuity, as opposed to a slope which changes in a discontinuous or stepwise manner. The curve plotting is performed by representing the x coordinates of the curve using a parametric equation x=�a.sub.x *(t.sup.2)!+�b.sub.x *t!+�c.sub.x !, and by representing the y coordinates of the curve using a second parametric equation y=�a.sub.y *(t.sup.2)!+�b.sub.y *t!+�c.sub.y !, wherein a.sub.x, a.sub.y, b.sub.x, b.sub.y, c.sub.x, and c.sub.y comprise six unknown quantities, and t is a 'dummy' valuable. The derivatives of the parametric equations are employed to calculate and to plot the smooth curve.

Line smoothing techniques

A telephone apparatus enables the approximate simultaneous transmission and reception of audio interleaved with image and graphical annotation signals, in data packet form, over an analog line which connects the apparatus to a switched telephone network. The audio data packets are transmitted at a periodic rate, during a first time interval, and the image and annotation data packets are transmitted during a second time interval, following the first time interval, enabling the simultaneous output of voice, image and annotation data at the receiver site. Control data packets, as needed, are also transmitted during the second time interval for end-to-end apparatus control. One feature enables the transmission of audio data packets at a first periodic rate, when in an image transmission mode, and at a second periodic rate, faster than the first periodic rate, when not in the image transmission mode.

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Somerset, NJ, United States of America

Steven Charles Dzik