Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Xinli Zou

Bin Lin

Zhike Kong

Jeffrey C Fong

Thomas Henry Taylor

Joseph Alton Schrader

Aaron DeYonker

Todd San Jule

Nishad Mulye

Wei-Ying Ma

Hong-Jiang Zhang

Yu-Fei Ma

Thumbnail images representative of recorded TV programs are generated and presented to aid a user in browsing the recorded TV programs. In one implementation, a temporary thumbnail image is generated when a TV program first starts recording. The temporary thumbnail is used to populate any user interface (UI) screens that reference the recoded TV program. Once the TV program has reached a threshold amount of recording (e.g., a prescribed duration of recording, or completion of the recording), a permanent thumbnail image is generated and associated with the TV program. The permanent thumbnail is then presented in any subsequent UI screens, replacing the temporary thumbnail. In another implementation, display of the thumbnail images in the UI screens may be further controlled by setting preferences, such as parental controls.

Thumbnail generation and presentation for recorded TV programs

Systems and methods for smart media content thumbnail extraction are described. In one aspect program metadata is generated from recorded video content. The program metadata includes one or more key-frames from one or more corresponding shots. An objectively representative key-frame is identified from among the key-frames as a function of shot duration and frequency of appearance of key-frame content across multiple shots. The objectively representative key-frame is an image frame representative of the recorded video content. A thumbnail is created from the objectively representative key-frame.

Systems and methods for smart media content thumbnail extraction

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Beijing, China

Xinli Zou