The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 06, 2010
Filed:
Sep. 27, 2000
Boon-lock Yeo, Cortlandt Manor, NY (US);
Minerva Ming-yee Yeung, Cortland Manor, NY (US);
Boon-Lock Yeo, Cortlandt Manor, NY (US);
Minerva Ming-Yee Yeung, Cortland Manor, NY (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
According to the invention, channel surfers are aided by summary frames appearing on the screen along with the regular program. These summary frames are embedded in the broadcast and appear in a small window on the screen at some point in the future as the video is broadcast. The summary frames depict key scenes from the past which aid the viewer in quickly ascertaining the current plot or theme of the video program. In an interactive television environment, a short video segment may be associated with each shot such that when the shot is selected, the past video segment is played in a larger window on the screen complete with sound. Once the segment is viewed, the video program is rejoined in progress with the viewer having a better sense of what is going on in the video. Hence, a when a channel surfer arrives at a new channel, rather than only having what is currently playing to catch the eye, summary frames are also available to catch the surfer's attention and aid in understanding the programming.