Selective playback of audio at normal speed during trick play operations
AssigneeRovi Guides, Inc.
InventorsAkshay Chetan Shah, Padmassri Chandrashekar
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Abstract
Systems and methods are described herein for selective playback of portions of audio at normal speed during a fast-forward operation. Upon receiving a command to perform a fast-forward operation, a current playback position is identified, as well as a plurality of portions of audio of the content item that will be subject to the fast-forward operation. A subset of the audio portions that will be subject to the fast-forward operation are selected. The fast-forward operation is initiated, and video of the content item is played back at the increased speed while the selected portions of audio of the content item are played back at normal speed.
Claims18
A method for selectively playing, during a fast-forward operation, portions of audio of a content item, the method comprising:
- receiving a command to perform a fast-forward operation;
- identifying a current playback position of the content item;
- identifying a plurality of portions of the audio of the content item following the current playback position that will be subject to the fast-forward operation;
- selecting a subset of portions of the audio from the plurality of portions of audio, wherein the selecting comprises:
- accessing metadata of the content item, the metadata comprising a significance factor and a plurality of descriptors for each portion of the audio of the content item;
- accessing user preference data, the user preference data comprising a plurality of preference factors corresponding to at least one of the plurality of descriptors;
- determining a user preference for each respective portion of the audio by comparing each of the plurality of descriptors of the respective portion of audio with the corresponding preference factor;
- and
- calculating an importance level for each respective portion of audio is based on the significance factor and the preference factor;
- and
- selecting a particular portion of the plurality of portions for the subset based on determining that the importance level of the particular portion of audio exceeds the threshold importance level;
- initiating the fast-forward operation;
- and
- during the fast-forward operation:
- playing back video of the content item at an increased speed;
- and
- playing back the subset of portions of audio at a normal speed.
A method for selectively playing, during a fast-forward operation, portions of audio of a content item, the method comprising:
- receiving a command to perform a fast-forward operation, wherein:
- the command comprises an indication of the increased speed, the method further comprising calculating a minimum duration of the fast-forward operation based on the indication of the increased speed;
- initiating the fast-forward operation, wherein:
- initiating the fast-forward operation comprises initializing a moving window having a starting position corresponding to the current playback position and a fixed length corresponding to the minimum duration;
- the method further comprising, during the fast-forward operation, advancing the starting position of the window at a speed corresponding to the increased speed;
- and
- during the fast-forward operation:
- playing back video of the content item at an increased speed;
- and
- playing back the subset of portions of audio at a normal speed.
A system for selectively playing, during a fast-forward operation, portions of audio of a content item, the system comprising:
- input circuitry configured to receive a command to perform a fast-forward operation;
- and
- control circuitry configured to:
- identify a current playback position of the content item;
- identify a plurality of portions of the audio of the content item following the current playback position that will be subject to the fast-forward operation;
- select a subset of portions of the audio from the plurality of portions of audio, wherein the control circuitry configured to select the subset of portions of the audio from the plurality of portions of the audio is further configured to:
- access metadata of the content item, the metadata comprising a significance factor and a plurality of descriptors for each portion of the audio of the content item;
- access user preference data comprising a plurality of preference factors corresponding to at least one of the plurality of descriptors;
- determine a user preference for each respective portion of the audio by comparing each of the plurality of descriptors of the respective portion of the audio with the corresponding preference factor;
- and
- calculate an importance level for the respective portion of the audio based on the significance factor and the preference factor;
- wherein the respective portion of the audio is selected based on determining that the importance level of the respective portion of the audio exceeds the threshold importance level;
- initiate the fast-forward operation;
- and
- during the fast-forward operation:
- play back video of the content item at an increased speed;
- and
- play back the subset of portions of the audio at a normal speed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.