Method and system for controlling lighting in a viewing area of a content-presentation device

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, having stored thereon program instructions that, upon execution by a processor, cause performance of a set of operations comprising:

• receiving video content comprising a first data portion comprising video parameters that control a visual appearance of frames of video content presented by a content-presentation device, wherein the content-presentation device is communicatively coupled to a light unit that is (i) present in a viewing area of the content-presentation device and (ii) configured to provide ambient light in the viewing area, and wherein the content-presentation device is communicatively coupled to a camera and a microphone;
• extracting, from the received video content, a second data portion, separate from the first data portion, specifying one or more light control parameters that a controller associated with the light unit is configured to interpret as instructions for controlling the light unit;
• transmitting the extracted second data portion to the controller to facilitate the controller controlling the light unit according to the one or more light control parameters specified by the extracted second data portion;
• receiving, via the camera, image data representing the ambient light provided by the light unit;
• receiving, via the microphone, audio data representing audio from the video content presented by the content-presentation device;
• based on the image data and the audio data, determining a delay between the audio and the ambient light;
• and
• based on the determined delay, transmitting an instruction to the controller to facilitate the controller controlling the light unit.

A computing system comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, having stored thereon program instructions that, upon execution by the processor, cause performance of a set of operations comprising:
• receiving video content comprising a first data portion comprising video parameters that control a visual appearance of frames of video content presented by a content-presentation device, wherein the content-presentation device is communicatively coupled to a light unit that is (i) present in a viewing area of the content-presentation device and (ii) configured to provide ambient light in the viewing area, and wherein the content-presentation device is communicatively coupled to a camera and a microphone;
• extracting, from the received video content, a second data portion, separate from the first data portion, specifying one or more light control parameters that a controller associated with the light unit is configured to interpret as instructions for controlling the light unit;
• transmitting the extracted second data portion to the controller to facilitate the controller controlling the light unit according to the one or more light control parameters specified by the extracted second data portion
• receiving, via the camera, image data representing the ambient light provided by the light unit;
• receiving, via the microphone, audio data representing audio from the video content presented by the content-presentation device;
• based on the image data and the audio data, determining a delay between the audio and the ambient light;
• and
• based on the determined delay, transmitting an instruction to the controller to facilitate the controller controlling the light unit.