Methods and apparatus for filtering content from a presentation stream using signature data

A method for processing a stream of data, the method comprising:

• recording a first presentation stream of video data including at least one segment of a show and at least one interstitial of the show;
• receiving location information referencing a location within the first presentation stream, the location information including a text string corresponding to closed captioning data for the first presentation stream;
• receiving a signature of a portion of the first presentation stream corresponding with the location, the signature identifying a transition in the video data from a first luminance value for a first frame of the video data to a second luminance value for a second frame of the video data;
• receiving search boundary offsets specified relative to the location referenced by the received location information;
• processing the closed captioning data to locate an instance of the text string in the closed captioning data;
• identifying an intermediate video location within the first presentation stream, the identified intermediate video location corresponding to the instance of the text string located in the closed captioning data;
• identifying search boundaries within the first presentation stream by applying the search boundary offsets to the identified intermediate video location;
• computing average luminance values for a plurality of frames of the video data of the first presentation stream, wherein the plurality of frames are within the search boundaries;
• processing the average luminance values to identify the transition from the first luminance value to the second luminance value based on the signature, the transition corresponding with a signature-based video location within the first presentation stream;
• processing the first presentation stream to identify boundaries of the segment of the show based on the signature-based video location and at least one segment boundary offset;
• filtering the interstitial from the first presentation stream to generate a second presentation stream including the segment of the show, wherein the filtering uses the identified boundaries of the segment of the show;
• and
• outputting the second presentation stream for presentation by a presentation device.

A digital video recorder comprising:

• a communication interface that receives a first audio/video stream including a segment of a show, an interstitial of the show and closed captioning data;
• a storage medium;
• control logic communicatively coupled to the communication interface and the storage medium that:
• coordinates storage of the first audio/video stream onto the storage medium;
• receives location information including a text string associated with a video location within the first audio/video stream, a signature of a portion of the first audio/video stream and search boundary offsets specified relative to the video location, wherein the signature refers to waveform characteristics of the portion of the first audio/video stream;
• processes the recorded first audio/video stream to identify search boundaries within the first audio/video stream based on the closed captioning data, the location information and the search boundary offsets;
• searches for the signature in the first audio/video stream within the search boundaries, to identify a signature-based video location in the first audio/video stream;
• locates boundaries of the segment of the show by applying segment boundary offsets to the identified signature-based video location;
• and
• filters the interstitial from the first audio/video stream to generate a second audio/video stream including the segment of the show, wherein the filtering uses the located boundaries of the segment of the show;
• and
• an audio/video interface communicatively coupled to the control logic that outputs the second audio/video stream for presentation by a display device.

An apparatus comprising:

• a communication interface that receives a first presentation stream of video data including a segment of a show and an interstitial of the show, and that further receives location information referencing a location within the first presentation stream, a signature of a portion of the first presentation stream corresponding with the location, and search boundary offsets specified relative to the location referenced by the received location information, the signature identifying a transition in the video data from a first luminance value for a first frame of the video data to a second luminance value for a second frame of the video data, wherein the location information includes a text string corresponding to closed captioning data for the first presentation stream;
• control logic communicatively coupled to the communication interface that:
• processes the first presentation stream to identify search boundaries within the first presentation stream based on the closed captioning data, the location information, and the search boundary offsets;
• computes average luminance values for a plurality of frames of the video data of the first presentation stream, wherein the plurality of frames are within the search boundaries;
• processes the average luminance values to identify the transition from the first luminance value to the second luminance value based on the signature, the transition corresponding with a signature-based video location within the first presentation stream;
• processes the first presentation stream to identify boundaries of the segment of the show based on the signature-based video location and at least one segment boundary offset;
• and
• filters the interstitial from the first presentation stream to generate a second presentation stream including the segment of the show, wherein the filtering uses the identified boundaries of the segment of the show;
• and
• an audio/video interface communicatively coupled to the control logic that outputs the second presentation stream for presentation on a presentation device.