System and method for video program recognition

A video program recognition system, comprising:

• a recorder configured to record video sequences of each of a plurality of channels, wherein the video sequences of each of the plurality of channels are formed by interleaved segments of camera takes filmed with a plurality of original camera setups, and a camera take is a series of frames filmed with one camera setup;
• a server having one or more processors configured to:
• obtain a set of features of an image captured by a first user device of a video frame from one of the plurality of channels and played on a second user device different from the first user device, wherein the first user device includes a communication module configured to transmit the set of features of the image captured by the first user device to the server;
• perform a camera registration operation on the video sequences of each of the plurality of channels to select a plurality of video frames representing the recorded video sequences of each of the plurality of channels based on key video frames from a plurality of registered cameras associated with the recorded video sequences from the recorder;
• and
• extract features of at least some of the selected plurality of video frames of each of the plurality of channels;
• and
• a feature database configured to store the extracted features of each of the plurality of channels from the server,
• wherein the server is further configured to:
• compare the obtained set of features of the image with the stored features of each of the plurality of channels to determine whether there is a match between the obtained set of features of the image and features of a video frame from a specific channel;
• and
• when there is a match between the obtained set of features of the image and features of a video frame from a specific channel, determine a channel number of the specific channel as a recognized channel number;
• and wherein, to perform the camera registration operation, the server is further configured to:
• detect camera takes in the recorded video sequences of each of the plurality of channels such that the recorded video sequences are separated into a number of sequences with each corresponding to a registered camera that is aligned to one of the plurality of the original camera setups;
• form a registered camera pool of camera takes for the detected camera takes for each of the plurality of channels;
• calculate frame difference between consecutive frames using one of a plurality of algorithms;
• detect a new video shot when the frame difference is above a preset threshold value;
• select a key frame to represent visual content of each detected video shot;
• match the key frame with a last shot of each registered camera based on a matching criterion, wherein when a registered camera is initially detected, a first shot is used as the last shot of the registered camera;
• and
• when the matching criterion is satisfied, add the key frame to an end of the matching camera take.