Method, apparatus and system for indexing content based on time information

A method for indexing content, comprising:

• determining relative time information of at least one of a time interval of at least a portion of said content and an event occurring in said content;
• generating time metadata that indexes in absolute time said determined relative time information;
• and
• communicating the time metadata for storage, wherein the determining step comprises
• using electronic program guide information to identify a source of said relative time information and to identify a type of the event occurring in said content and to distinguish between two different clocks shown during the event;
• applying an optical character recognition technique to said content;
• and
• evaluating numerical information retrieved from said content to determine whether the numeral information is increasing or decreasing at a given frequency over a given time period and is consecutively incremented or decreased to determine whether the numerical information comprises relative time information.

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising a computer readable program for indexing content, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to perform the following steps:

• determining relative time information of at least one of a time interval of at least a portion of said content and an event occurring in said content;
• generating time metadata that indexes in absolute time said determined relative time information;
• and
• communicating the time metadata for storage, wherein the determining step comprises
• using electronic program guide information to identify a source of said relative time information and to identify a type of the event occurring in said content and to distinguish between two different clocks shown during the event;
• applying an optical character recognition technique to said content;
• evaluating numerical information retrieved from said content to determine whether the numeral information is increasing or decreasing at a given frequency over a given time period and is consecutively incremented or decreased to determine whether the numerical information comprises relative time information.

An apparatus for indexing content, comprising:

• a memory for storing at least program routines and data;
• and
• a processor for executing said program routines;
• said apparatus being configured to:
• determine relative time information of at least one of a time interval of at least a portion of said content and an event occurring in said content;
• generate time metadata that indexes in absolute time said determined relative time information;
• and
• communicate the time metadata for storage, wherein the operation of the apparatus to determine relative time information comprises
• using electronic program guide information to identify a source of said relative time information and to identify a type of the event occurring in said content and to distinguish between two different clocks shown during the event;
• applying an optical character recognition technique to said content;
• and
• evaluating numerical information retrieved from said content to determine whether the numeral information is increasing or decreasing at a given frequency over a given time period and is consecutively incremented or decreased to determine whether the numerical information comprises relative time information.