Patent Grant
11778287
The present document relates to mechanisms for generating and outputting customized highlight sequences for sporting events, entertainment events, news, and/or the like.
There are many services that provide game highlights, box scores, and commentary for sporting events. Such services include, for example, news programs, sports channels, websites, and the like. In general, however, such services provide highlights based on some generalized determination as to what sporting events are likely to be of interest to the general viewer, and what portions of a sporting event are most likely to be of interest to the general viewer.
In general such services do not take into account the interests and preferences of an individual viewer. What may be of interest to one sports fan may be uninteresting to another sports fan. Currently available services merely broadcast a game's highlights without considering the myriad preferences of individual viewers that can make a sporting event more interesting or less interesting for them. This results in the inefficient use of the sports fans' time, potential loss of viewership, and a concomitant decrease in advertisement revenue.
Various embodiments of the technology described herein provide mechanisms for generating and outputting customized highlight sequences for sporting events, entertainment events, and/or the like. For example, in the context of sporting events, a determination is made as to what types of sports, teams, leagues, players, plays, style of play, and/or the like are of interest to a particular user. Such a determination can be made based on information explicitly provided by the user, and/or automatically by observing user behavior or extracting such information from an external data source, such as an individual's profile on a social network or the like. Other factors can also be taken into account, such as what the user's friends may be watching, importance or excitement level of the sporting events or of specific portions of the sporting events, external considerations such as rarity of events, and/or the like.
In at least one embodiment, the amount of time available to the user can be obtained, so that the length of the highlight sequence can be tailored to the available time. In at least one other embodiment, the desire for highlight transitions that reveal the outcome of the upcoming segment (“spoiler transitions”) vs. transitions that maintain the suspense of the upcoming segment (“discreet transitions”) is elicited from the user to further appeal to the user's specific preferences. Once the particular interests of the user have been determined, along with the amount of time available, as well as the user's desire for discreet transitions vs. spoiler transitions, a customized highlight sequence is generated and presented, containing those specific portions of the sporting events that are likely to be of interest, arranged in a manner that is likely to be entertaining to the user and comports with the time restrictions. In at least one embodiment, the customized highlight sequence is generated to present a cohesive narrative, and highlights are automatically selected which tend to support that narrative.
In generating the customized highlight sequence, video and/or audio accounts of the sporting events are obtained from any suitable source. This can include live broadcasts, recorded material, material from online sources, and/or the like. Specific clips depicting events within the sporting events are identified and obtained, and are assembled in a manner so as to generate a highlight sequence that is coherent, possibly relaying a compelling narrative of the desired events, and that reflects the user's interests.
Similar techniques can be used for non-sporting events, for example to provide highlights of a movie, television program, news broadcast, and/or the like. Such techniques can be used for audio programming, audiovisual programming, text-based content, and/or the like.
Further details and variations are described herein.
The accompanying drawings, together with the description, illustrate several embodiments. One skilled in the art will recognize that the particular embodiments illustrated in the drawings are merely exemplary, and are not intended to limit scope.
The following definitions are presented for explanatory purposes only, and are not intended to limit scope.
In at least one embodiment, the technology disclosed herein relates to generating and outputting customized highlight sequences for events, including sporting events, entertainment events, news events, and/or the like.
The technology disclosed herein is able to obtain or extract highlights from any suitable source, whether local or remote, and whether recorded or live. Examples include: live or recorded broadcasts of sporting events; online clips from video-sharing sites such as Vimeo or YouTube; archived video; local media such as a hard drive, optical drive, or magnetic drive; set-top boxes; local or remote servers; mobile computing devices such as smartphones or tablets; cameras; camcorders; or the like. Combinations of any such media can also be used. Source video can include the entire event (such as an entire game), or it can be a pre-curated highlight video from which a customized highlight sequence can be extracted.
Source video and/or other source content can come from any available source, whether linear (such as available via a cable box), or on-demand/IP-enabled (such as available from a website or on-demand service).
In another embodiment, video can be obtained from an online video-sharing website (such as Vimeo or YouTube). Such videos may be identified by title, metadata, and/or other means. In many cases, however, title or metadata for such video-sharing websites may be inaccurate; accordingly, in at least one embodiment, the system analyzes the video coming from such sources and determines correct information from the video analysis before using such video in generating a customized highlight sequence. In at least one embodiment, the system identifies and associates pre-curated, individual highlights with specific occurrences in the event. For example, if the event is a sporting event such as a baseball game, the system can identify a set of videos that are available via a video-sharing website, depicting individual highlight plays of the game. In order to prioritize these highlight videos correctly, the system associates the videos with individual occurrences (such as plays) that took place in the course of the game. In at least one embodiment, this is done by automated analysis of metadata associated with the videos. In at least one embodiment, such analysis is supplemented by additional techniques to improve accuracy, such as natural language processing and/or fuzzy logic; in this manner, each video can be correctly associated with the correct occurrence within the sporting event.
In another embodiment, video for a customized highlight sequence can come from the user's (or another user's) own video capture device, such as a smartphone, camera, or camcorder belonging to someone who attended the event.
In another embodiment, video from different sources can be used, and can be combined to generate the customized highlight sequence. In at least one embodiment, the system may include multiple angles of the same occurrence (such as a particularly remarkable occurrence), which angles may come from different video sources. For example, a customized highlight sequence can include the television feed for a grand slam, followed by a YouTube video of the same grand slam as captured by a fan who attended the game; since the YouTube video captures the occurrence from a different perspective, it may be effective to include it for emphasis and to show the crowd's reaction. In another example, the system can combine the video feed from once source (such as a network broadcast) with the audio feed from another source (such as a local radio commentator for one of the teams); such a combination may be more entertaining or interesting to a fan of that local commentator's team.
In at least one embodiment, the system takes into account what video sources or other content are available to the user. For example, if the user is a subscriber to a premium sports package, he or she may have access to on-demand video for certain sporting events that are not available to a non-subscriber. In at least one embodiment, the described system detects this, and uses such on-demand video (or other content) when available to construct the customized highlight sequence. For non-subscribers, the system looks for other available sources of content.
In order to effectively customize a highlight sequence, the technology disclosed herein is able to ascertain preferences and interests of an individual user (or group of users). This can be done, for example, by any of: querying the user; observing his or her behavior; pulling preferences from a profile such as that collected and maintained by a social network, making inferences based on content viewed by the user, demographics, or other factors; observation of the user's friends or associates; and/or any combination thereof. In short, any suitable mechanism(s) can be used for determining such preferences and interests. In addition, the technology disclosed herein takes into account the amount of time available to the user for viewing a highlight sequence; this can be specified explicitly by the user, or ascertained based on previous viewing habits, industry standards, and/or any other factors. In addition, the technology disclosed herein takes in to account the desire of the user to see spoiler transitions (which reveal outcomes and/or events before they are displayed) vs. discreet transitions (which do not).
In at least one embodiment, the disclosed technology is capable of generating different customized highlight sequences for different users, based on factors that might make particular sporting events (or occurrences within such events) more exciting or less exciting for different categories of users. In at least one embodiment, the disclosed technology takes into account the degree to which a user is likely to be interested in a particular type of performance, team, league, player, division, conference, game, sport, genre or other variable. In one example, different highlight sequences might be generated for home team fans as opposed to visiting team fans or neutral fans. As used herein, a home team fan refers to a subscriber who is a fan of (or otherwise has an affinity for) the team that hosts the event, the visiting team fan refers to a subscriber who is a fan of (or otherwise has an affinity for) the team opposing the home team, and the neutral fan does not have a preference or affinity for the home team or the visiting team. In some embodiments, the event may involve more than two teams and/or one or more individuals. In some embodiments, the customized highlight sequences described herein can be generated separately for home team fans, visiting team fans and neutral fans. When the event involves more than two teams and/or one or more individuals, the customized highlight sequences described herein can be generated separately for fans of each of the multiple teams and/or individuals.
Customized highlight sequences can also be generated for other groups of people. For example, customized highlight sequences can be generated separately for different users based on user's affinity for fast-paced games, games with large momentum swings, games with great historical context or importance, or other categories. For example, a customized highlight sequence can include segments that are of a type that a particular user finds exciting, such as a crash within an auto race or a fight during a hockey game.
In at least one embodiment, customized highlight sequences include segments from a single event. In at least one other embodiment, customized highlight sequences can include segments from more than one event, such as a number of games that took place on a given day or over some other period of time, or that are part of a series, or the like. The particular assembly of segments from the different events is selected based on the user's individual affinities and characteristics.
In at least one embodiment, customized highlight sequences can be automatically constructed to focus on a particular player, team, division, league, playoff series, or the like. Customized highlight sequences can be generated which show highlights for all of a user's favorite players, even if they are on different teams, or for players belonging to a user's fantasy team in a fantasy league. In such an embodiment, the system obtains information about which players are in the user's fantasy team league, so that appropriate selections can be made as to which highlights to include; these selections can be made based on excitement level and/or priority as described below, but can also take into account the degree to which the user's players were involved in each occurrence (play) of the game.
In at least one embodiment, customized highlight sequences can be accompanied by scores, explanatory text, commentary, or other auxiliary content. Such content may be automatically generated, or may be composed by a human author. Such content can take any suitable form, such as audio (spoken commentary or voice-over), text (caption, title, or heading), graphical (icon or symbol on the screen), or the like. An example is a caption that appears at the beginning of a highlight segment, giving a context (such as a score, on-base situation, pitch count, possession, introductory text, or the like) for the highlight segment. Such auxiliary content may appear within the highlight sequence itself (such as before each segment of the sequence), and/or it can appear on a screen that summarizes the overall highlight sequence, such as a navigation screen that allows a user to see individual segments within the highlight sequence, as illustrated in more detail below. Other arrangements are possible.
In at least one embodiment, such contextual information can be derived from any suitable source, and can include items such as the current game situation, the current ball situation, and/or the like. In at least one embodiment, a transition effect can be used between highlight segments; such transition effect can be informational or noninformational.
In at least one embodiment, such contextual information can contain spoilers elucidating what is about to be shown in the upcoming highlight. In an alternative embodiment, such contextual information can be devoid of spoilers and simply help set up the situation at the time the upcoming highlight initiates. In at least one embodiment, a user can specify whether he or she wishes to see spoilers; in another embodiment, the system can make an automatic determination as to whether or not to include spoilers.
In at least one embodiment, the user can interact with a customized highlight sequence as it is being displayed. For example, the user can click on a link or perform some other input operation while a highlight segment is being displayed, to access more information about that portion of the sporting event. Clicking on the link can take the user to a more detailed description of the highlight segment, or to full video of the depicted event, or the like. In this manner, the displayed customized highlight sequence can be used as a mechanism for navigating within a more complete depiction of an event.
Customized highlight sequences can be provided to users via any suitable mechanism. In at least one embodiment, such sequences can be shown via a website, app, set-top box, software application, or the like. Any suitable hardware can be used for presenting customized highlight sequences, including a desktop computer, laptop computer, television, smartphone, tablet, music player, audio device, kiosk, set-top box, game system, wearable device, consumer electronic device, and/or the like. Such devices are generally referred to herein as client devices. Content can be transmitted to client devices via any suitable means, such as for example a computing network, cable network, satellite connection, wireless network, and/or the like. Content, including customized highlight sequences, can be transmitted to a client device from a server, cable provider, on-demand provider, satellite provider, and/or the like. Alternatively, the described technology can be implemented at a stand-alone device, such as a DVR containing a recording of a sporting event, wherein the device generates a customized highlight sequence from such a locally stored recording and presents it to the user. Thus, the technology can be implemented without requiring a connection to a remote server or other source of content.
User Interface
Referring now to
The visual depiction of excitement level is optional, and is presented here for illustrative purposes. Excitement level is one possible factor that can be considered when determining which portions of the event to include in the customized highlight sequence. Other factors can be used, such as personalized factors that relate to an individual user's affinity for a particular team, player, type of play, and/or the like, and such factors can be combined with the excitement level (or can modify the excitement level) if appropriate to determine which segments to include. In other embodiments, other metrics can be used instead of or in addition to excitement level. In at least one embodiment, a derived metric called “priority” is used to determine which portions of an event to include in the customized highlight sequence; priority can be derived from excitement level and/or other factors, as described in more detail below.
In the example of
In at least one embodiment, a summary caption 107 is shown for each thumbnail 101. In at least one embodiment, the user can choose to omit such captions 107 so as to avoid “spoilers”.
Interface 100 also contains other controls that can be used to specify parameters for the customized highlight sequence. Buttons 105 allow the user to specify whether he or she is more interested in a baseline (neutral) view, or is a fan of one team or the other, or is a fan of a particular player on one of the teams; different sets of highlights can be selected based on which affinity is specified. Buttons 106 allow the user to specify how long the customized highlight sequence should be; in at least one embodiment, different sets of highlights may be chosen depending on how much time is available. In at least one embodiment, in response to the user clicking on one of buttons 105 or 106, a different customized highlight sequence is dynamically generated; accordingly, graph 103 and thumbnails 101, 102 can be automatically updated in response to such an input operation.
In at least one embodiment, a “why was I shown this” link can be provided (not shown in
In other embodiments, the customized highlight sequence can simply be presented as a video (or audio track), without any graphical representation of levels, and without any indication of a timeline or the like. Such a presentation may be particularly useful in a context where a user is viewing the highlight sequence on a television rather than on a website. Such a presentation can still allow for user navigation and interaction, for example by allowing a user to press a “forward” or “back” button to skip to the next or previous highlight segment within the sequence. Such a presentation can also allow a user to obtain more information or see more detailed highlights (or even switch to a view of the unexpurgated event itself, such as the entire game) by pressing an “Enter” button or the like (or performing some other suitable input operation).
Referring now to
In the example of
According to various embodiments, the system can be implemented on any electronic device, or set of electronic devices, equipped to receive, store, and present information. Such an electronic device may be, for example, a desktop computer, laptop computer, television, smartphone, tablet, music player, audio device, kiosk, set-top box, game system, wearable device, consumer electronic device, and/or the like.
Although the system is described herein in connection with an implementation in particular types of computing devices, one skilled in the art will recognize that the techniques described herein can be implemented in other contexts, and indeed in any suitable device capable of receiving and/or processing user input, and presenting output to the user. Accordingly, the following description is intended to illustrate various embodiments by way of example, rather than to limit scope.
Referring now to
Client device 206 can be any electronic device, such as a desktop computer, laptop computer, television, smartphone, tablet, music player, audio device, kiosk, set-top box, game system, wearable device, consumer electronic device, and/or the like. In at least one embodiment, client device 206 has a number of hardware components well known to those skilled in the art. Input device(s) 251 can be any element(s) that receive input from user 250, including, for example, a keyboard, mouse, stylus, touch-sensitive screen (touchscreen), touchpad, gesture receptor, trackball, accelerometer, five-way switch, microphone, or the like. Input can be provided via any suitable mode, including for example, one or more of: pointing, tapping, typing, dragging, gesturing, tilting, shaking, and/or speech. Display screen 252 can be any element that graphically displays information, video, content, and/or the like, including depictions of events, highlights, and/or the like. Such output may also include, for example, audiovisual content, data visualizations, navigational elements, graphical elements, queries requesting information and/or parameters for selection of content, or the like. Additionally or alternatively, display screen 252 may display status information in a wide variety of formats, including but not limited to status reports, summary reports, comparative reports, and the like. In at least one embodiment where only some of the desired output is presented at a time, a dynamic control, such as a scrolling mechanism, may be available via input device(s) 251 to change which information is currently displayed, and/or to alter the manner in which the information is displayed.
Processor 257 can be a conventional microprocessor for performing operations on data under the direction of software, according to well-known techniques. Memory 256 can be random-access memory, having a structure and architecture as are known in the art, for use by processor 257 in the course of running software for performing the operations described herein. Client device can also include local storage (not shown), which may be a hard drive, flash drive, optical or magnetic storage device, web-based (cloud-based) storage, and/or the like.
Any suitable type of communications network 204, such as the Internet, can be used as the mechanism for transmitting data between client device 206 and various server(s) 202, 214, 216 and/or content provider(s) 224 and/or data provider(s) 222, according to any suitable protocols and techniques. In addition to the Internet, other examples include cellular telephone networks, EDGE, 3G, 4G, long term evolution (LTE), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Short Message Peer-to-Peer protocol (SMPP), SS7, WiFi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (SHTTP), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and/or the like, and/or any combination thereof. In at least one embodiment, client device 206 transmits requests for data and/or content via communications network 204, and receives responses from server(s) 202, 214, 216 containing the requested data and/or content.
In at least one embodiment, the system of
In at least one embodiment, system 200 generates customized highlight sequences by analyzing live feeds and/or recordings of events, including any or all of video content, audio content, play-by-play statistics and metrics, or any other available data related to the event.
In one embodiment, system 200 includes one or more web server(s) 202 coupled via a network 204 to one or more client devices 206. Network 204 may be a public network, a private network, or a combination of public and private networks such as the Internet. Network 204 can be a LAN, WAN, wired, wireless and/or combination of the above. Client device 206 is, in at least one embodiment, capable of connecting to network 204, either via a wired or wireless connection. In at least one embodiment, client device may also include a recording device capable of receiving and recording events, such as a DVR, PVR, or other media recording device. Such recording device can be part of client device 206, or can be external; in other embodiments, such recording device can be omitted. Although
Web server(s) 202 include one or more physical computing devices and/or software that can receive requests from client device(s) 206 and respond to those requests with data, as well as send out unsolicited alerts and other messages. Web server(s) 202 may employ various strategies for fault tolerance and scalability such as load balancing, caching and clustering. In at least one embodiment, web server(s) 202 may include caching technology, as known in the art, for storing client requests and information related to events.
Web server(s) 202 maintain, or otherwise designate, one or more application server(s) 214 to respond to requests received from client device(s) 206. In at least one embodiment, application server(s) 214 provide access to business logic for use by client application programs in client device(s) 206. Application server(s) 214 may be colocated, co-owned, or co-managed with web server(s) 202. Application server(s) 214 may also be remote from web server(s) 202. In at least one embodiment, application server(s) 214 interact with one or more analytical server(s) 216 and one or more data server(s) 218 to perform one or more operations of the disclosed technology.
In an exemplary operation of system 200, one or more users 250 of client devices 206 make a request to view a customized highlight sequence for an event or set of events, which may include sporting event(s) or non-sporting event(s). In another embodiment, such customized highlight sequence can be presented to user 250 without a specific request having been made by user 250. In one embodiment, user 250 can specify, via input device(s) 251 at client device 206, certain parameters for the customized highlight sequence (such as, for example, what event/games/teams to include, how much time the user 250 has available to view the highlight sequence, and/or any other parameters). User preferences can also be extracted from storage, such as from user data 255 stored in storage device 253, so as to customize the highlight sequence without necessarily requiring user 250 to specify preferences. User preferences can be determined based on observed behavior and actions of user 250 (for example, by observing website visitation patterns, television watching patterns, music listening patterns, online purchases, and/or the like); in addition or alternatively, user preference can be retrieved from previously stored preferences that were provided by user 250. Such user preferences may indicate which teams, sports, players, and/or types of events are of interest to user 250, and can therefore be used to guide selections of highlights for highlight sequences.
Analytical server(s) 216, which may include one or more computing devices, analyze live or recorded feeds of play-by-play statistics related to one or more events from data provider(s) 222. Examples of data provider(s) 222 may include, but are not limited to, providers of real-time sports information such as STATS™, OPTA™ and Sports Direct™. In one embodiment, analytical server(s) 216 generate different sets of excitement levels for events; such excitement levels can then be used (possibly in combination with other data) for selecting highlights according to the techniques described herein. The operations performed by analytical server(s) 216 are described in more detail in the above-cited related U.S. Utility applications.
Application server(s) 214 receive the different sets of excitement levels generated by analytical server(s) 216, and use such data to generate customized highlight sequences for user 250 according to the techniques described herein. In at least one embodiment, application server(s) 214 derive a priority metric for each possession, occurrence, or other portion of events; the priority metric can be derived from the excitement level and/or from other information. The priority metric can then be used to select highlights for inclusion in a customized highlight sequence. In other embodiments, application server(s) 214 use excitement level alone, and do not generate a priority.
Content for highlight sequences can come from any suitable source, including from content provider(s) 224 (which may include websites such as YouTube, MLB.com, and the like; sports data providers; television stations; client- or server-based DVRs; and/or the like). Alternatively, content can come from a local source such as a DVR or other recording device associated with (or built into) client device 206. In at least one embodiment, application server(s) 214 makes the customized highlight sequence available to user 250, either as a download, or streaming content, or on-demand content, or by some other means. In another embodiment, application server(s) 214 sends information to client device 206 to identify specific highlights for a highlight sequence, and client device 206 then retrieves or obtains the identified highlights for presentation to user 250. Such an embodiment avoids the need for video content or other high-bandwidth content to be transmitted via network 204 unnecessarily, particularly if such content is already available at client device 206.
For example, referring now to
Returning to
In at least one embodiment, one more data server(s) 218 are provided. Data server(s) 218 respond to requests for data from any of server(s) 202, 214, 216, for example to obtain event data 254 and/or user data 255. In at least one embodiment, such information can be stored at any suitable storage device 253 accessible by data server 218, and can come from any suitable source, such as from client device 206 itself, content provider(s) 224, data provider(s) 222, and/or the like. Event data 254 can include any information describing any number of events, as well as occurrences, excitement levels, and/or other information. User data 255 can include any information describing users 250, including for example, demographics, purchasing behavior, web viewing behavior, interests, preferences, and/or the like.
Referring now to
The specific hardware architectures depicted in
In one embodiment, the system can be implemented as software written in any suitable computer programming language, whether in a standalone or client/server architecture. Alternatively, it may be implemented and/or embedded in hardware.
Referring now to
In at least one embodiment, excitement level results module 226 receives different sets of excitement levels related to one or more events, from excitement level generation module 230 of analytical server 216 (described below). Priority determination module 225 uses data from excitement level results module 226, along with other data concerning possessions or occurrences within the event, to generate priority metrics for each possession or occurrence. In at least one embodiment, based on the priority metrics generated by priority determination module 225, along with user preferences obtained by user preferences module 224, highlight sequence generation module 227 generates customized highlight sequence(s) for presentation to user 250, according to the techniques described herein. In another embodiment, priority determination module 225 can be omitted, and highlight sequence generation module 227 generates customized highlight sequence(s) based on excitement levels received from excitement level results module 226, along with user preferences obtained by user preferences module 224.
Referring now to
Referring now to
In at least one embodiment, device 300 includes memory 256, a processor 257, and a system bus 306 that couples various system components including memory 256 to processor 257. System bus 306 may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures.
Memory 256 stores, in part, instructions and data for execution by processor 257 in order to perform the process described herein. Memory 256 includes computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM). A basic input/output system (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within device 300, such as during start-up, is typically stored in the ROM. RAM typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediately accessible to and/or presently being operated on by processor 257.
Device 300 further includes a mass storage device 308. Storage device 308, which may be implemented with a magnetic disk drive, an optical disk drive or flash memory, or the like, is a non-volatile storage device for storing data and instructions for use by processor 257. In one embodiment, storage device 308 stores the system software for implementing the processes described herein for purposes of loading to memory 256. Storage device 308 may be internal or external to device 300.
A user (such as user 250) may enter commands and information into device 300 through any suitable input device(s) 251. Input device(s) 251 can be any element that receives input from user 250, including, for example, a keyboard, mouse, stylus, touch-sensitive screen (touchscreen), touchpad, trackball, accelerometer, five-way switch, microphone, remote control, or the like. Input can be provided via any suitable mode, including for example, one or more of: pointing, tapping, typing, dragging, gesturing, tilting, shaking, and/or speech. These and other input devices are often connected to processor 257 through a user input interface 310 that is coupled to system bus 306, but may be connected by other interface and bus structures, such as a parallel port, game port or a universal serial bus (USB). A display screen 252 and/or other type of output device are also connected to system bus 306 via an interface, such as a video interface 318. Display screen 252 can be any element that graphically displays information, video, content, and/or the like, including depictions of events, highlights, and/or the like. In at least one embodiment, in addition to or instead of display screen 252, device 300 may also include other output devices such as speakers 322, printer 324, which may be connected through an output peripheral interface 320 or other suitable interface.
Device 300 may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote devices 330. Remote devices 330 may be a desktop computer, laptop computer, television, smartphone, tablet, music player, audio device, kiosk, set-top box, game system, wearable device, consumer electronic device, and/or the like, and/or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to the device 300. In at least one embodiment, when used in a networking environment, device 300 is connected to a remote network (such as network 204) through a network interface or adapter 328.
The components contained in the device of
In various embodiments, customized highlight sequences can be generated in different ways. In general, as described in more detail below, the techniques involve identifying a number of highlights for an event, determining start/end times for the identified highlights, and presenting a customized highlight sequence to a user including the identified highlights. In some embodiments, the full representation of the event (for example, an audiovisual recording of a sporting event) can be stored at a server; in other embodiments, it is stored at a client or at another location. Further details on the method are provided below.
Referring now to
Highlight sequence generation logic 606 identifies highlights 601 by specifying start/end times for each highlight 601. In at least one embodiment, such start/end times are measured with respect to a video clock, which measures the actual elapsed time since the beginning of an event. In other embodiments, start/end times may be measured with respect to other timekeeping measures. Further descriptions of the video clock, along with other timekeeping measures such as a game clock, are provided below.
In the example of
In the embodiment shown in
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In at least one embodiment, user 250 may be prompted to approve or decline such attempts to automatically obtain information about him or her.
User information may be obtained at any suitable time. If such information is obtained in advance (for example, when registering upon initial use of the system), such information can be stored, for example in user data 255 of server-based storage device 253. Alternatively, such information can be stored locally at client device 206. Stored user information can be updated as appropriate when new or additional information becomes available (for example, if additional tracking information is available, or if the user updates his or her profile). Alternatively, user information can be obtained at the time that user 250 requests a customized highlight sequence; in such a case, step 410 can take place after step 422. In at least one embodiment, no user information is collected, and the system generates the highlight sequence automatically without taking into account personal characteristics of the user.
A request is received 422 for a customized highlight sequence. In at least one embodiment, web server 202 receives the request, and passes the request to application server(s) 214 for processing, although in other embodiments, any suitable component can receive the request. The request can be made by user 250, for example at a website or by activating an app on device 206, or by any suitable means. The request may be for a highlight sequence for a particular event, or for any number of events. For example, in at least one embodiment, the described system generates a customized highlight sequence that includes a number of sporting events that took place on a given day; in such an embodiment, user 250 may request a “daily roundup” of sporting events that are determined to be of interest to him or her. Alternatively, user 250 may request a customized highlight sequence for a particular sport, such as baseball, causing the system to generate a customized highlight sequence for that sport, including those highlights of that sport that are likely to be of interest. Alternatively, user 250 may request a customized highlight sequence for a particular series, such as a playoff series, causing the system to generate a customized highlight sequence for that series, including those highlights of that series that are likely to be of interest. Alternatively, user 250 may request a customized highlight sequence for a single game, portion of a game, or other event. Alternatively, user 250 may request a customized highlight sequence for a single player, across a number of games, for a single game, or for a portion of a game. Highlights can also include nonevent coverage for a given event, which may include, for example, pre-game, in-game, and post-game interviews, analysis, commentary, and/or the like. These segments can be appended to an overall highlight reel in much the same way that individual event segments from within a specific event are.
In another embodiment, wherein “push” technology is enabled, a customized highlight sequence can be provided to user 250 without user 250 having specifically requested it. For example, the system can be configured to make a customized highlight sequence available to user 250 on a periodic basis (such as daily, weekly, or according to some other schedule), or automatically at the conclusion of any game that user 250 is likely to be interested in, or in response to some other trigger event. The customized highlight sequence can be transmitted to user 250 for immediate viewing, or placed on device 206 for viewing at user's 250 convenience. Alternatively, an email message or other message can be transmitted to user 250 with a link that permits viewing of the highlight sequence. User 250 may sign up in advance for such customized highlight sequences to be provided; alternatively, in at least one embodiment, user 250 may be automatically enrolled based on a determination that user 250 would likely be interested in such customized highlight sequences (for example, based on viewing or purchasing behaviors). As with the on-request mechanisms described above, such “push”-based highlight sequences can be for a single event or any number of events.
The length of time available for the customized highlight sequence is determined 412. In at least one embodiment, user 250 can click on a button or link to select a length of time (as shown in
Dynamic excitement level(s) for the selected event(s) is/are determined 413. In at least one embodiment, this step includes generating excitement levels for possessions and/or occurrences within the event(s), so that the excitement level rises and falls during the course of the event(s). In at least one additional embodiment, this step includes generating excitement levels for interviews, analysis, and/or commentary before, during, and after a given event. The dynamic excitement level(s) can be combined with an excitement level for the event as a whole, which may be based on a determination of how interested a particular user 250 would be in that event. The dynamic excitement level(s) can further be combined with an outline of a storyline or narrative that upwardly adjusts the potential interest level for those occurrences, analysis, and interviews that contribute best to the communicating the drama, intrigue, suspense, and excitement of the given event(s). The result of such combination, which may also take into account other available information about the possession or event, is a priority value. Additional details concerning generation of priority values are provided below.
Techniques for determining excitement levels are described in the above-cited related U.S. Utility applications. In at least one embodiment, the excitement level(s) are determined based on personal characteristics of user 250 as obtained in step 410; for example, if user 250 is a fan of a particular team or player, occurrences involving scoring by that team or player may be deemed to have a higher excitement level for user 250 than occurrences involving scoring by the other team or other players. In embodiments where the customized highlight sequence includes highlights from multiple events, the selection of which events to draw highlights from may depend on whether user's 250 teams are involved in one event or another. Thus, step 413 may involve determining that the overall excitement level for an event may be higher if user 250 is a fan of one of the teams involved in the event.
Some events may have high levels of excitement even for non-fans of one of the teams. For example, if an event is a World Series game, the game may be of interest because of the importance of the game, even if user 250 is not a fan of either team competing in the event.
One skilled in the art will recognize that priority is merely one possible metric for determining which highlights should be included in a particular highlight sequence. Other metrics can also be used, either instead of or in addition to priority. In at least one embodiment, for example, excitement level alone is used, without taking into account other factors.
Occurrences having high priority (based on excitement level and/or other factors) are then identified 414 and selected 415. These steps may be performed by, for example, setting a threshold priority and determining which occurrences in the selected event(s) have a priority (for user 250) that meets or exceeds the threshold. The threshold priority can be selected in such a manner as to ensure that the generated highlight sequence is of the correct length. Alternatively, the steps may be performed by, for example, selecting a certain number of occurrences in the selected event(s) that have the highest priorities (for user 250).
Once occurrences have been selected 415, a determination is made 416 as to the start/end times for highlights that include the selected occurrences. For example, if an occurrence is a goal, the few seconds or minutes preceding the goal, wherein the play is set up, may be included in the highlight, and a few seconds or minutes of celebration after the goal may also be included. The determination as to when the highlight should stop and start can be made based on any suitable factors, including for example a determination of when the particular possession began, or when the play began, or the most recent clock stoppage, inning, at-bat, video analysis of camera cuts or angle changes, or any other suitable demarcation. A change in excitement level may be used to determine suitable start/end points for the highlight. In at least one embodiment, start/end times for highlights are chosen based on the duration of a possession, or on some portion of a possession. Where appropriate, an instant replay of the occurrence may be included, which may show a different angle than the primary angle, or may be in slow motion; such instant replay may be extracted from the event content in the same manner as primary content. In addition, where appropriate, independent analysis of a given occurrence or one or more relevant interviews of a player, coach, analyst, fan, etc. may be included.
In at least one embodiment, such demarcations of segments that include occurrences may be made in advance. For example, a video of a sporting event may be available, along with start/end times for various possessions, plays, occurrences, innings, time-outs, and the like. Such data can be available from any suitable source, such as for example data provider(s) 222. Such data can be generated manually or in an automated fashion. In at least one embodiment, data available from data provider(s) 222 can be supplemented with derived data. For example, if data from data provider(s) 222 includes raw data such as descriptions, event text, event identifiers, and the like, additional information can be derived by applying natural language processing or other automated techniques to event text and/or descriptions.
In at least one embodiment, in some situations, the system adjusts start/end times based on the available time for the customized highlight sequence. For example, if it is determined that a particular occurrence has very high priority, but the start/end times of the occurrence are too long to reasonably fit in the allotted time for the customized highlight sequence, a shorter excerpt of the event (still including the occurrence but having shorter duration than the specified start/end times indicate) may be included in the customized highlight sequence. Conversely, start/end times can be adjusted to lengthen the highlight segment if more time is needed to fill the allotted time for the customized highlight sequence.
Further details and variations concerning the determination of start/end times for segments are described below.
Highlights are then assembled 417 to generate the highlight sequence. In at least one embodiment, highlights are assembled in chronological order, although in certain situations it may be preferable to use a different order. The highlight sequence can be supplemented, for example with automatically or manually generated segment transition sequences, and/or with captions, titles, descriptions, voice-overs, contextual information, and/or the like, for example to indicate the score, possession, game situation, or the like. Such supplemental information can be visual, text-based, graphical, audio, spoken word, or any combination thereof. User 250 may have the option to turn on or off such supplemental information. Spoiler and spoiler-free supplemental information can be provided, giving user 250 a choice as to which he or she prefers.
The highlight sequence is presented 418 to user 250. In at least one embodiment, this is done by displaying a video (with accompanying audio) to user 250, containing the highlight sequence. In another embodiment, user 250 may be presented with a screen that allows him or her to navigate to individual highlights or to see the entire sequence via a “play all” function; examples of such screens are shown in
The method then ends 499.
In at least one embodiment, as depicted in
If, despite any adjustments and/or tolerances, the generated highlight sequence is not of the correct length, the threshold priority is adjusted 421, and steps 414 through 417, along with step 420, are repeated with the new threshold priority. In this manner, an iterative process is performed and, if necessary, repeated until a highlight sequence of acceptable length has been assembled.
Additional details are provided below.
In at least one embodiment, the system provides a mechanism by which a single highlight segment is presented. For example, based on a determination of user interests, excitement levels, event analysis, and the like, the system determines a recommended excerpt of an event (or multiple events). The recommended excerpt may be defined, for example, in terms of start and end times (measured according to a video clock or other clock), or in terms of a start time and playing through to the end of the event. The system can then present the recommended excerpt to the user, either as a selectable clip or in connection with other excerpts for other events. In at least one embodiment, such a technique allows the system to present a particularly exciting or interesting set of occurrences that take place within an event.
In at least one embodiment, step 416 of the above-described method involves identifying start/end times for highlights to be included in the highlight sequence. In at least one embodiment, an event is subdivided into a series of possessions, wherein the term “possession” is broadly defined to include some portion of an event. Each possession can be defined as beginning with a specific action within an event and ending with another specific action; this definition yields a start and end time for the possession. Demarcation of start/end times of possessions can depend on the type of event. For certain sporting events wherein one team may be on the offensive while the other team is on the defensive (such as basketball or football, for example), a possession can be defined as a time period while one of the teams has the ball. In sports such as hockey or soccer, where puck or ball possession is more fluid, a possession can be considered to extend to a period of time wherein one of the teams has substantial control of the puck or ball, ignoring momentary contact by the other team (such as blocked shots or saves). For baseball, possessions are clearly defined as corresponding to a half-inning. For other types of sporting events as well as for non-sporting events, the term “possession” may be somewhat of a misnomer, but is still used herein for illustrative purposes. One skilled in the art will recognize that the term is intended to apply broadly to any time-delimited portion of an event. Examples in a non-sporting context may include a chapter, scene, act, television segment, or the like. A possession can include any number of occurrences.
For illustrative purposes, the following are examples of ways in which a possession can be defined for various types of sporting events:
Identification of possessions can help construct a narrative in the context of generating a customized highlight sequence. Excitement levels and priorities can be determined for possessions, and such excitement levels and priorities (which may be customized for a particular user 250) can be used as a factor in selecting which occurrences or highlights to include in the customized highlight sequence. Thus, in an embodiment where excitement levels can be determined for entire events (such as games), possessions, and/or individual occurrences, and wherein such excitement levels can be customized for a particular user 250), a more coherent narrative that is more likely to be interesting to user 250 can be constructed.
For example, in some situations, a less exciting occurrence may be selected for inclusion because it is part of a possession that is judged, on the whole, to have a high level of excitement. Such a methodology facilitates improved narrative cohesion, for example by showing a number of plays (occurrences) that led up to an exciting scoring opportunity at the end of a possession. The individual plays may not individually have high excitement levels, but they are included because they lead up to an exciting conclusion of the possession. In at least one embodiment, the priority value takes into account such situations, as described in more detail below.
In at least one embodiment, possessions are used as the time unit by which excitement levels and priorities are assessed and compared. For example, step 414 described above, in which occurrences having high priority are identified, can be performed by ranking possessions to identify those possessions having the highest priority; then selecting individual occurrences within those identified possessions, based on priority of the occurrences. Other techniques can be used for combining priority for possessions with priority for occurrences.
Referring now to
Data such as that shown in
Any suitable mechanism can be used for determining excitement level for an event, possession, or occurrence. In at least one embodiment, techniques as described in the above-cited related U.S. Utility application Ser. No. 13/601,915 for “Generating Excitement Levels for Live Performances,” filed Aug. 31, 2012, are used. In general, in order to customize the generation of highlight sequences for a user 250, the described system determines excitement levels based on particular characteristics of that user 250.
In at least one embodiment, various factors are considered when determining excitement level. Such factors, may include, for example:
Any or all of the above factors can be used, singly or in any suitable combination, to determine excitement level for an occurrence, possession, or overall event.
In various embodiments, priority can be determined for possessions and/or occurrences (such as plays), and can be used by components of the described system to determine which highlights to include in a customized highlight sequence. Any suitable and available data can be used for deriving priority, including for example data available from data provider(s) 222.
At a high level, priorities for occurrences are a function of the novelty of a specific occurrence, the novelty and excitement level of the possession in which the occurrence took place, the excitement level of the event (for example, from the perspective of a neutral fan) at the time that the occurrence took place, and the contribution of the specific occurrence to the overall narrative of the event.
Priority for possessions and/or occurrences can be modified by the overall excitement level of the event as a whole. For example, in the context of sporting events, priority for possessions and/or occurrences can be modified by the excitement level of the game at the time that the occurrences took place. Such modifications can take into account a particular team or player as well as an affinity for that team or player on the part of user 250. For specific teams, priority can be modified based on the effect of the occurrence or possession on that team. For specific players, priority can be modified by the contribution of the player to a particular occurrence.
In some embodiments, other types of priority can also be used, including team priority, player priority, and/or fantasy priority. Each of these different categories of priorities is discussed in turn.
One skilled in the art will recognize that there are many ways to calculate priorities. Thus, the particular methodologies described below are intended to be illustrative, but not limiting of scope. Additional methodologies can be derived to suit different situations or individual preference profiles.
Possession priority refers to a priority, or rank, for a given possession within an event such as a game. In at least one embodiment, this priority can be generated from the perspective of a neutral fan, but can be adjusted based on user affinity to one or other of the teams involved. The following is an example of a possession priority calculation for football:
Thus, in this example, possession priority is calculated as:
possession_priority=Sum(Possession Bonus)
Referring again to
In at least one embodiment, possession priority can be used for generating customized highlight sequences, without necessarily computing occurrence priority (see below). For example, a customized highlight sequence can be generated by applying one or more of the following parameters:
Occurrence priority refers to a priority, or rank, for a given occurrence, such as a play within a sporting event. In at least one embodiment, this priority can be generated from the perspective of a neutral fan. In at least one embodiment, occurrence priority is generated for the following:
In at least one embodiment, if an occurrence qualifies in both categories, the highlight bonus values assigned to this individual occurrence within each qualifying category are added together to produce an aggregate bonus value for the occurrence. This aggregate bonus value is then multiplied by the current excitement rating (EQ) of the game to generate an occurrence priority value. This particular calculation is merely exemplary; one skilled in the art will recognize that occurrence priority can be calculated in other ways.
In at least one embodiment, the bonus value for each occurrence is the sum of the occurrence's calculated novelty value, plus any bonus modifier an occurrence might receive from being within a key possession. For occurrences that are not in a key possession, a bonus value is not calculated unless the individual occurrence novelty is greater than or equal to 2.
In summary:
Thus, in this example, occurrence priority (also referred to as play priority) is calculated as:
play_priority=(Bonus Value+Bonus Modifier)*EQ_neutral
In at least one embodiment, occurrence priority can be used for generating customized highlight sequences, once occurrence priority has been calculated. For example, a customized highlight sequence can be generated by applying one or more of the following parameters:
Team priority refers to a priority, or rank, for a given occurrence or possession within an event from the perspective of a fan of one or the other teams playing. In other words, the priority takes into account user affinity to one or other of the teams involved. In at least one embodiment, team priority is calculated in the same manner as occurrence priority or possession priority, except that a fan perspective excitement rating (referred to as EQ_away or EQ_home) is used to compute occurrence priority and possession priority, rather than neutral perspective statistic, EQ_neutral. Further adjustments can also be made; for example, in at least one embodiment, a +2 Possession_Bonus is added to any score by the fan's favorite team.
The following is an example of a team possession priority calculation for football:
Team possession priority is the sum of a number of individual bonus elements that are set by specific possession stats calculated by the main game excitement algorithms:
Thus, in this example, team possession priority is calculated as:
possession_priority=Sum(Possession_Bonus)
In at least one embodiment, team occurrence priority is generated for the following:
In at least one embodiment, if an occurrence qualifies in both categories, the highlight bonus values assigned to this individual occurrence within each qualifying category are added together to produce an aggregate bonus value for the occurrence. This aggregate bonus value is then multiplied by the current excitement rating (EQ) of the game to generate a team occurrence priority value. This particular calculation is merely exemplary; one skilled in the art will recognize that team occurrence priority can be calculated in other ways.
In at least one embodiment, the bonus value for each occurrence is the sum of the occurrence's calculated novelty value, plus any bonus modifier an occurrence might receive from being within a key possession (team_possession_priority>=4). For occurrences that are not in a key possession, a bonus value is not calculated unless the individual occurrence novelty is greater than or equal to 2.
In summary:
Thus, in this example, occurrence priority (also referred to as play priority) is calculated as:
team_play_priority=(Bonus Value+Bonus Modifier)*EQ_team
In at least one embodiment, team occurrence priority can be used for generating customized highlight sequences based on team occurrences, once occurrence priority has been calculated. For example, a customized highlight sequence based on specific team occurrence priorities can be generated by applying one or more of the following parameters:
Player priority refers to a priority, or rank, for a given occurrence or possession within an event involving a specific player from the perspective of a fan of the player's team or a neutral fan, i.e., a user who is a fan of a specific player but not the team on which the player plays. In other words, the priority can take into account user affinity for the player's team, if that preference happens to be relevant. In at least one embodiment, player priority is calculated as the product of player novelty (novelty_player offense or novelty_player defense) and the current team excitement rating (EQ_away, EQ_home, or EQ_neutral), as follows:
player_priority=novelty_player*EQ_team
In at least one embodiment, player priority can be used for generating customized highlight sequences, once player priority has been calculated. For example, a customized highlight sequence based on specific player priorities can be generated by applying one or more of the following parameters:
Fantasy priority refers to a priority, or rank, for a given occurrence or possession within an event involving a specific fantasy player (i.e. a player belong to a user's team in a fantasy league), from the perspective of a fan of the player's team or a neutral fan. In at least one embodiment, fantasy priority is calculated as the product of abs(player priority) and occurrence priority (i.e. play priority) divided by 100, as follows:
fantasy_priority=[abs(player_priority)*play_priority]/100.0
In at least one embodiment, fantasy priority can be used for generating customized highlight sequences for a specific roster of fantasy players, once fantasy priority has been calculated. For example, a customized highlight sequence based on specific fantasy priorities can be generated by applying one or more of the following parameters:
Similar rules can be applied to fantasy players on the opponent's team roster to create a fantasy highlight reel that includes occurrences from both teams and yields a highlight reel of a virtual fantasy game.
In various embodiments, any or all of the above types of priority can be used to determine which highlights to include in a highlight sequence.
Referring now to
Referring now to
In at least one embodiment, rather than using a threshold priority to determine which highlights to include, the system may select the N most exciting occurrences (plays) for inclusion in a highlight sequence, based on occurrence priority, possession priority, or any other priority. Referring now to
As described above, the system can use fantasy priority to determine which highlights to include. A fantasy roster can be consulted or generated, indicating which players are included in a user's fantasy league team. An example of an excerpt of such a roster is shown in table 535 of
Referring now to
In at least one embodiment, the system constructs the customized highlight sequence so that it provides a cohesive narrative depicting an event (or set of events). The narrative provides a structural framework for presenting highlights in a manner that navigates from a beginning to a middle to an end. For example, the narrative can follow a journey from introduction to storyline development to suspenseful challenge(s) to challenge resolution(s) to closure with any number of “surprising developments” layered throughout. Such narrative can be automatically or manually constructed, and can be based, for example, on availability of particular highlights, external factors, historical context, and/or the like. Individual highlights are automatically selected so that they support the narrative; in at least one embodiment, a determination as to whether to include a particular highlight is based, at least in part, on its ability to support the narrative.
In at least one embodiment, the system identifies those occurrences, such as possessions or plays, that precede an exciting occurrence or possession and are part of the set-up to that exciting occurrence or possession. An example is a baseball player who gets walked immediately before a home run. These precedent plays may not necessarily be exciting in-and-of-themselves, but they may be included in the customized highlight sequence based on a determination that they contribute to the narrative of the overall sporting event, and in particular are precursors to an exciting event such as a home run. Accordingly, in at least one embodiment, the system described herein takes into account such narrative contributions by making associations between exciting occurrences and those occurrences that precede the exciting occurrence and are part of the narrative that leads up to the exciting occurrence.
Various techniques can be used for improving and enhancing the narrative quality of the customized highlight sequence. One approach is to take into account a notion of theme when constructing the highlight sequence. For example, a theme may emerge when a particular type of play appears several times within a single sporting event, or if a player has a particularly good game, or if some unusual event or coincidence occurs. Such identification of a theme can affect the selection of highlights for the highlight sequence: for example, if a player has a particularly good game, the highlight sequence may be constructed so that it includes several occurrences (plays) involving that player. In at least one embodiment, this is accomplished by adjusting priorities for occurrences that reinforce the identified theme.
In at least one embodiment, theme can be identified in an automated way, by analyzing statistics associated with the event. Alternatively, theme can be specified manually. Unusual or remarkable patterns can be identified by virtue of their divergence from normally expected statistical distributions. Once a theme has been identified, priorities are automatically adjusted to emphasize the theme.
In at least one embodiment, the determination as to whether an identifiable theme should be used in constructing a highlight sequence can depend on any of several factors. For example, if the specified allotted time for the highlight sequence is insufficient to effectively construct a narrative including a theme, the theme can be abandoned for that highlight sequence.
As described above, in at least one embodiment, start/end times for highlight segments can be defined in terms of elapsed time since the beginning of an event. Such a measure is referred to herein as a “video clock”, although it can also be referred to as a “real-time clock”. Such video clock, which measures actual elapsed time since the beginning of an event, is in contrast to a game clock. Many sports (such as basketball, hockey, or football) have a game clock that indicates the time remaining in the game, but such a game clock does not correspond to real elapsed time because of stoppages, time-outs, intermissions, and/or the like. In other sports, such as baseball, there is no game clock.
In many situations, event data from sources such as data provider(s) 222 is specified in terms of game time (for sports such as basketball, hockey, soccer, or football), or in terms of inning (for baseball). It is beneficial, therefore, to develop a correlation between such identifications of game time or inning with actual elapsed time, so that start/end times for highlight segments can accurately be determined. Any of a number of techniques can be used for determining such correlations, including the following, either singly or in any combination:
In at least one embodiment, the described system provides a mechanism by which a user can watch highlights of an event while the event is still in progress. For example, a user may be interested in watching a sporting event that is currently in progress. However, instead of watching the event live, the user may wish to start watching highlights of the first part of the event, and then catch up to the live event, so that he or she can watch the latter part of the event live. This format allows the user to view important occurrences from the first part of the event, which he or she would otherwise have missed had he or she merely started watching live.
In at least one embodiment, the described system provides an option for real-time catch-up viewing, wherein a highlight sequence is presented for a first part of an event, transitioning to a full (unexpurgated) version from a certain point until the end of the event. The user selects an event to watch. If the event is currently in progress, the system generates and displays a customized highlight sequence for the event up to that point in time, using any or all of the techniques described above. Upon conclusion of the highlight sequence, a transition may be presented and the system can then begin showing the unedited event from that point on, either live or delayed/recorded.
As described above, the user can be prompted to specify a total length of time for the highlight sequence; alternatively, the system can automatically select the length of time based on any suitable factors, such as for example the amount of time remaining in the live event.
Additional occurrences may take place in the event while the user is still watching the highlight sequence. In at least one embodiment, the system can dynamically add highlights depicting such additional occurrences to the highlight sequence, even as the highlight sequence is being viewed. In at least one embodiment, the system continues to analyze occurrences as they take place to determine whether highlights depicting such occurrences should be added to the highlight sequence. Dynamically adding such highlights extends the length of the highlight sequence; thus, in at least one embodiment, newly added highlights can replace previously selected highlights that are deemed to be of less interest (assuming the previously selected highlights have not yet been shown to the user). Alternatively, the user can be prompted as to whether he or she would like the highlight sequence to be extended by the dynamic addition of selected highlights.
Such an embodiment allows a user to watch a condensed version of a game or other event to a certain point, and then to see the remainder of the event live. Such a technique can be used even if the event is not currently in progress: the user can watch the highlight sequence that covers the event to a certain point, and can then transition to an unedited version of the event from that point on, whether in a live format or in a delayed/recorded format.
In at least one embodiment, the user can be presented with multiple highlight sequences for events in progress. For example, he or she can choose to see a highlight sequence for every game that is currently available for him or her to watch, or every game within a particular sport or league, or for teams in a particular geographic area. Then, after viewing some or all of the highlight sequences, the user can make a decision as to which game to watch live. Other variations are possible.
The present system and method have been described in particular detail with respect to possible embodiments. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the system and method may be practiced in other embodiments. First, the particular naming of the components, capitalization of terms, the attributes, data structures, or any other programming or structural aspect is not mandatory or significant, and the mechanisms and/or features may have different names, formats, or protocols. Further, the system may be implemented via a combination of hardware and software, or entirely in hardware elements, or entirely in software elements. Also, the particular division of functionality between the various system components described herein is merely exemplary, and not mandatory; functions performed by a single system component may instead be performed by multiple components, and functions performed by multiple components may instead be performed by a single component.
Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or to “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in at least one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
Various embodiments may include any number of systems and/or methods for performing the above-described techniques, either singly or in any combination. Another embodiment includes a computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and computer program code, encoded on the medium, for causing a processor in a computing device or other electronic device to perform the above-described techniques.
Some portions of the above are presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within the memory of a computing device. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps (instructions) leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical, magnetic or optical signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared and otherwise manipulated. It is convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like. Furthermore, it is also convenient at times, to refer to certain arrangements of steps requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities as modules or code devices, without loss of generality.
It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as “processing” or “computing” or “calculating” or “displaying” or “determining” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing module and/or device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.
Certain aspects include process steps and instructions described herein in the form of an algorithm. It should be noted that the process steps and instructions can be embodied in software, firmware and/or hardware, and when embodied in software, can be downloaded to reside on and be operated from different platforms used by a variety of operating systems.
The present document also relates to an apparatus for performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the required purposes, or it may comprise a general-purpose computing device selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computing device. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, magneticoptical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, flash memory, solid state drives, magnetic or optical cards, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and each coupled to a computer system bus. The program and its associated data may also be hosted and run remotely, for example on a server. Further, the computing devices referred to herein may include a single processor or may be architectures employing multiple processor designs for increased computing capability.
The algorithms and displays presented herein are not inherently related to any particular computing device, virtualized system, or other apparatus. Various general-purpose systems may also be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. The required structure for a variety of these systems will be apparent from the description provided herein. In addition, the system and method are not described with reference to any particular programming language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings described herein, and any references above to specific languages are provided for disclosure of enablement and best mode.
Accordingly, various embodiments include software, hardware, and/or other elements for controlling a computer system, computing device, or other electronic device, or any combination or plurality thereof. Such an electronic device can include, for example, a processor, an input device (such as a keyboard, mouse, touchpad, track pad, joystick, trackball, microphone, and/or any combination thereof), an output device (such as a screen, speaker, and/or the like), memory, long-term storage (such as magnetic storage, optical storage, and/or the like), and/or network connectivity, according to techniques that are well known in the art. Such an electronic device may be portable or nonportable. Examples of electronic devices that may be used for implementing the described system and method include: a desktop computer, laptop computer, television, smartphone, tablet, music player, audio device, kiosk, set-top box, game system, wearable device, consumer electronic device, server computer, and/or the like. An electronic device may use any operating system such as, for example and without limitation: Linux; Microsoft Windows, available from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.; Mac OS X, available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.; iOS, available from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif.; Android, available from Google, Inc. of Mountain View, Calif.; and/or any other operating system that is adapted for use on the device.
While a limited number of embodiments have been described herein, those skilled in the art, having benefit of the above description, will appreciate that other embodiments may be devised. In addition, it should be noted that the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the subject matter. Accordingly, the disclosure is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of scope.
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/536,070, filed Aug. 8, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/710,438, filed May 12, 2015, which is continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/510,481, filed Oct. 9, 2014, all of which are incorporated by reference in their entireties. This application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 13/601,915, filed Aug. 31, 2012, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,060,210 on Jun. 16, 2015, and is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 13/601,927, filed Aug. 31, 2012, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,842,007 on Sep. 23, 2014, and is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 13/601,933, filed Aug. 31, 2012, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,595,763 on Nov. 26, 2013, all of which are incorporated by reference in their entireties.
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