System and method for synchronizing streaming content with enhancing content using pre-announced triggers
US7577979B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 25, 2005 |
| Grant date | Aug 18, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 13, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N7/088
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A client-server architecture synchronizes streaming content with enhancing content via pre-announced triggers. The architecture includes server-based components to generate announcements containing information specifying how and when to receive upcoming triggers that will be transmitted at a later time. The server transmits the announcements to a general broadcast or multicast IP address. Client-based components monitor the IP address to receive and filter the announcements. Selected announcements are stored in a guide database in correlation with the streaming content programs to indicate that the programs are interactive. When a user tunes to an interactive program, the client opens a container HTML page that contains controls to receive the streaming content program and to extract the announcements from the guide database. The latter control monitors the IP address at the times specified in the selected announcements to receive the triggers corresponding to the interactive program. The server delivers the triggers at times synchronized to the streaming content. When triggers arrive, the client control processes the triggers to coordinate presentation of the enhancing content wit…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.