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`US008464304B2
`
`c12) United States Patent
`Harwell et al.
`
`(IO) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 8,464,304 B2
`Jun. 11, 2013
`
`(54) CONTENT CREATION AND DISTRIBUTION
`SYSTEM
`
`(75)
`
`Inventors: Mark A. Harwell, Plano, TX (US);
`Christopher W. Wyatt, Dallas, TX
`(US); Ryland M. Reed, North Richland
`Hills, TX (US)
`
`(73) Assignee: Youtoo Technologies, LLC, Las
`Colinas, TX (US)
`
`( *) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term ofthis
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 13/185,471
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Jul. 18, 2011
`
`(65)
`
`Prior Publication Data
`
`US 2012/0192239 Al
`
`Jul. 26, 2012
`
`Related U.S. Application Data
`
`(63)
`
`Continuation-in-part of application No. 13/013,775,
`filed on Jan. 25, 2011.
`
`(51)
`
`(52)
`
`(58)
`
`(56)
`
`(2006.01)
`(2006.01)
`(2006.01)
`(2011.01)
`
`Int. Cl.
`G06F 3100
`G06F 13100
`H04N5/445
`H04N7/173
`U.S. Cl.
`USPC .............. 725/115; 725/37; 725/105; 725/114
`Field of Classification Search
`USPC ............................................................ 725/37
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
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`022355.
`
`(Continued)
`
`Justin Shepard
`Primary Examiner -
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm - Fish & Richardson P.C.
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer pro(cid:173)
`grams encoded on a computer storage medium, for receiving
`and distributing user-generated video content. In one aspect,
`a method includes receiving video data from a client comput(cid:173)
`ing device, where the video data is captured using a camera
`connected to the client computing device in accordance with
`instructions executed on the client computing device to pro(cid:173)
`vide the video data in accordance with predetermined con(cid:173)
`straints. The video data is automatically transcoded into at
`least one different format based on user credentials associated
`with a user of the client computing device and/or attributes
`associated with the video data. At least one format of the
`transcoded video data defines a video file in a format appro(cid:173)
`priate for inclusion in a linear television programming trans(cid:173)
`mission. The transcoded video data is uploaded to a server for
`distribution.
`
`30 Claims, 22 Drawing Sheets
`
`300,
`
`302 304
`
`"""'F.E"'~,............,-..... If you would prefer to upload a video:
`:::;;o;;;;::;:;;:....,~""'"i:v Click here to open Quicklime
`
`v II Upload your video!
`"""""""--... >:::::::--""' ~
`306
`322
`Settings
`Duration
`log
`
`Bio
`
`v
`
`000
`! 318
`
`308
`
`Saturation
`Sharpness O
`
`314
`
`Page 1 of 40
`
`

`

`US 8,464,304 B2
`Page 2
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
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`1112012 Kanojia et al.
`1112012 Harwell et al.
`1112012 Harwell et al.
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`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
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`US2012/022246, mailed Mar. 21, 2012, 12 pages.
`Non-Final Office Action mailed Nov. 14, 2012 in U.S. Appl. No .
`13/571,476 (20 pages).
`Amendment filed Feb. 14, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/571,476 (14
`pages) .
`Final Office Action mailed Mar. 12, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No.
`13/571,476 (23 pages).
`Interview Summary mailed Apr. 10, 2013 in U.S. Appl. No.
`13/571,476 (3 pages).
`Request for Continued Examination and Amendment filed Apr. 15,
`2013 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/571,476 (22 pages) .
`* cited by examiner
`
`Page 2 of 40
`
`

`

`11211- -
`
`-
`
`-
`
`-
`
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`1101 I I
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`122
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`106
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`108
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`Page 3 of 40
`
`

`

`200~
`
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`Page 4 of 40
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`

`

`300,
`
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`
`318
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`Page 5 of 40
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 11, 2013
`
`Sheet 4of22
`
`US 8,464,304 B2
`
`302,
`
`Controls
`
`[Built-in iSight
`Built-in iSight
`
`Disable Web Cam
`
`304,
`
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`on Disable Microphone
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`306~
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`
`'V l
`
`FIG. 4
`
`FIG. 5
`
`FIG. 6
`
`Page 6 of 40
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 11, 2013
`
`Sheet 5of22
`
`US 8,464,304 B2
`
`308,
`
`Settings
`Duration
`
`Video Type
`Filters
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`
`FIG. 7
`
`FIG. 8
`
`FIG. 9
`
`FIG. 10
`
`Page 7 of 40
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 11, 2013
`
`Sheet 6of22
`
`US 8,464,304 B2
`
`312,
`
`II Video Type
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`Page 8 of 40
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 11, 2013
`
`Sheet 7 of 22
`
`US 8,464,304 B2
`
`320,
`
`FIG. 14
`
`FIG. 15
`
`Page 9 of 40
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 11, 2013
`
`Sheet 8of22
`
`US 8,464,304 B2
`
`Start
`
`USER REGISTRATION
`
`LAUNCH RECORDING
`& UPLOADING USER
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`400
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`414
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`
`Page 10 of 40
`
`

`

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`Page 11 of 40
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`Page 13 of 40
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Jun. 11, 2013
`
`Sheet 12 of 22
`
`US 8,464,304 B2
`
`Start
`
`USER INSTALLS "APP"
`
`500
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`502
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`
`Page 14 of 40
`
`

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`U.S. Patent
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`Jun. 11, 2013
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`Sheet 14 of 22
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`U.S. Patent
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`Jun. 11, 2013
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`Sheet 17 of 22
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`US 8,464,304 B2
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`Page 19 of 40
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`

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`U.S. Patent
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`Jun. 11, 2013
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`Sheet 18 of 22
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`US 8,464,304 B2
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`Page 20 of 40
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`U.S. Patent
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`Jun. 11, 2013
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`Sheet 19 of 22
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`US 8,464,304 B2
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`Page 21 of 40
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`U.S. Patent
`U.S. Patent
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`Jun. 11,2013
`Jun. 11, 2013
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`Sheet 20 of 22
`Sheet 20 of 22
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`US 8,464,304 B2
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`

`US 8,464,304 B2
`
`1
`CONTENT CREATION AND DISTRIBUTION
`SYSTEM
`
`CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATION
`
`This application is a continuation-in-part application of,
`and claims priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No.
`13/013,775, entitled "User-Generated Social Television Con(cid:173)
`tent", to inventors Christopher W. Wyatt, Mark Harwell, and
`Ryland Reed, which was filed on Jan. 25, 2011. The disclo(cid:173)
`sure of the foregoing application is incorporated herein by
`reference in its entirety.
`
`BACKGROUND
`
`It has become relatively easy for individuals and groups of
`individuals to take digital photographs and to record video,
`and to distribute this content to others over the Internet or
`other data networks. Such content is referred to as being "user
`generated" content. Still and video cameras, which are now
`common features on mobile phones, can be used to take
`photographs and to record videos that are immediately avail(cid:173)
`able for sharing with others through a multi-media messaging
`service or email, video file sharing sites, social network and
`similar services on the Internet that publish (to selected indi(cid:173)
`viduals or groups, or to everyone) or otherwise make avail(cid:173)
`able the photographs and video over the Internet. Some dedi(cid:173)
`cated cameras and storage cards now have wireless or
`network connectivity and video can be uploaded to remote
`servers for sharing. Individuals or "consumers" distribute
`their photos and videos by uploading them to web-based
`services that publish them for friends, family, social or busi(cid:173)
`ness contacts or anyone with access to the Internet to view.
`When user-generated content is uploaded or shared for a
`specific purpose, such as for example, in response to a widely
`disseminated request for a certain type of content, it may be
`referred to as crowd-sourced content.
`Most consumer equipment capable of capturing photos or
`video is now able to do so in high definition. Inexpensive
`computer application programs allow individuals to edit pho(cid:173)
`tographs, videos and other graphics into a single work with
`nearly professional results, and to render the resulting work or
`"content" in standard formats for playback on a wide range of
`devices. Services for sharing user-generated video, photo(cid:173)
`graphs, and music abound on the Internet. For example, a
`number of video sharing sites allow people to upload, encode
`and share videos on the web.
`On the other hand, most people still view professionally
`produced television programs ("programs") and motion pic(cid:173)
`tures ("movies") using traditional television services. Pro(cid:173)
`grams are typically distributed to traditional television ser(cid:173)
`vice providers by so-called "television networks", who
`possess the legal rights necessary to distribute the programs,
`and who are sometimes also involved in producing the pro- 55
`gramming. Those who provide transmission services for tele(cid:173)
`vision, and provide television service to viewers, are referred
`to as "carriers" or Multi-Service Operators ("MSO"). Most
`television networks "sell" short periods of time during the
`programming for transmission of advertising, known as 60
`"commercials", "advertisements", "ads" or "ad spots", that
`promote businesses or programming on the network. These
`time slots can also be used for transmission of public service
`announcements. These time slots may also be used for any
`other promotional purposes.
`Television transmission or distribution systems used by
`traditional carriers of television programming include terres-
`
`2
`trial broadcast stations, satellite television, and cable televi(cid:173)
`sion systems, as well as telecom delivery network services
`such as VDSL and FiOS offered over broadcast telecommu(cid:173)
`nication or data networks, whose operators provide television
`services similar to what are offered by cable and satellite
`television service providers. However, standards have been
`formulated, or are in the process of being formulated, for
`using Internet protocols and the public Internet to distribute
`television programming using "live" IP-multicast or IP uni-
`10 cast streams that can be received by anyone with any type of
`broadband data connection to the Internet.
`Though some television programs are available over the
`Internet and traditional carriers on an on-demand basis, tra(cid:173)
`ditional television programming for a television network is
`15 linear, meaning that programs--episode of a television series,
`a news program, or a movie, for example-are scheduled so
`that they are transmitted sequentially, according to a pre(cid:173)
`defined schedule, to carriers for transmission over their sys(cid:173)
`tems for substantially contemporaneous receipt by their sub-
`20 scribers or, in the case of terrestrial broadcast stations, by
`those who receive their broadcast signal. In linear program(cid:173)
`ming, the programs to be transmitted to the audience, and the
`schedule for transmitting of the programs, are usually
`planned in advance of the time of transmission to an audience.
`25 The programming schedule, usually expressed in the form of
`a programming grid, specifies what program and, if appli(cid:173)
`cable, episode is to be transmitted on each day and at any
`given time during the periods in which the network is sched(cid:173)
`uled to transmit. Television programs can include, but are not
`30 limited to, television series, motion pictures, news programs,
`reality television programs, sporting events, and other audio/
`visual works. The programs are often pre-recorded. However,
`programs can be "live". Generally, such programs are profes(cid:173)
`sionally produced. The network either owns or licenses the
`35 legal rights to distribute them.
`Traditional linear programming is commonly divided into
`thirty-minute or hour-long programming segments, though it
`can be divided into shorter or longer segments, depending on
`network preferences. Programs can occupy more than one
`40 segment. Within a typical thirty-minute program segment, for
`example, between twenty-two and twenty-six minutes are
`reserved for transmitting the program. The remaining time is
`divided among 2-5 segments for commercials and/or other
`promotional announcements. Those segments are typically
`45 subdivided into multiple time slots for sale to advertisers. The
`duration of the advertising segments and each of the time slots
`can be chosen to be any desired length. The network trans(cid:173)
`mits, or arranges for transmission of, its signal so that the
`half-hour segments begin at the top and bottom of each hour.
`50 However, networks can, and do sometimes, adjust the start
`and end time of programs. A network may or may not transmit
`more than one signal, or "feed", to account for time zone
`differences or other considerations.
`
`SUMMARY
`
`Implementations of the present disclosure are generally
`directed to a video file content creation and distribution sys(cid:173)
`tem (e.g., for the creation and distribution of user-generated
`and/or crowd-sourced video content). The system can include
`a content creation sub-system that provides users with a video
`file recording and editing system that provides an easy-to-use
`interface, does not require the users to have knowledge of
`video formatting or computer file systems, and automatically
`65 uploads video files or other content to a server. The video file
`recording and editing system can use a web server-based thin
`client application capable of displaying a user interface
`
`Page 25 of 40
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`

`

`US 8,464,304 B2
`
`3
`through a browser on a user device or a specialized applica(cid:173)
`tion capable of running on a user device (e.g., on a mobile
`device or a tablet computer). In either case, the application
`can interface with user device's native recording capabilities
`to capture either high definition ("HD") format or standard
`definition ("SD") format video files. The video file recording
`and editing system guides the user through a video file cre(cid:173)
`ation and submission process that captures video via a video
`camera either built-in, or connected to, the user device to
`create a video file that meets requirements for submission to 10
`a content distribution sub-system, and submits the video file
`to the content distribution sub-system.
`The content creation sub-system can facilitate convenient
`creation and seamless uploading of crowd-sourced video files 15
`(e.g., audio-visual content created in response to a broad(cid:173)
`casted request for videos relating to a particular topic) or other
`user-generated content (e.g., video files generated by a user
`along with some form of payment for inclusion in a television
`broadcast). For example, the video file recording and editing 20
`system can ensure that the submitted video files satisfy cer(cid:173)
`tain parameters so that the files have a quality level appropri-
`ate for inclusion in linear television progrannning and so that
`the files can be automatically and conveniently transcoded
`into one or more video file formats (in accordance with rel- 25
`evant frame rates, bit rates, etc., which may be dependent on
`the intended destination of the content) according to the
`intended destination. The video files can be submitted
`through a particular web page and/or assigned a particular
`identifier indicating the type of submission (e.g., indicating 30
`that the video file is submitted in response to a specific request
`for video submissions, or indicating that the video file is
`intended for inclusion in an available linear progrannning
`segment of a specific program, or is meant to be seen only on
`the Internet as part of a video blog or other Internet experi- 35
`ence).
`The content distribution sub-system includes an adminis(cid:173)
`trator application capable of running on a computer (e.g., a
`server). The content distribution sub-system can perform
`electronic filtering of video files and can automatically 40
`transcode the video files into an appropriate format based
`upon destination (e.g., one format if the video content is
`intended for distribution via linear television progrannning
`and another format if intended for distribution on an Internet
`video blog). Based upon rights and/or administrative privi(cid:173)
`leges, the administrator application allows a television or
`other production professional or Internet web site adminis(cid:173)
`trator to review user-generated or crowd-sourced video files
`through a web-based, server-based, or local video adminis(cid:173)
`tration tool through which the producer or administrator can 50
`authorize certain video files for automatic inclusion in linear
`television programming over traditional or IP-based televi(cid:173)
`sion distribution platforms. The content-distribution sub-sys(cid:173)
`tem may also be used for production of content to be released
`in theaters (e.g., movies) and/or to send selected files to an 55
`editing system for more specific editing purposes. The video
`files can be organized according to data included in a uniform
`resource locator (URL) or other identifier indicating the type
`of submission. Accordingly, a producer or administrator can
`be presented with a set of videos that relate to a common topic 60
`or that are intended for possible inclusion within a particular
`linear television programming segment. The producer or
`administrator may also use filtering tools to determine which
`video files to review or which video files should be selected
`for inclusion in the linear progrannning. Once selected, video
`files are directed to an appropriate server for distribution to an
`appropriate destination (e.g., television or Internet).
`
`4
`In general, innovative aspects of the subject matter
`described in this disclosure may be embodied in methods that
`include the actions of receiving video data from a client
`computing device, automatically transcoding the video data,
`and uploading the transcoded video data to a server for dis(cid:173)
`tribution. The video data is captured using a camera con(cid:173)
`nected to the client computing device in accordance with
`instructions executed on the client computing device to pro-
`vide the video data in accordance with predetermined con(cid:173)
`straints. The video data is automatically transcoded using a
`server into at least one different format based on user creden-
`tials associated with a user of the client computing device
`and/or attributes associated with the video data. At least one
`format of the transcoded video data defines a video file in a
`format appropriate for inclusion in a linear television pro(cid:173)
`gramming transmission. Other embodiments of this aspect
`include corresponding systems, apparatus, and computer pro(cid:173)
`grams, configured to perform the actions of the methods,
`encoded on computer storage devices.
`These and other embodiments can each optionally include
`one or more of the following features. The instructions
`executed on the client computing device include scripts
`received by the client computing device from a web applica(cid:173)
`tion. The instructions executed on the client computing
`device are executed within at least one of a browser or a
`browser plugin on the client computing device. The instruc-
`tions executed on the client computing device are included in
`an application installed on the client computing device. At
`least a portion of the video data is buffered on the client
`computing device using scripts included in the instructions
`executed on the client computing device based on bandwidth
`constraints for transmitting the video data from the client
`computing device. The video data is transmitted by the client
`computing device in FLY format. The video data is transmit(cid:173)
`ted by the client computing device in a native media container
`format for the client computing device. The predetermined
`constraints include a bit rate and an image resolution suffi(cid:173)
`cient to enable transcoding of the video data into the format
`appropriate for inclusion in the linear television program(cid:173)
`ming transmission. Transcoding the video data includes using
`a predetermined automated transcoding workflow corre-
`sponding to the predetermined constraints to transcode the
`video data into the transcoded video data. Transcoding the
`video data includes transcoding the video data into a plurality
`45 of different video file formats. An automated review of the
`video data and/or the transcoded video data is performed to
`identify potentially inappropriate content. The transcoded
`video data is retrieved for manual review, and a review inter-
`face is presented where the review interface is adapted to
`provide an indication of at least one frame within the
`transcoded video file including content identified as poten-
`tially inappropriate content and allow an administrator to
`select the transcoded video file for manual review. The
`transcoded video data is retrieved for manual review, a review
`interface adapted to allow an administrator to select among a
`plur