HK1147365B - Method to display a video in an email - Google Patents

Description

Method for displaying video in E-mail

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This patent application claims priority from commonly assigned canadian patent application No. 2,613,821 entitled "method displaya video in email" filed at canadian intellectual property office on 12/7/2007.

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to the display of video in emails that are opened or viewed on a computerized device, and more particularly to the display of video in emails that do not require any video player to be installed or executed on the computerized device for viewing.

Background

Email marketing is the most cost-effective way for marketers to establish interrelationships with their customers and potential customers.

Video advertisements are clearly more effective in attracting viewers because they can draw more attention to the viewer's perception by propagating three V, visual, audio and text. Propagation studies have demonstrated that only 7% of messages are perceived through text, 38% through the intonation of the presenter, and 55% through the language of the body that sees the presenter. The video broadcasts an additional 93% of the advertising messages the viewer receives in addition to simple graphics with text.

The challenge facing today's email marketers is to stand out in the inbox of compelling, engaging messages of recipients. The first problem is to pass the message through the corporate firewall and spam filter into the inbox. The second problem is to create content that causes the viewer to have to be attracted to the advertisement and "click" on your web site to interact with your message. In fact, the marketer has only 3 seconds to capture the viewer's attention. A third problem is to provide an unreliable offer (offer) that the viewer can easily register to accept. And eventually the activity must have the tracking metrics in place to gauge effectiveness.

It is therefore desirable to provide e-mail that draws more traffic to a particular web site and increases the number of subscriptions, sales or registrations for products or events. In addition, the email should be played quickly to get the user's attention.

Object of the Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide an email in which a video is displayed without executing or installing a player.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from an understanding of the illustrative embodiments to be described or will be pointed out in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will be recognized by those skilled in the art of practicing the present invention.

Disclosure of Invention

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of displaying a first video in an HTML compatible email on a computerized device, the method comprising:

defining a predetermined number of frames included in the first video;

creating a first video file containing the frames, wherein the frames are arranged in the selected order;

storing the first video file on a server; and

embedding a hot link in html code of the email, thereby automatically invoking the first video file from the server when the email is opened or viewed, displaying the video frame of the first video file within an email page of the email.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a system for displaying a first video in an html compatible email on a computerized device, the system comprising:

a first video file containing a predetermined number of frames, wherein the frames are ordered in a selected sequence;

a server storing the first video file; and

an email displayed on the computerized device, wherein a hot link is embedded in html code of the email, automatically invoking the first video file from the server when the email is opened or viewed and then displaying the video frame of the first video file within an email page of the email.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an html compatible email residing on a computerized device, the email including a hot link embedded in code of the email, the hot link configured to automatically invoke a first video file stored on a server when the email is opened or viewed, and to display a video frame of the first video file within an email page of the email.

The present invention seeks to provide an email in which video is displayed without the need to execute or install a video player.

The present invention seeks to provide for the display of a video in an email in which the video is displayed immediately when the email is opened or viewed.

The present invention provides an email in which a first video is displayed when the email is opened or viewed on a computerized device. If the user clicks on an email page, a web page, referred to herein as a landing page, is opened. The landing page displays the second video and other information related to the subject matter of the email and/or the first or second video. Finally, another web page, referred to as an enable page, may be opened or accessed. The enabled pages may include, for example, details of a particular event, event registration, event notification, turn key (e-commerce) address, product enabled pages, special services, special promotions, major corporate web pages, artist pages, movie pages.

Viewing the first video displayed in the email on the computerized device does not require any player. One of the advantages of the invention is that there is no delay in starting the display of the first video. Another advantage is that email will not be blocked by most firewalls or anti-virus software or treated as virus or spam. Email pages are custom programmed and integrated into HTML (hypertext markup language) files that can be inserted into most popular email sending programs.

The first step in creating the first video file is to define the frame elements included in the first video file. The frame element may be an image or frame from a video. The image may be, for example, a JPEG image, a PNG image, a PSD image (Photoshop), or an AI file (adobeillustrater file). Video frames may come from various digital video inputs (AVI, MPEG2, MPEG4, MOV, RAM, VOB, WMV, MOV portablemedia) or from analog forms converted to digital format from digital video tapes (beta, VHS, micro DV). The first video may also be an animation. The frame may have any size and is not limited to a rectangular shape. The first video file may also contain an audio portion, which may be, for example, a WAV file, an MP3 file, or any other suitable format.

The selected frames are ordered in a particular sequence and a first video file is created using an off-the-shelf (offheshelf) software package. A new video file format, CVI, has been created for this purpose^TMAnd (4) format. The first video may be displayed a particular number of times in an email page. In this case, the HTML code of the (instance) email is implemented, creating a loop according to the desired number of times previously selected. The loop is programmed by consumer third party off-the-shelf software.

Then has a CVI^TMThe first video file of the format is programmed to recognize the CVI^TMPosting on the server of the format.

To display the first video in the email, the hot link is embedded in the html code of the email. The hot link calls a first video file stored on the server and displays the video frames one after the other in the email. The hot link is a mechanism that links two applications together so that changing one application will affect the other. Thus, the hot link provides a link between the email and the first video file disposed on the server, such that the frames of the first video are displayed sequentially on the computerized device. Preferably, the email page integrates the first video and graphical content artwork (artwork) and text into a complete design layout.

A frame editing system may be provided for selecting and ordering frames of the first video file by a user. Frames may be added, deleted, and reordered to create a first video file without having an editing system. Using custom Clemstar^TMThe frame-by-frame feature of the video player, the review is synchronized. The review step can occur simultaneously via the internet in an unlimited number of geographic locations, significantly increasing review time.

In Macromedia^TMClemstar has been developed using active scripts in a software development environment^TMAnd (4) a player. The player can customize the branding for the company that sends the solution (requiring special custom programming) for the network video in the landing page. At loginThe length of the second video displayed in the page may be as long as the server can store.

All files are custom programmed and incorporated into HTML (hypertext markup language) files. The completed video landing page HTML file is posted on the server.

The landing page may be automatically opened at the end of the first video, or may be automatically opened after a predetermined period. The landing page contains a second video file and may contain a graphical portion, such as a graphical image file (e.g., a JPEG or PNG image) or text. The second video may be from a digital or analog input. The second video is preferably converted to a greater uncompressed video quality.

Preferably, the video player of the landing page immediately analyzes the bandwidth of the computerized device and determines the video feed that is optimal for the connection, allowing the player to start streaming with the lowest delay when providing high quality streaming video. The automatic bandwidth detector may be a true performance enhancer to speed up the time to transmit video playback. It has been noted that in north america, the receive bandwidth varies with bandwidth allocation and time according to the company. To achieve the fastest playback with the shortest latency, the second video is encoded with several bandwidths. The bandwidth detector typically buffers for a few seconds. For any operating system (Windows, MAC, or UNIX), the viewer spends 0 to 5 seconds buffering the entire 2 hours of the movie.

To further minimize the delay of viewing the second video of the landing page, the download of the second video may begin as soon as the email is opened or viewed. When the login page is opened, a portion of the video has already been buffered.

The video player of the landing page may be programmed to automatically enable the desired web enabled page (launchpage) at the end of the second video. It is also possible to combine two previous web pages in a single web page.

The features of the invention believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims.

Drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following description and by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

fig. 1 is a diagram showing steps of creating a first video file.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a sequence in which a first video is displayed in an email seen by a viewer.

Fig. 3 is an example of a frame-by-frame editing system.

Detailed Description

The novel video email will be described hereinafter. While the invention has been described in terms of specific exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that the embodiments described herein are by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

In fig. 1, the steps of creating a first video for display in an email are shown in a flow chart. The first video file is made up of a number of frames, typically from source video 105. If the source video is analog 110, it is converted 115 to digital video.

To obtain the frames, third party software 130 may be used to create the frames from the source video. Another method may also be used to extract the selected frames from the source video.

A predetermined number of frames 135 are selected and ordered into a particular sequence 140 to create a first video file to be displayed in an email page. An optional step is to determine 145 the number of times the video will be displayed in the email page, from 1 to infinity. The Html code of the first video file is therefore implemented to create a corresponding number of cycles for display. This is typically done by third party software. Created first video file and CVI^TMFormat association150 and posted 160 on the server. CVI has been created for this purpose^TMA format, and the server is configured to recognize the format 155.

The email is encoded in HTML format containing the text and design of the email. The hot link is embedded 165 in the code of the email, so that the first video file is called from the server when the email is opened or viewed and the file is displayed in the email page. There is no need to execute a video player on the computerized device to display the first video.

If the user clicks on the email page or clicks on the first video file, a landing page displaying the second video is opened 170.

The video displayed in the e-mail is not limited to a rectangular screen, and it can be almost any shape, such as a circle, a star, and the like.

In fig. 2, the diagram shows the sequence as seen by the viewer. First, a viewer receives and views an email 205 containing a first video. When the viewer clicks 210 on the first video or on an email page, he/she is taken to a landing page 215 where he/she can see the second video. It is also possible to automatically open the login page when the display of the first video is finished. At the end of the second video he/she may be automatically taken to another page, which may contain, for example, details of a special event, event registration, event notification, a keyed e-commerce address, a product enable page, a special service, a special promotion, a main company website home page, an artist page, or a movie page, enable page 220. He/she can then interact with the enabled page and enter information or a request for goods related to the sent e-mail.

On the landing page, many options for video may be included, such as:

-volume slider

-information button

-stop button

Fast-reverse button with video display

-a play/pause button

Fast forward with video display

Time button with elapsed time and remaining time switching

-a navigation slider with time indicator

-calibrating the picture slide

Brightness and contrast

Degree of saturation

-a play size selector on the display window

Half size or original size

-adaptation window

In fig. 3, an embodiment of a frame-by-frame editing system is shown having a frame-by-frame counter 310, an image 320, and a menu 330.

It should be understood that the video may be displayed in any computerized device capable of receiving and displaying email messages. The computerized device may be, but is not limited to, a computer, a palm PC, a PDA, a laptop, a personal email system (e.g., Blackberry) that may be coupled to the Internet^TM) Or a cellular phone.

Although illustrative and presently preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in detail hereinabove, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied and employed and that the appended claims are intended to be construed to include such variations outside the scope of the prior art.

Claims (21)

1. A method of displaying a first video in an HTML compatible email on a computerized device without executing a video player on the device, the method comprising:

defining a predetermined number of frames included in the first video;

creating a first video file containing the frames, wherein the frames are arranged in the selected order;

storing the first video file on a server;

embedding a hot link in HTML code of the email, thereby automatically invoking the first video file from the server when the email is opened or viewed, and displaying the video frame of the first video file within an email page of the email; and

a login web page is provided that contains the video player,

wherein the video player includes instructions to analyze a bandwidth associated with the computerized device to provide secondary video feedback to the computerized device with minimal delay.

2. The method of claim 1, the login page configured to be opened when a user clicks on the email page of the email.

3. The method of claim 1, the video frame of the first video file being displayed within the email page without executing a video player on the computerized device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a second video file is stored on a server, the second video file being streamed onto the login webpage.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second video file on the login webpage begins downloading when the email is opened or viewed.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a second video on the login webpage is opened after the video frame of the first video file has been displayed.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of determining a number of times the selected order of the frames will be displayed.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising implementing the HTML code to create a loop to display the first video file according to the number of times.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a screen displaying the video frame has a shape other than a rectangle.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the shape of the screen is selected from a star and a circle.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first video file is created by a frame editing system.

12. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of providing a process residing on the server, the process including instructions to test the bandwidth of the computerized device to provide an optimal bitstream of the computerized device for display of the second video with a maximum available bandwidth.

13. A system for displaying a first video in an HTML compatible email on a computerized device without executing a video player on the device, the system comprising:

a first video file containing a predetermined number of frames, wherein the frames are ordered in a selected sequence;

a server storing the first video file;

an email displayed on the computerized device, wherein a hot link is embedded in html code of the email, automatically invoking the first video file from the server when the email is opened or viewed and then displaying the video frame of the first video file within an email page of the email; and

a login web page, the login web page containing a video player,

wherein the video player includes instructions to analyze a bandwidth associated with the computerized device to provide secondary video feedback to the computerized device with minimal delay.

14. The system of claim 13, the login web page configured to be opened when a user clicks on the email page of the email.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the video frame of the first video file is displayed within the email page without executing a video player on the computerized device.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein a second video file is stored on a server, the second video file being streamed onto the login webpage.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the second video file on the login webpage begins downloading when the email is opened or viewed.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein a second video on the login webpage is opened after the video frame of the first video file has been displayed.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein the sequence of frames of the first video is displayed a predetermined number of times by creating a loop in the HTML code of the email.

20. The system of claim 13, wherein the first video file is edited by a frame editing system.

21. The system of claim 14, further comprising means residing on the server, the means including instructions to test the bandwidth of the computerized device to provide an optimal bitstream of the computerized device for display of the second video with a maximum available bandwidth.