JP2008522329A - Method and apparatus for automating interactive consignment of multimedia content over a network - Google Patents

Abstract

The online consignment system displays promotional video or animated content in a predefined “timeline” with a series of files “slots”. Files in these slots are automatically presented to the consumer in the order defined in the timeline. The segment of the timeline is downloaded to the customer via the file sharing network from the consignment sales server or another customer when the customer wants to view the promotional material. In order to include promotional content in the system, the consignor either uploads custom promotional content to the consigned sales system after purchasing space on the timeline, or a large number of pre-recorded promotional content. Select a stocked scene from the content. Promotional content is fragmented and inserted into the timeline at the location purchased by the sales contractor. Sales information also downloads promotional material for that item.
[Selection]
[Figure 1]

Description

  The present invention relates to the provision, distribution and sale of multimedia content such as digital music, movies and graphics on a network such as the Internet on a consignment basis.

  Currently operating multimedia distribution systems generally include content providers that provide multimedia content information such as audio, video, and text data to customers, and service providers that provide services such as banking or shopping services to customers. It is composed of a combination of Content and service providers generally have a broadband communication network such as a digital network which is an integrated services digital network (ISDN) or cable television (CATV) communication network, or a packet switch network such as an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) communication network or the Internet. To the customer's terminal, including computers, PDAs, set-top boxes and televisions and other electronic devices.

 In such a system, a content provider stores content on a server connected to a network and provides customer terminals with access to the server. In some cases, access to the provider's server is restricted to customers who pay a subscription fee. In other systems, the service provider integrates with the system to purchase content selected by the customer and pay for it at a point of sale. In most cases, these systems are interactive, allowing customers to search and select the content they want to purchase, and in many cases, customers preview the material before making a purchase. Can do.

  After purchasing the content, download it to the customer's terminal via the network. An example of such a system is an online music store. Customers who contact the store via the Internet can select and purchase music and download it to the customer's terminal for later presentation to the customer.

   In other systems, the customer can also interactively control content downloads. For example, in the case of a video on demand (VOD) system, video and audio data are transmitted from the server to the customer's terminal in response to a customer generated command. These commands allow the user to start, interrupt, and resume the download as desired.

  However, conventional systems have several drawbacks. For example, in a conventional system, a content provider controls, acquires, and stores content on a content server. In order to place content on the server, a content generator, such as a musician who has recorded a song, needs to negotiate with the content provider to add the song to the server. Typically this involves license negotiation between the content generator and the content provider. Such license negotiation can be difficult and expensive. In some cases, a content provider may not want to trade with a content generator because the content does not have a potential market large enough to ensure inclusion in the system.

   Conventional systems are also limited in the types of promotional material that can be displayed for sold products. For example, to promote a song or album, a promotional music video is often created, which is specific to that song or album and focuses on the song. Desirably, the music video or at least a portion of the video is made available for viewing by the customer at the point of sale. Some conventional systems are capable of displaying promotional video content at the point of sale, but this content is generally not specific to a particular sale item and cannot be selected by the sale item vendor. "Limited to video or animation."

  Furthermore, conventional systems are often slow. In general, this requires a relatively fast connection to the network because large files must be downloaded to display promotional videos or animations. Even with high-speed connections, the interaction between the customer and the server can be slow due to the large volume of information transferred in the server or group of servers.

In accordance with the principles of the present invention, the online consignment system displays promotional video or animated content in a predefined “timeline” that includes a series of file “slots”. Files in these slots are automatically presented to the consumer in the order defined in the timeline. The timeline segment is downloaded to the customer when the customer wishes to view the promotional material from either the consignment server or another customer via the file sharing network. In order for the promotional content to be included in the system, the consignor either purchases space on the timeline and uploads custom promotional content to the consigned sales system, or a large amount of pre-recorded promotional content Select a stocked scene from. The promotional content is subdivided and inserted into the timeline at the location purchased by the sales contractor. After this, the timeline segment is downloaded to the customer and presents promotional material.

In addition to uploading or selecting promotional content, the consignor associates the commissioned item that can be used for purchase during the presentation of the promotional material, displays information describing the item, and displays the promotional material Make the item available for purchase while presenting. If the sales item is in digital format, for example, if it is a digital audio file, these are also uploaded to the consignment system and stored in the database together with the information of the consignor that associates the sales item with the promotional material. .

In one embodiment, the consignment sales system includes a sales consignor module, a consignment sales server, and a customer module. The sales consignor module is located on the sales consignor's terminal so that the sales consignor can set up an account on the consignment sales server and purchase space on the timeline, including the payment details of the space purchase by the sales consignor And handling payments to the consignor when a purchaseable item is purchased by the consumer. The sales consignor module also allows the sales contractor to upload promotional video content to the consignment sales server so that if the sales item is in the proper format, the item can be uploaded for sale.

The consignment server maintains a master copy of the timeline in storage. When the promotion content is uploaded, the server formats the commissioned content, subdivides the content, and inserts the subdivided content at an appropriate position on the timeline. The server also maintains a database of accounting information related to the purchase of space and payment for sold content. The server also maintains a database of digital consignment items such as digital audio files that can be used for sale. The accounting module associates the entrusted item with the promotional material to maintain sales consignor information that makes the entrusted item available for purchase when the promotional material is presented.

Finally, the customer module resides in the customer's web browser. The customer module includes a receiver for automatically presenting promotional information in timeline slots for downloading timeline segments and viewing information in a web browser. When promotional material in each timeline slot is presented, information describing the consignment items associated with the promotional material is also presented to the customer, and the customer selects an item to purchase if desired Can do. The customer module also includes conventional sales software that allows selected consignment items to be purchased and a file download application for downloading purchased items in digital form.

  In another embodiment, the file size of each file slot on the timeline is relatively small. As a result, the presentation of files on the timeline can begin very quickly after the timeline segment download begins. Additional timeline segments can be downloaded while presenting the first downloaded timeline segment. As a result, the consignment sales system can sequentially display the promotional video material, so that it does not have to wait for a long time to load the promotional material.

In yet another embodiment, as each customer downloads the current timeline segment, that customer becomes part of the peer-to-peer file supply network. That is, a customer who is downloading the current timeline segment can download the timeline segment from another customer instead of the consignment server. Other customers are close to the downloading customer, so a faster connection can be established. If no other customer with the current timeline segment is found, the timeline segment can be downloaded from the consignment server. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent a bottleneck that occurs in the consignment server during a period of heavy download load, and to reduce the bandwidth required by the server.

  FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an online consignment sales system 100 constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention. The system 100 includes a customer module 102, a sales consignor module 104, and a consignment sales server 106. The consignment server 106 operates as a conventional web server and provides a repository of digital content generated and transmitted by the consignor. The consignment server 106 includes a customer database that stores information regarding each customer's account. For each account, this information can include, for example, the customer's login name and password, accounting balance, purchased items, payment terms, and the like. The consignment server 106 also includes a database 112 of consignor information and purchaseable items.

Database 112 stores information related to each sales consignor, each piece of promotional material, and related outsourced purchaseable items added to the system by the sales consignor. This information includes sales agent account information such as name and address, and a unique sales agent ID assigned to the sales agent. An accounting table is also provided to track sales of commissioned items. Depending on the type of business to which the consignment sales system is directed, the consignable purchaseable items are digital audio files, digital video files, handicrafts, clothes, goods or products or services. Purchaseable items in digital form, such as digital audio or video files, can also be stored in the database 112.

For each purchaseable item stored in the database 112, information such as the location of the content in the database 112, the name of the content, the associated artist, the length of the media, and the genre of the media is also provided. Stored in As schematically illustrated by arrow 118, the customer database and the sales agent database are maintained by an accounting engine 116 that interacts with the rest of the system as described below. The accounting engine 116 hosts an automated accounting function that updates the accounting table in the customer and consignor database to accurately capture database transactions between the customer module 102 and the consignor module 104. In addition, a copy of the entrusted digital file can be retrieved from the database 112 and schematically downloaded to the customer module by the download engine 120 as shown schematically by the arrow 130.

The consignment server 106 also includes a media database 114 that stores promotional timeline content. Promotional content can be entered into the media database 114 by a content converter 124 that converts the content received from the sales representative into a form suitable for presentation, as schematically illustrated by the arrow 126. The timeline information stored in the media database 114 is retrieved as schematically shown by the arrow 128 and by the timeline publisher 122 each time a customer visits the web site hosted by the consignment server 106. Published.

In addition to the materials provided by the sales consignor, content and promotional materials are also provided by the consignment sales system operator and placed on the consignment sales server. These materials are purchased by consignment sales system operators for resale purposes and may include well-known music and video materials. This allows consignment sales system operators to generate fun for materials commissioned by lesser known artists.

As is known to those skilled in the art, the specific configuration of the components illustrated in FIG. 1 can be varied. For example, the content converter 124 can be located in the consignor module 104 rather than the consignment server 106 without affecting the overall operation of the system. Further, although the consignment server 106 is illustrated as being a single device, it is well known that the functions performed by this device can be distributed over several devices. This can be done in various ways. Each of the numbered components can be run on a separate device, or some of the components can be split across multiple devices. For example, since many databases are designed to run across multiple devices, the database 110 is distributed among the devices if there are enough customers to guarantee such a configuration. Sometimes.

Customer module 102 is a public access media player displayed by a browser-based interface deployed with a web browser such as Internet Explorer, Netscape, or other commonly used web browser, and virtual interaction Type TV tuner. In order for a customer to view and order content, the customer module 102 must first be installed on the customer's terminal. Customer module 102 can be downloaded (with or without fees) or installed via a storefront promotional CD-ROM demonstration disc. Typically, customer module 102 is automatically installed when a customer first connects to a web site hosted by consignment server 106. When the customer module 102 is installed on a customer terminal, it remains installed until it is intentionally uninstalled.

The customer module 102 includes a sales module 132 that can be implemented with conventional online store software that performs various functions such as privacy encryption of customer information, credit authentication, shopping cart, checkout service, and the like. The sales module 132 interacts with the accounting engine 116 of the consignment sales server 106 to complete the sales of the consigned content via the Internet, as schematically illustrated by the arrow 138. A file downloader 134 is provided for downloading purchased digital audio or video files. The downloader 143 interacts with the download engine 120 of the consignment sales server 106 to retrieve the purchased content from the sales consignor information / purchasable item database 112, as schematically shown by the arrow 140, and the retrieved content Is downloaded to the customer module 102.

As will be described below, the timeline presentation software 136 presents promotional videos related to items that can be purchased to interest the purchaseable content. In a predetermined manner and as described below, this presents a promotional video segment selected from scenes that were previously uploaded or stocked by the sales representative. The timeline presentation software, as schematically illustrated by arrow 146, includes the timeline publisher 122 in the consignment server 106 each time the customer starts the customer module software and logs into the consignment sales web site. make a conversation. In addition, as described below, the timeline presentation software 136 can also obtain a segment of the current timeline directly from the peer-to-peer file sharing network 108, as schematically illustrated by arrow 142. . As described above, the file sharing network 108 is configured when the other customer logs into the consignment server 106 web site or from the timeline publisher 122 as schematically illustrated by the dashed arrow 144. A copy of the current timeline segment can be obtained when a segment is requested.

The consignor module 104 allows the content generator to upload or select promotional video material to purchase and insert into the space on the timeline. The consignor module also allows the consignor to upload digital files that can be purchased. The sales consignor module runs on the sales consignor's terminal, and typically consists of software sold at the store or available online. Each sales agent is identified by a sales agent ID, which represents a pre-allocated unit of virtual bandwidth or space on the timeline. In general, the sales consignor ID is received at the time of purchase of the consignment module software, or is downloaded directly from the consignment website by simply purchasing an online music sales kit, downloading the kit and installing it directly.

Sales agent module 104 includes an accounting module 152 that allows the sales agent to interact with the accounting engine 116 of the consignment server, as schematically illustrated by arrow 148. In addition, the consignor module 104 includes a purchaseable item transmitter 153 and is used to upload purchaseable items in digital format under the control of the accounting module 152 to the database 112 as indicated by arrow 152. can do. The item is placed in a folder assigned to the sales consignor. In addition, a purchaseable item transmitter 153 can be used to generate a description of the consignment items to be stored in the database 112, which description is displayed when the associated promotional material is displayed. The promotion content transmitter 154 can select the promotion content generated by the consignor and send it to the content converter 124 of the consignment sales server 106 as schematically illustrated by the arrow 150. In some cases, the sales consignor may not have promotional material to upload. In such a case, a material can be selected from promotional materials recorded and stored in advance on the consignment server using the content transmitter. This pre-recorded material has a predetermined theme or is general.

FIG. 2 is a more detailed schematic block diagram of the consignment sales server 106. As shown in FIG. 2, the consignment server 200 includes a network interface 202 that connects the server to the network. Network interface 202 further interacts with accounting engine 206 as schematically illustrated by arrow 204. The accounting engine further interacts with the file manager 228 as indicated by arrow 218. Using this dialog, the accounting engine 206 updates the customer database 230 as shown schematically by arrow 232, enters new customer information, changes existing customer information, and becomes unsettled. Maintain customer accounts and payments.

The accounting engine 206 can also update the consignor database via the file manager 228, as schematically illustrated by the arrow 236, when a digitally purchaseable item is downloaded by a customer or a new Updates the sales representative's accounting table when promotional media or purchaseable items are uploaded by the sales representative.

When a customer makes a purchase, the file manager, under the control of the accounting engine 206, from the sales agent information / purchasable item database 234 to the download engine 208, as schematically shown by arrows 236 and 220, Items that can be purchased can be transferred. Download engine 208 is responsible for downloading files via network interface 202 to the customers on the network as indicated by arrow 210.

The timeline publisher 222 uses the arrow if the customer logs into the consignment system and requests a timeline segment, or if another file sharing customer does not have the requested timeline segment as described below. Responsible for transferring timeline segments to network interface 202 as indicated by 216. Each timeline segment sent to the customer is retrieved from the promotion media database 246 as indicated by arrow 242 and provided to timeline publisher 222 as indicated by arrow 224.

In order to receive both promotional content from the sales contractor via the network and network interface 202, the uploaded promotional content is provided by the network interface 202 to the file formatter 214 as indicated by arrow 212. File formatter 214 reformats the promotional video file to a predetermined frame rate and frame size. The reformatted promotional video information is provided to fragmenter 226, which divides the media file into a plurality of files, each of which is the size of a timeline slot. The media file fragment is then transferred to the file manager 228 as indicated by arrow 244. The file manager 228 stores the fragmented file in the promotion media database 246 and updates the media timeline at the location purchased by the sales agent to point to the stored media file fragment.

A commissionable purchaseable item, such as a digital audio or video file, is received from a sales contractor via the network interface 202 and is checked by the file formatter 214 for the correct file attributes before being indicated by arrow 225. To the file manager 228 and stored in the database 234 as indicated by arrow 236.

FIG. 3 shows a more detailed schematic diagram of the sales agent module 104 shown in FIG. The consignor module 300 includes a GUI generator 314 that provides a graphical user interface used by the consignor to set up an account in the online consignment sales system and upload descriptions of the items that can be purchased. Generate. Under the control of the GUI generator 314, the accounting module 308 interacts with the consignment server via the network, as indicated by arrow 316. More specifically, the accounting module sends and receives information to and from the network using the network interface 324 as schematically illustrated by arrow 322. With this connection, the accounting module 308 can set the above-mentioned sales agent account on the consignment server, manage that account, and receive reports of activities related to the contents entrusted by the sales agent. Can do.

  Accounting module 308 also interacts with file manager 310 as indicated by arrow 306 to store account information, eg, passwords, locally. In addition, the file manager 310 interacts with the local storage 302 to store information in the local storage 302 as schematically illustrated by arrow 304.

  The GUI generator 314 can also be used to control the media loader 320 as indicated by arrow 318. The media loader interacts with the file manager 310 to select both the promotional media file and the consumable digitally purchasable item that is to be uploaded, and the selected file from the local storage 302. The file is transferred to the take-out media loader 320. The media loader uploads the selected file as shown by arrow 312 to the consignment server via network interface 324 as shown schematically by arrow 326.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the steps of an exemplary process performed by the consignment server illustrated in FIG. 2 to process a file uploaded from the consignor module. The process begins at step 400 and proceeds to step 402. As described above, at step 402, the file formatter 214 checks the attributes of the uploaded file to confirm that it is compatible with the online consignment system. Checked attributes include file type and size. If the attribute is not compatible with the system, the process proceeds to step 403 to generate an error and return it to the sales contractor indicating that the file is incorrect for use in the online consignment sales system. The process ends at step 418.

Alternatively, if it is determined in step 402 that the file attribute is compatible with the online consignment system, the process proceeds to step 404 where the file is a promotional file or can be purchased that is consigned. A determination is made as to whether the file is an item, such as a digital audio file. If a purchaseable item file has been uploaded, the process proceeds to step 408 where the purchaseable item file is transferred to the file manager 228 as indicated by arrow 225 and stored in the database 234. The process ends at step 418.

  Alternatively, if it is determined in step 404 that the uploaded file is a promotional video file, the file formatter 214 reformats the file and sets the video frame rate and video size at the online consignment system. Set to an appropriate value that can be supported.

  In step 410, space for the file is allocated to the promotion media database 246. More specifically, space allocation is based on the playback time of the uploaded file. As described above, the promotion part of the consignment sales system is based on a timeline composed of a sequential chain of timeline slots. Each timeline slot corresponds to a file of a predetermined size. The uploaded file is divided into a plurality of files of a predetermined size, and the length of the media file determines the amount of timeline file space required to play the entire file. Once the timeline space is determined, that space is assigned to the promotion media database 246. Next, the file formatter 214 divides the file into fragment files, each of which is a predetermined timeline slot size.

  In step 416, the uploaded file fragment is stored in the promotion media database 246. Each timeline slot file has a predetermined location in the promotion media database. When the uploaded file is added using, for example, the process described in FIG. 4, the file fragment overwrites the timeline slot file in that portion of the timeline assigned to the sales contractor. If these timeline slot files have not been assigned to another reseller so far, these file locations are blank and overwritten with new file fragments. Otherwise, if the timeline space has been previously assigned to another sales contractor, the new file fragment overwrites the file fragment previously stored by the other sales contractor.

Next, in step 416, the sales consigner database is updated with the newly added file attribute. These attributes may include the location of the uploaded file fragment. For example, the beginning of the timeline is associated with a unique sales representative ID, which is assigned to the sales representative during the upload process. This ID can later be used to identify the beginning of that portion of the timeline associated with the sales agent. Other information that can be added to the sales agent database and associated with the sales agent ID includes a description of the entrusted purchaseable items that were previously generated and uploaded by the sales agent. For example, if the entrusted purchaseable item is a digital audio file of a song, the description information includes the song song name, media length (playback time), artist name, album type and media genre. Including. Further, if the entrusted item is a digital file, the information includes the location where the associated file is stored in the sales consignor information / purchasable item database 234. At this point, the promotional video file is ready for playback if selected by the customer using the customer module associated with the web browser.

FIG. 5 allows the customer to interact with the consignment server to view the promotional video material and to purchase both audio and video items while viewing the promotional material. FIG. 4 is a more detailed block diagram of a customer module. In one embodiment, the customer module runs on a conventional web browser and connects to the consignment server via the Internet. In this example, customer module 500 includes a GUI generator 502 that generates a graphical user interface in a web browser to allow customers to view promotional material and purchase media selections. More specifically, the GUI generator 502 interacts with the command processor 504, as shown schematically by the arrow 506, to select a portion of the promotional media timeline and control its playback.

The GUI generator 502 also interacts with the sales module 520 as indicated by arrow 519 to allow the customer to purchase items selected by the customer. The sales module 520 further connects to the consignment server via the network interface 536 as schematically indicated by the arrow 534. The sales module 520 handles the details of the online purchase along with the accounting engine 206 (FIG. 2) in the consignment server. More specifically, as described below, the GUI generator 502 and the sales module 520 cooperate with the accounting engine 206 in response to promotional material or other information, such as a command embedded in the title of the promotional material, to the sales consignor database 112. To access. The accounting engine 206 retrieves descriptive information that has been uploaded so far by the sales agent in connection with the items or services available for purchase and forwards this information to the sales module 520. This information is displayed on the user interface when promotional material is presented, which allows the customer to proceed to online purchases while presenting the promotional material. The details of online sales handled by the sales module 520 also include selection of items or services to be purchased, payment options, credit card verification and other online banking services. Sales module 520 interacts with file manager 516 as indicated by arrow 522 to store accounting information in local storage 518.

After the user selects a digital item that can be purchased and purchases the selection via the sales module 520, the sales module 520 controls the file downloader 526 as indicated by arrow 540 and the network as indicated by arrow 532. Download selection via interface 536 File downloader 526 provides the downloaded file to file manager 516 for storage in local storage 518 as indicated by arrow 524. In addition to this, in the case of consignment items that are not downloadable, such as CDs, T-shirts, etc., the sales module 520 sends appropriate recognition information to the consignment sales server, and the order is packed in a conventional warehouse facility.

Command processor 504 also interacts with timeline loader 530 as indicated by arrow 513. If the customer selects a portion of the display timeline, the command processor 504 supports the timeline loader 530 to download the first timeline segment corresponding to the selected timeline portion. The timeline loader 530 searches on the Internet as will be described below and either via the network interface 536 as indicated by arrow 538, either on the file sharing network or directly from the consignment server, the requested timeline Identify the location of the segment. When the timeline loader 530 obtains the requested timeline segment, it is provided to the file manager 516 as indicated by arrow 528. File manager 516 transfers the timeline segment either to browser cache 512 for display or to local storage for later display.

Command processor 504 also controls media players 509 and 508 as schematically shown by arrow 510. As will be described later, under the control of the commands contained in the timeline segment, the command processor 504 controls the media players 508 and 509, alternately as shown schematically by arrows 515. The content of each timeline slot is displayed from the browser cache 512.

FIG. 6 is a screen shot of a representative graphical user interface used to control the customer module. This graphical user interface is designed to be displayed on a conventional web browser 600. Although FIG. 6 illustrates a Microsoft Internet Explorer web browser, any other browser system can be used. A typical graphical user interface 602 is designed for use in a music consignment system. A similar graphical user interface can be used for other consignment items such as sports memorabilia, feature films, and the like. The music commissioning graphical user display includes three independent areas. The left hand promotion video selection area 604 includes a plurality of “channel” buttons 610-632. Each button, such as button 612, allows the customer to select a particular “channel” or area of the promotional material for viewing. Each channel consists of multiple playlist selections, all related to the selected area. The promotional material associated with each playlist selection can be a variety of video information. Along with traditional music videos, promotional material consists of performers, artists, recorded interviews with other people, live videos, videos of specific artists performing, etc. related to the content.

The buttons 610 to 632 are a part of the scroll list, and an additional button can be displayed by selecting and dragging the scroll bar knob 634. In addition, a search mechanism 636 is provided to allow the customer to search for specific keywords and to identify promotional material in the selected media content area.

As described below, once a customer selects a media content area, a promotional video selection is presented for playlist selection in that area. More specifically, when a channel is selected, playback of the promotion video for the first playlist selection is started. When the promotion material for one playlist selection finishes playing, the promotion material for the next playlist selection starts playing immediately. The operation continues in this manner until the entire timeline has finished playing. The user can also select another playlist selection and cause the system to jump directly to the portion of the timeline associated with that playlist selection. When one promotion video selection is selected, the first timeline segment is obtained for that selection. If a particular playlist selection has not been purchased by the sales representative, the selection is displayed as blank and a blank screen is displayed in the media display area 640.

The media display section in the middle of the graphical user interface 602 includes a display area 640 that displays the promotional video in a timeline slot for the selected content area. Additional control buttons may be provided to allow the user to manipulate the displayed video information. The playback control button 642 allows the promotion video to be played, paused, fast forwarded, and rewound in the same manner as a conventional tape recorder. Playlist forward / backward buttons 644 and 646 momentarily move the promotion display to the beginning of the playlist immediately before the playlist selection currently playing in the timeline and to the beginning of the playlist selection immediately after Let

The “IDM weekly” selection button 648 affects the promotional material area displayed by the channel buttons 610-632. In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, the selection illustrated in FIG. 6 appears in the channel buttons 610 to 632 by selecting the “IDM weekly” selection button 648. These selections consist of music-related live and tape interviews, and news stories. This provides a “television” style display to the customer module.

In addition, the music store library button 650 changes the choices available with the channel buttons 610-632. When the music store library button 650 is selected, each channel button is set to a specific group or artist. Displays the album cover assembled with the artist or group selected by the selection of the channel button or the piece played by the selected artist or group. When an album cover is displayed, selecting an album cover displays the names of songs recorded in the album.

The “Purchase” button 652 allows the customer to immediately purchase items related to the promotional material presented in the display area 640.

The “Radio” section 654 causes an audio selection from the music store library to be played from the computer system speakers. Audio selection can be selected by various mechanisms including name or title search, genre, etc.

In the store area 602 on the right hand side of the graphical user interface, the selected item can be purchased either while the promotional material is presented or later. A typical user interface uses a shopping cart metaphor and can be generated and maintained using conventional online sales software. An important feature of the consignment system is that it can be purchased by a consignor when a customer selects a playlist selection and promotional material for that playlist selection is displayed in the media display area 640. In addition, the selected consignment item related to the currently displayed promotional material is displayed in the “in stock” window 664. The display of these items that can be purchased and the display of promotional materials for these items together provide an optimal sales environment.

If the customer decides to select an item in the inventory window 664 as likely to be purchased, the item is selected by shopping for the selected customer by selecting button 666 and adding the selected item to the cart. Added to cart. A scrolling list 668 displays items in the shopping cart. The list can be scrolled by manipulating the scroll bar knob 670 and each item contains the same information displayed in each playlist selection associated with one of the channel buttons 610-632.

In order for a customer to see his or her potential purchases, selecting an item displayed in the shopping cart list 668 will cause the customer to view the associated channel button and playlist selection in the button list 604. As selected, the promotional material for that playlist selection starts playing in the media display area 640. If the user decides to purchase consignment items, these items can be selected by, for example, checking the checkboxes associated with each selected item and enabling the “checkout” button 672, Purchase of the selected item is started.

A customer who wishes to become a sales consignor can select a further button 660. Button 660 initiates the sales sequence and allows the sales consignor to purchase and download the sales consignor module illustrated in FIG.

Graphics and other media including the graphical user interface illustrated in FIG. 6 are stored in a sales agent database in the consignment server, for example, in a media playback file that includes both media content and playback commands. Media playback files include both media data and playback commands, which are well known. Such files may include, for example, SWF files, but other file formats may be used. The SWF file contents and format are defined in the SWF file format specification and can be viewed on the Internet at the URL "openswf.org/spec/SWFfileformat.html". When the customer module is first started on the customer's computer and logs into the consignment web site, a media playback file containing the images that form the graphical user interface is downloaded. In order to save download time, all download files are kept small and typically have a size of 17 kb to 20 kb. When the media playback file is downloaded, the command in the playback file sets the screen display by the method described in FIG. The media information in the playback file typically includes a small introductory video display that is played in the media display area 640.

When the introductory video display is displayed in the playback area 640, the control file is downloaded from the consignment server. This control file is, for example, an extensible markup language (XML) file. As will be described later, this file sets the aforementioned “timeline”, thereby controlling the playback of the promotional material and identifying additional files to be downloaded in response to the selection of the aforementioned control buttons. The format of this file is illustrated in FIG. 9 and will be described later in connection with the playlist selection and FIGS.

7 and 8 illustrate the selection of a portion of the media timeline for preview using the channel buttons 610-632. More specifically, FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the selection area 604 and the media display area 606 of the graphical user interface 602 shown in FIG. FIG. 7 illustrates the appearance of the graphical user interface shown in FIG. 6 after selecting one channel button, such as button 612. When the channel button 612 is selected, the XML control file loaded so far is queried as shown in FIG. Although the file is structured as an XML file, it is actually accessed by line number so that it is not necessary to parse the XML file to select a particular line. That is, the XML file acts as a larger array. File 900 is divided into a number of sections 902-912, which identify and identify the location of promotional and sales materials associated with each channel button.

As shown, each file section includes 20 lines corresponding to the 20 possible channel buttons. Of course, in other implementations, the channel buttons could be 20 or more or 20 or less. Each file line further includes descriptive text, which in FIG. 9 is the assigned line number. For example, the line number 914 and name 916 of the file in the consignment server store some information related to the button. ing. File 900 is indexed as illustrated by arrows 916-928 in FIG. 9 so that the corresponding row of each section is read in response to the selected button.

When specific channel buttons are selected, the corresponding lines of the file section are queried and the files identified by these lines are identified and downloaded. Assuming that channel button 612 has been selected, the first row of each file section is selected as indicated by arrows 920-928 (channel button 610 is the initial downloaded in the first media playback file). Related to the implementation program). The file to be downloaded first is indicated by an XML file line indicated by an arrow 920, which is a media playback file identified by the file name “A0000001 / A0000001 — 01.swf”. The first “A0000001” corresponds to the sales consignor ID and represents the folder in which the media playback file is stored. The remaining part of the file name “A0000001_01.swf” identifies the actual file. This content of this file is information for displaying, for example, 10 playlist selection buttons.

When a command in the downloaded media playback file is executed, ten playlist selection buttons 704 to 722 are displayed in the channel button selection area 702 of the graphical user interface 700 at the positions of the channel buttons 610 to 632. Appear. Although 10 buttons are shown in FIG. 7, up to 20 buttons can be displayed. Additional buttons are displayed using a scroll bar 724. Each playlist button represents a set of promotional and point-of-sale materials associated with that playlist selection. Promotional videos associated with the selection can be displayed in the media playback area 730, which is a fixed size with the upper left corner 732 fixed at a predetermined position in the browser window. The associated point-of-sale material is simultaneously displayed in the store area 608 (not shown in FIGS. 7 and 8) of the display 600. These materials include songs and purchase prices, albums, CDs, etc. related to the displayed promotional video.

Furthermore, a new XML control file is also downloaded at this point. This new XML file has the same format as XML file 900 and includes a number of sections. Each section includes a row corresponding to one of the playlist selections 704-706. These rows are selected when the user selects one of the playlist selections.

When the playlist display shown in FIG. 7 is displayed, a small expander button 734 is also displayed on the scroll bar 724. When this latter expander button is selected, the XML control file 900 is again queried to select the first media playback file in section 906 as indicated by arrow 922 (file “A0000001 / A_PLAYLIST_OPEN_01”). .swf ") downloaded. This file contains additional playlist information, and when the commands in the file are executed, the playlist buttons 704-722 shown in FIG. 7 have ten playlist selections 834 as shown in FIG. To 852. When a playlist selection is displayed, the system displays explanatory information about each playlist selection from the media playback just downloaded. This information can include content title, playback time, artist name, album, genre, etc. In FIG. 8, this information is displayed on the full display screen, but the information can also be displayed in the channel button area 802, and the scroll channel (not shown in FIG. 8) is used to display the channel horizontally.・ You can observe by scrolling the button area.

Each of the playlist selections 834-852 represents a promotional video clip that has been previously uploaded or selected by a distributor. The length of the clip varies depending on the size of the promotional file uploaded by the distributor. Typically, a promotional video file is about 10-15 seconds in length. Selecting one playlist selection, eg, selection 834, queries a new XML file and downloads the media playback file. For example, when the first playlist selection is selected in a new file, the first media playback file indicated by arrow 920 is downloaded. In general, this corresponds to the promotional video in the first timeline slot. When this file is downloaded, the promotional material associated with that point on the timeline begins to play in the media playback area 730. The timeline is continuous, the next playlist selection is automatically downloaded during playback of one playlist selection according to the button's XML control file, and automatically via playback when the first selection ends. This is an important point. If the next section of the timeline is not assigned to a sales consignor, a blank screen is displayed. Thus, by using the channel button and playlist selector, the customer can start playback at any desired point in the timeline.

In addition, after starting to play the first promotional video, the next XML control is queried and the first file in the next section 908 is identified and downloaded as indicated by arrow 924. This file contains the aforementioned point of sale information and can be displayed in the music store area 602 of the graphical user interface 600 in synchronization with the promotional video being displayed in the graphic display area 730.

A common mechanism for representing promotional material uses a method of streaming video files by progressive download. Progressive download allows the system to start displaying the file before the entire file is downloaded. A mechanism for generating a streaming file with progressive download to represent promotional material by playing a timeline in one embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. FIG. 10 shows the structure of the timeline 1000. The timeline is composed of a plurality of frames, and each frame includes a file associated with one channel button. Accordingly, the playback length of each frame varies depending on the length of the promotional material uploaded by each sales contractor. The timeline 1000 is typically composed of 10 to 20 frames, of which frames 1010-1024 are illustrated at frame level 1002.

Each frame further comprises a set of playlist selections, each playlist selection being promotional video content for one playlist selection. Furthermore, the length of each playlist selection varies with the length of the upload file corresponding to the promotional material. The number of playlist selections per frame is generally determined by the online playback system. In the illustrated system, there are 10 playlist selections for each channel button. For example, ten selections 1026-1044 are illustrated with a playlist selection level 1004 associated with frame 1016. However, not all playlist selections contain actual content, and selections that do not contain are blank.

For example, the selection 1034 further includes a playback file or a timeline slot file at a playback file level 1006. The number of timeline slots for each selection depends on the length of the promotion item. At the playback level, each promotional video file is divided into timeline segments, and each timeline segment has a predetermined number of timeline slots. This predetermined number depends on the playback rate of the file. The playback rate further depends on the resolution of the system and other factors. For example, a typical playback rate is about 15 timeline slots per second, but other playback rates may be up to 24 slots per second. Since the timeline is loaded and displayed one segment at a time, a small number of slots are included in each segment to keep the download time short. A typical timeline segment length is 1 second. A segment consists of 15 slots.

By dividing the promotional material into slots in this manner, the information in the slot helps prevent theft of the material because it must be reassembled to present the promotional material outside the customer module. In addition, because the file size of each timeline segment is small, one or two segments can be downloaded quickly and playback can begin before the rest of the segment is downloaded. This allows playback to begin almost instantaneously even if the timeline segment has to be downloaded over a low bandwidth facility such as a dial-up telephone line.

In addition, the customer module is part of a traditional “peer-to-peer file sharing” network to help manage system bandwidth. Such networks are well known, and a peer computer can search the network for another peer computer having a local copy of the identified data, and once identified, from another peer computer. You can download the data directly. For example, Stefanos Andruth Celis-Teotokis and Diomidis Spinellis “Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Technology Survey” White Paper, Electronic Trading Research Unit (ELTRUN), Athena University School of Economics and Business, 2002 For information related to available peer-to-peer file sharing systems, see the following URL: http://www.linuxsecurity.com/docs/Hack-FAQ/data-networkds/p2p-peer-to -peer-file-sharing.shtml. In this system, a unique ID is assigned to each timeline segment. If the customer selects a section with a timeline for playback, the timeline loader 530 (Figure 5) has recently downloaded the same timeline segment using a peer-to-peer file sharing network and currently Search for peer computers that cache timeline segments. When the requested timeline segment is identified on the peer computer, it is downloaded from that computer. A file sharing network prevents the bottleneck condition that occurs by downloading all timeline segments from a single server or set of servers and saves some bandwidth needed by the server. If the requested timeline segment is not found on the peer computer, it will be obtained from the consignment server.

Each timeline slot file, eg, slot file 1066, includes both media data 1080, eg, a graphic image displayed in the media playback area, and commands 1082 that control timeline playback. In general, these commands 1082 include a command to display media data in the media playback area, as well as a command to load the next slot file in the timeline. Additional commands in certain timeline slot files cause the next timeline segment to be loaded. Note that the structure of each timeline segment is fixed, including the number of timeline slots per segment and the number of commands in each slot file. The only variable part between timeline segments is the media data in each slot file.

The command can also be used to obtain descriptive material for purchaseable items or services available for purchase during the presentation of promotional material. As described above, this explanatory material is taken out from the sales consigner database and is uploaded in advance by the sales consignor. In addition to this, description information can also be acquired using identification information such as a title of a promotion material.

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate the interaction between the timeline file contained within the customer module and the two media players 1102 and 1104. FIG. 11 illustrates playback of the timeline segment 1100. For simplicity, this timeline segment is shown as having 10 timeline slots (optionally labeled 1-10), but as mentioned above, most timelines • The segment has 15 to 24 time slots. During playback, the timeline segment 1100 is typically stored in the browser cache of the web browser on which the customer module is running. As described above, each slot file contains both media data and commands. The command includes a command for displaying the media data of the file by the media player in the media playback area over a predetermined period of time, for example, 1/10 second. As shown in FIG. 11, the media data portion 1110 of time slot 2 of timeline segment 1100 is provided to media player A 1102 as schematically illustrated by arrow 1114 and is represented by arrow 1116. As schematically shown, it is presented in the media reproduction area 1106. After a predetermined time, the command processor 504 (FIG. 5) begins processing timeline slot 3 with an additional command in the command portion 1112.

In addition, some timeline slot files contain commands to download the next timeline segment from the network as described above. For example, in FIG. 11, the timeline slot file 2 stores the next timeline segment obtained by the timeline loader 530 (FIG. 5) in the RAM memory of the customer computer as schematically shown by the arrow 1118. It has a command that causes the file manager 1108 to load the cache area that has been arranged. When all slot files of a timeline segment are presented, the timeline segment cached by the last timeline slot file command is shown in the browser cache as schematically illustrated by arrow 1120. Is loaded. The command processor causes media player B 1104 to begin processing a new timeline segment loaded into the browser cache.

The next step in the timeline display process is illustrated in FIG. In this figure, elements corresponding to those in FIG. 11 are given corresponding reference numbers. For example, the media player A 1102 in FIG. 11 corresponds to the media player A 1202 in FIG. FIG. 12 illustrates playback of the next timeline segment 1200 including timeline slots 10-19. As described above, the timeline segment 1200 has been loaded into the browser cache at the end of the presentation of the timeline segment 1100. As shown in FIG. 12, the media data portion 1210 of the timeline slot 11 of the timeline segment 1200 is provided to the media player B 1202 as schematically illustrated by the arrow 1214, and the arrow 1216 As shown schematically in the media playback area 1206. After a predetermined time, the command processor 504 (FIG. 5) begins processing the timeline slot 12 with a further command in the command portion 1212.

In addition, the timeline slot file 11 is transferred to the RAM cache area from the timeline segment obtained by the timeline loader 530 (FIG. 5) to the file manager 1208 as schematically illustrated by the arrow 1218. Has a command to load. When all slot files of a timeline segment are presented, the browser caches the timeline segment in which the commands in the last timeline slot file 19 are cached, as schematically shown by arrow 1220 -Load it into the cache. The command processor then causes media player A 1204 to begin processing a new timeline segment that has been loaded into the browser cache. In this way a new timeline segment is loaded during playback of the previous timeline segment. Download the next timeline segment by playing the first timeline segment downloaded twice in succession to provide time for the new timeline segment to load when timeline playback begins Can provide time for.

The software implementation of the above-described embodiments can be implemented on a tangible medium, such as a computer readable medium, such as a diskette, CD-ROM, ROM memory, or fixed disk, or on a medium on a medium to a computer system Contains a series of computer instructions that can be transferred via other interface devices. The medium is either a tangible medium including but not limited to optical or analog communication lines, or implemented by wireless technology including but not limited to microwave, infrared, or other transmission technologies. The medium may be the Internet. The series of computer instructions implements all or part of the functionality previously described herein in connection with the present invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that such computer instructions can be written in a number of programming languages used in many computer architectures or operating systems. Further, such instructions may be stored using any current or future memory technology including, but not limited to, semiconductor, magnetic, optical, or other memory devices, or optical, infrared, microwave, or other transmissions. It can be transmitted using any current or future communication technology, including but not limited to technology. Such computer program products are distributed as removable media with printed or electronic documents, for example main link wrap software, preloaded into a computer system, for example on a system ROM or fixed disk, or on a network, for example the Internet Alternatively, distribution from a server such as the World Wide Web or an electronic bulletin board is contemplated.

While exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to realize some of the advantages of the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It will be. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that in other implementations, various media playback files other than swf files can be used to generate a graphic display. The order of the processing steps can be changed without affecting the operation of the present invention. Other aspects, such as specific process flows, as well as other modifications to the inventive concept are intended to be encompassed by the appended claims.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing one embodiment of a consignment sales system including a consignment sales module, a consignment sales server, and a customer module. FIG. 2 is a more detailed block diagram of the consignment sales server. FIG. 3 is a more detailed block diagram of the consignment sales module. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the steps in an exemplary process for uploading content for consignment sales purposes. FIG. 5 is a more detailed block diagram of the customer module. FIG. 6 is a sample graphical user interface generated by the customer module. FIG. 7 shows the operation of a typical GUI when selecting a preview channel. FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary GUI operation in selecting a playlist selection of lists associated with a selected channel button. FIG. 9 shows the structure of the XML control file used to set up and control the graphical user interface. FIG. 10 shows the structure of the media timeline segment. FIG. 11 shows media playback using the first of two media players to preload subsequent timeline segments. FIG. 12 illustrates media playback using a second of the two media players to present subsequent timeline segments.

Claims (32)

A method for automating interactive consignment sales of multimedia content over a network,
(A) receiving the multimedia content from a sales contractor;
(B) obtaining promotional content to be associated with the multimedia content;
(C) defining a timeline having a series of file slots;
(D) fragmenting the promotional content and inserting the fragment into a file slot in the timeline at a location purchased by the consignor;
(E) in response to a request from a consumer, presenting the file in the slot in the timeline over the network to the consumer in the order defined by the timeline;
A method comprising the steps of: (F) Synchronizing with the presentation of the file in step (e), the consumer is presented with information necessary to purchase the multimedia content, so that the consumer can display a promotional display. The method of claim 1, further comprising: allowing the multimedia content to be purchased while it is being received. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) includes receiving the multimedia content from the sales contractor over the network. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) includes obtaining the promotional content from the sales consignor on the network. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) includes receiving a selection from stock promotional material from the sales consignor. The method of claim 1, wherein step (e) includes downloading a file in the slot in the timeline on the network from a consignment server. The method of claim 1, wherein step (e) includes downloading a file in the slot in the timeline on the network from another consumer via a file sharing network. A method for automating interactive consignment sales of multimedia content over a network,
(A) receiving a request to purchase promotional time, the multimedia content, and purchase information necessary for a consumer to purchase the multimedia content from a sales agent on the network;
(B) obtaining promotional content to be associated with the multimedia content;
(C) fragmenting the promotional content into a plurality of file slots having a total duration equal to the promotional time purchased by the consignor;
(D) presenting file slot information over the network to the consumer in response to a request from the consumer;
(E) presenting the purchase information to the consumer simultaneously with the file slot information;
A method comprising the steps of: 9. The method of claim 8, wherein step (b) includes obtaining the promotional content from the sales consignor on the network. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein step (b) includes receiving a selection from stock promotional material from the sales consignor. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein step (d) includes downloading file slot information over the network from a consignment server. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein step (d) includes downloading the file slot information over the network from another consumer via a file sharing network. A method for automating interactive consignment sales of multimedia content over a network,
(A) receiving at the consignment server from the sales consignor the multimedia content and the promotional content to be associated with the multimedia content on the network;
(B) in response to a request from a first computer, fragmenting the promotional content and downloading the promotional content fragment from the consignment server to the first computer over the network;
(C) storing the downloaded promotional content fragment in the first computer;
(D) in response to a request from a second computer for a promotional content fragment, downloading the promotional content fragment from the first computer. 14. The step (d) includes the step of downloading the promotion content fragment from the consignment server if the promotion content fragment is not available from the consignment server. The method described in 1. The method of claim 13, further comprising: (e) presenting the downloaded promotional content fragment to a consumer at the first computer. (F) receiving purchase information necessary for a consumer to purchase the multimedia content from the sales contractor on the network;
(G) downloading the purchase information to the first computer together with the promotional content fragment;
The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of: (h) presenting the purchase information in synchronization with the presentation of the promotional content fragment. A device for automating interactive consignment sales of multimedia content on a network,
Means for receiving the multimedia content from a consignor;
Means for obtaining promotional content to be associated with the multimedia content;
Means for defining a timeline having a series of file slots;
Means for fragmenting the promotional content and inserting the fragment into a file slot in the timeline at a location purchased by the consignor;
Means for presenting files in the slots in the timeline on the network to the consumer in an order defined by the timeline in response to a request from the consumer. Equipment. Synchronously with the presentation of the file by the means for presenting the file, the consumer is presented with the information necessary to purchase the multimedia content, whereby the consumer receives a promotional display The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising: means for allowing the multimedia content to be purchased while the content is being purchased. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the means for receiving multimedia content includes means for receiving the multimedia content from the sales contractor over the network. 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the means for obtaining promotional content includes means for obtaining the promotional content from the sales consignor over the network. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the means for obtaining promotional content includes means for receiving a selection from stock promotional material from the sales consignor. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the means for presenting a file includes means for downloading a file in the slot in the timeline over the network from a consignment server. 18. The means for presenting a file includes means for downloading a file in the slot in the timeline on the network from another consumer via a file sharing network. The device described. A device for automating interactive consignment sales of multimedia content on a network,
Means for receiving over the network a request to purchase promotional time, said multimedia content, and purchase information necessary for a consumer to purchase said multimedia content from a sales contractor; ,
Means for obtaining promotional content to be associated with the multimedia content;
Means for fragmenting the promotional content into a plurality of file slots having a total duration equal to the promotional time purchased by the sales representative;
Means for presenting the file slot information over the network to the consumer in response to a request from the consumer;
Means for presenting the purchase information to the consumer simultaneously with the file slot information;
The apparatus characterized by including. 25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the means for obtaining promotional content includes means for obtaining the promotional content from the sales consignor over the network. 25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the means for obtaining promotional content includes means for receiving a selection from stock promotional material from the sales contractor. 25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the means for presenting file slot information includes means for downloading file slot information over the network from a consignment server. 25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the means for presenting the file slot information comprises means for downloading the file slot information over the network from another consumer via a file sharing network. A device for automating interactive consignment sales of multimedia content on a network,
Means for receiving at the consignment sales server the multimedia content and the promotional content related to the multimedia content from the sales consignor;
Means for fragmenting the promotional content in response to a request from a first computer and downloading the promotional content fragment over the network from the consignment server to the first computer;
Means for storing the downloaded promotional content fragment on the first computer;
Operable means for downloading the promotional content fragment from the first computer in response to a request from the second computer for the promotional content fragment;
The apparatus characterized by including. The means for downloading a promotion content fragment includes means for downloading the promotion content fragment from the consignment server if the promotion content fragment is not available from the consignment server. 30. The apparatus of claim 29, comprising: 30. The apparatus of claim 29, further comprising means for presenting the staged promotional content fragment to a consumer at the first computer. Means for receiving purchase information necessary for a consumer to purchase the multimedia content from the sales agent on the network;
Means for downloading the purchase information to the first computer along with the promotional content fragment;
32. The apparatus of claim 31, further comprising: means for presenting the purchase information in synchronization with the presentation of the promotional content fragment.

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