WO2006099688A1

WO2006099688A1 - Multimedia delivery system

Info

Publication number: WO2006099688A1
Application number: PCT/AU2006/000406
Authority: WO
Inventors: Michael Mcgrath; Brad Jeffery
Original assignee: Xstream International Ag
Priority date: 2005-03-24
Filing date: 2006-03-24
Publication date: 2006-09-28

Abstract

A multimedia delivery system including the steps of:obtaining one or more video inputs; capturing and auto editing said video inputs into a video product including simultaneously adding data or markers dependent on particular parts of the video input for linking with separately saved data or other media; publishing said video product into a required format while retaining the linked added data to form a final viewable multimedia video product which simultaneously and synchronously displays the video input with the linked or separately saved data or other media.

Description

MULTIMEDIA DELIVERY SYSTEM

Related Applications

The present application is related to and claims priority from Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2005901489, filed 24 March 2005, entitled "Multimedia delivery system," which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to improvements in video streaming and progressive download over the Internet or other communication means and particularly relates to methods of providing video products that are customised to the requirements of the customer. It is more particularly directed to video streamed products of extreme sports such as parachuting, bungee jumping, sky diving, and extreme skiing where you are transported by helicopter to extreme mountain peaks as well as high-end amusement park rides such as vertical bungee or slingshot. However the invention is not limited to such sports or rides.

Background

Generally in the field of extreme sports, participants might be undertaking the type of sport for the first and possibly only time, or be attempting a particular challenge for the first and possibly only time. It is therefore important to have a video of the event. However the experience is not captured purely by the visual look and therefore a video only of the event is not sufficient.

The applicant has determined that it is necessary to have a number of inputs and in particular vital statistics of the participant or important actions that occurred in order to recapture the effect of any one part of the experience on the participant. As customers now use personal computers (PCs) instead of just digital video display (DVDs) or video cassette recorders (VCRs), the applicant has determined that multi media data has not been necessary before but is now. The need for such data is a result of close experiences with end users, and listening to customers' constant request for more information about their experience. However it is not merely possible or effective to merely use known systems.

Also in the field of extreme sport it is likely the participant has come from one part of the world, the organiser is from another part of the world and the challenge is at a third part of the world. Therefore it is necessary to provide video product in one of various regional formats and with ideal/optimized regional settings and transmit final product to that region from another by way of Internet. Although video online on the Internet does not suffer from the normal regional settings like PAL vs. NTSC in video or the various DVD formats, there are transmission regional settings. For example Asia has an average of 3 MPBS Internet connections, USA/Europe average 1.5 MPBS, and Australia and other countries around 512 K-BPS. This is a multi processing system and is a difficult process that generally takes many hours or days by many separate processors. However by other medium such as mobile telephones there are format issues.

It is becoming common, in the modern digitally networked world for the customer to wish to show the presentation to a particular audience such as their family, their sports club, or an interest group, as soon as the event has taken place. This is a need that has only recently emerged as a result of a connected society. It has therefore become necessary for a company to offer a system that makes it possible for the customer to share their experience as quickly as possible.

It is also common in the extreme sports industry for the customer to wish to show the presentation to a particular audience such as their family, their sports club, or an interest group. It is therefore necessary to have a video product that is readily publishable dependent on the technical system requirements of the audience.

Prior Art

There are no systems in place that offer an end to end solution for capturing, encoding, uploading, and publishing video to date. Hard to believe, but to the best of the applicant's knowledge, this is the case. At best, any one company has vertically integrated only one place up or down the line from their core product or service i.e. a capture application might also include an encoding application, or a publishing application might offer uploading facilities, but there is not the possibility to date to offer the whole system from end to end. Further the required result is not merely achieved by a sequential link, as there are elements of one process that are relevant to another process. At present such elements need to be manually redefined and redone for each section, as there is no interlinking of the processes.

One solution merely for publishing video, and meta data could be the process of linking in series a number of generic applications using the Microsoft Windows™ media format. However to date even this has not been achieved and every link in the chain has not been implemented. Windows Movie Maker™ allows you to capture footage, and encode for the web using their windows media codec. httpV/www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/privacy.mspx It would then be necessary to send the captured material to a third party online publishing facility such as http ://www.neptune . com . From there you would need to manage and publish the media. This is a very long process and does not allow proper management and coordination of the video streaming product. There are also other problems in that the windows media format is a proprietary format and does not work well with other online multimedia formats data such as Flash™.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a multimedia delivery system, which overcomes or at least ameliorates the problems of the prior art.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a multimedia delivery system, which provides a comprehensive end-to-end video publishing service to customers of the extreme sports industry.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a video product with multiple media included that is related and synchronous to the image.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a means of sharing video of unique and special experiences within the hour of their occurrence. In order to do this, a new technology had to be created. It is still a further object of the invention to provide a video product with multiple media included that is related and synchronous to the image. Summary of the Invention

In accordance with the invention there is provided a multimedia delivery system including the steps of: obtaining one or more video inputs; capturing and auto editing said video inputs into a video product including simultaneously adding data or markers dependent on particular parts of the video input for linking with separately saved data or other media; ( publishing said video product into a required format while retaining the linked added data to form a final viewable multimedia video product which simultaneously and synchronously displays the video input with the linked or separately saved data or other media.

The multimedia delivery system of the invention provides the ability to automatically link several captured clips together, is one way in which we can make such dramatic time savings.

The invention also provides an end-to-end solution for customers of the adventure tourism industry that allows quick and easy creation and publishing of a video product comprising video presentations, (such as tandem skydiving videos) synchronized with specialized multimedia data, (such as speed, time and altitude variables) and meta data (such as names, places times etc) to the a user's online video portal in real time, using specific software process including the steps of: 1) connecting the video recorded medium to a processing means, such as connecting a video camera to a personal computer; beginning the capture process of video recording to the memory of the processing means while allowing the user to view the video;

2) inserting audience and event information (such as date, name, email address, etc) to the custom data fields to define the audience and including sport specific data such as tandem master for skydiving to define the event and select one of a plurality of predefined presentation styles; 3) inserting predefined event markers dependent on the defined event and the selected predefined presentation style, (such as exit and deployment markers for a skydive), to link and synchronise with other separately stored multimedia events (such as music, graphs etc); 4) publishing the video product in a form that is accessible by internet connection by the audience dependent on the audience resident location or viewing location determined by the audience and event information and in a form of the predefined presentation style that includes allowing simultaneous and synchronous display of the video input with the linked data or other separately stored multimedia events determined by the inserted event markers and the defined audience and event information;

5) automatically communicating an access address to the audience to allow display of the published video product.

The system can include the step of

6) Immediately resetting the whole configuration so as to allow repeating the process again ASAP.

The invention further provides a method of providing a video product to a remote customer including the steps of: a system provider providing a multimedia delivery system for producing a video product, the system provider providing to a user a user component of the multimedia delivery system enabling the user to capture, encode and upload the video input including capture of a definition of the audience and encoding in a form in accordance with a predefined format or setting according to the defined audience; the system provider providing access to data and predefined separate multimedia product for linking when publishing by the system together with the captured video and providing in said component of the multimedia delivery system means for capture of links or markers to synchronise display or merge presentation of the captured video with the linked data and predefined separate multimedia product; the system provider providing a link to a publishing means enabling remote display of the video product to the defined audience; whereby the method allows simultaneous and synchronous remote display of the video input with any linked data or other media in the best form suitable to the defined audience.

The system provider can provide an update system of the encoding details for the best fonn suitable to each of a plurality range of definable audiences.

Still further the invention provides a method of providing a video product to a remote customer including the steps of: a user of the multimedia delivery system downloading or accessing a user component of the multimedia delivery system, for producing a video product which is able to be simultaneously and synchronously remotely display a recorded video input with any linked data or other media, the system provider providing a user component of the multimedia delivery system enabling a capture, encoding and uploading of the video product for publishing by the system provider together with predefined separate multimedia; and obtaining one or more video inputs and capturing, encoding and uploading of the video product comprising video input with the linked separately saved data or other media. The system can also accept files direct from camera hard drives.

A software product comprising a user component of the multimedia delivery system, for producing a video product which is able to be simultaneously and synchronously remotely display the video input with any linked data or other media, the system provider providing a user component of the multimedia delivery system enabling a capture, encoding and uploading of the video product for publishing by the system provider together with predefined separate multimedia.

The publishing of the video product can be over a telecommunication means.

The publishing of the video product can be over the Internet. The publishing of the video product can be over a wireless communication.

The video product can be streamed live, from multiple angles, in the case of bungee or indoor skydiving, or streamed later in the case of Skydiving.

The system also produces an automated DVD created using pre defined templates. The system also creates automated digital photo to CD.

The system can also create backups of the master video product for archival purposes. The system is designed to be able to do all of these without any extra work on the part of the video producer. They engage in the same process of capturing, adding makers etc, and will simply select saving options 1) web 2) DVD 3) Image CD and our system simply publishes.

The display can occur on a remote display connected by a wireless or landline telecommunication means or other means connected or connectable to the published media provider.

The method can include the system provider updating the technical requirements of the publishing and display means of the audience dependent on the resident location or viewable location of the audience and updating such information to the user's database.

The method can include the step of adding advertising to the delivered multimedia product dependent on the resident location or viewing location of the customer.

The aspects of the system that are novel include:

1) The processes and systems involved in the vertical integration of the applications to create an end-to-end solution.

2) The way the software runs on both the server and the clients PC simultaneously to create an automated content aggregation and management, and publication system.

3) The business systems involved in delivering the solution as a truly turnkey business application.

The multimedia delivery system of the invention combines three previously separate layers of producing and delivering video for the web:

1) the production layer;

2) the presentation layer; and 3) the business logic layer.

Each layer has its own industry leaders, however no one offers an end-to-end, fully tailored solution which captures produces and presents extreme sports videos over the internet complete with sport metric readouts and graphical events triggered during capture. The system of the invention also allows for interaction of the three layers to provide a synergistically improved system and improved video product.

An end-to-end solution has been created for the adventure tourism industry that allows users to quickly and easily create video products comprising published video presentations, (such as tandem skydiving videos) synchronized with specialized multimedia data, (such as speed, time and altitude variables) and meta data (such as names, places and times) to their own custom branded online video portal in real time, using novel software processes.

The multimedia delivery system of the invention can be downloaded and installed as a turnkey business solution. It includes everything the user needs from the custom capture and publishing applications (with proprietary event markers, and custom meta data fields), to content management systems, account keeping / invoicing systems, and both business and technical support.

There is provided a vertical integration of a number of existing software applications, which are bundled with the custom software applications to create an end-to-end publishing solution and business model combined.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In order that the invention is more readily understood an embodiment will be described by way of illustration only with reference to the Figures wherein:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of the multimedia delivery system showing the interaction of the system provider, the user and the customer through the business logic layer, production layer and the presentation layer;

Figures 2 and 3 are website page views of the administration of users such that the user can download the multimedia delivery system component; Figures 4 and 5 shows example of display of the video product together with linked data and multimedia using the multimedia delivery system of the invention

Figure 6 is a first example of capture template for reviewing video input while capturing and allowing data and markers related to the viewed part of video input; Figures 7 to 11 are a website homepage of the system provider's website as accessed by the user;

Figures 12 to 19 show examples of webpages in the management section;

Figures 20 to 25 show examples of webpages in the user's My Account section including recent transactions, modify account details including modify contact details, modify password, modify pricing structure and modify payment details, and contact accounts;

Figures 26 to 27 show examples of webpages in the Audience management.

Definitions Throughout this document unless the contrary is stated the following terms have the following meanings:

Event Marker A button used to mark a sport specific event, such as the deployment of a parachute or launch of a bungee

RIA Rich Internet Application: An interactive, dynamic multimedia website providing a cutting edge user experience using Macromedia's Flash™ Technology (animated Vector graphics) System Provider A provider of the multimedia delivery system of the invention for producing a video product which is able to simultaneously and synchronously display the video input with any linked data or other media Audience A region of the world designated by average internet connection speed

User A single person or company using the multimedia delivery system of the invention, also known as a Client

Customer The end user who receives the finished video product, in the form of a link via email

Sport Metrics Statistical data such as exit altitude, deployment altitude, aircraft type etc. These are used to calculate freefall times, average speeds etc. Query String The last part of a website address after the (?), used to pass variables to a webpage

System ID This is a unique ID given to each customer, typically 3-5 digits

Description of a Preferred Embodiment of the Invention.

Referring to the Figures and particularly Figures 1 and 2 there is shown in accordance with the invention a multimedia delivery system including the steps of: obtaining one or more video inputs; capturing and auto editing said video inputs into a video product including simultaneously adding data or markers dependent on particular parts of the video input for linking with separately saved data or other media; and publishing said video product into a required format while retaining the linked added data to form a final viewable multimedia video product which simultaneously and synchronously displays the video input with the linked or separately saved data or other media.

In Figure 3 there is shown a comparison of this system to an artificial collocation of known systems to try to achieve similar result. However such an artificial collocation process requires multiple handlers specialising in their activity and would take at least 10 times longer in actual man hour production than the integrated process of the invention which is down to under 4 minutes in man hours, and 15 minutes PC processing and uploading time.

In the artificial collocation process there would be a capture process step followed by edit process step and encoding and saving of video process step. This would result in a file. This part of the process can be done by a generic piece of software http://www.muvee.com which of course can only save a movie to a hard drive, and not add multimedia data, upload, or publish any data to a website. A separate program and operator would need to add multimedia data process and adding meta data and save completed file. The best software application for adding multimedia data to video is http ://www.metastories . com which of course can only add already captured video to multimedia, and not capture, auto edit, upload, or publish any data to a website. It would then be necessary to send the captured material to a third party online publishing facility such as http ://www.neptune.com . From there you would need to manage and publish the media. This is a very long process and does not allow proper management and coordination of the video streaming product. There are also other problems in that the Windows Media™ format is a proprietary format and does not work well with other online multimedia formats data such as Flash™ to synchronise meta information and events during playback.

Therefore a possible system which the applicant has determined after considerable research using the best known separate steps are: Capture and auto editing http ://www.muvee .com Incorporating multimedia data such as Flash http://www.metastories.com

Quickly publishing and hosting personalised web pages http://www.neptune.com There are several auto email clients, auto upload clients; and Content management systems http://www.theplatform.com

It is important to realise that the invention does not just string these known systems together into a collocation, but involves an integrated novel combination system which does all of them at the same time.

The user of the multimedia delivery system of the invention being the business providing the video product to the customer and can also be the organizer of the event that was videoed captures the extreme sports videos on IBM personal computer PC. The multimedia delivery system uses the Macromedia .flv Flash video codec created by Sorenson media for Macromedia, the creators of Flash) http://macromedia.com http://www.sorenson.com Flash is the best format for integrating video data with other multi media formats such as .swf. The system also accepts .avi files from third party production applications.

The user inserts event markers during capture by way of obvious buttons which are aligned from left to right in sequence with a typical extreme sport activity, which tie in with an RIA website which plays the videos for each extreme sport and displays the meta data in charts and instruments which reflect the event markers and overall extreme sport metrics. The captured video is encoded based on the defined audience selection, ensuring correct quality for the intended audience. The encoded file is uploaded with linked data to server through a Web Service and FTP. After upload is complete, an email is sent by the Web site to the customer, providing them with a link to their video content.

This Production Layer application is tailored to each sport. It is written using C#.NET and includes one third party component under licence, the original capture code but which has been substantially modified.

One part of the modification provides the ability to insert data and meaningful event markers during capture. There are predefined marker events specific to each sport, such as parachute deployment. By insertion of markers during capture, then during presentation the markers trigger events on the website such as MP3 Music/Video Sound cross fades and visual events like icons depicting the exact moment of deployment as they travel along a graph of freefall speed and vertical distance fallen. The ability to do this in real time at the capturing phase of the process allows elimination of the need for any editing programs, or data adding programs. The Website and DVD templates do all the work of editing based on the particular extreme sport, whose video products are most often edited in a standard way with events such as exiting the plane defining positions of cross fade of sound or further editing and transitions. All meta fields can be used when creating the Website and DVD templates to trigger any number of editing effects to produce the final video product.

By selecting an audience during capture this determines the encode setting of the publishing of the video product on the Internet suitable to their location and system. The customers know where most of their friends reside, and will select the appropriate Audience region on the order form. The client will then select that region, and the software will encode the video at the appropriate setting. The interesting thing to note here is that the Audience settings can be set from the Super Administration panel, which will then be updated across all client applications when they next use the application. This means that the system provider can increase or decrease settings for any Audience as the system provider tracks global bandwidth trends. The website talks directly to the installed application on the users' machine and updates their settings.

The multimedia delivery system provider provides a dynamic multimedia (RIA) Website. This detects user connection speed and buffers the video playback accordingly (see Custom Formulas) . The dynamic multimedia (RIA) Website plays the video product and displays all other linked data and multimedia in menus, dynamic graphs etc. which all populate and perform events with their appropriate markers from capture. This provides a rich experience for the user answering many of their immediate questions about the sport, combining extreme video content with accurate displays showing speed, time elapsed and graphs accurately describing the physics of the extreme sport. Further statistics and equipment information can be navigated to which are all dynamic content based on the selections at capture. New content can be added at any time.

This presentation layer is tailored to each extreme sport.

The architecture multimedia delivery system in this form is an object oriented application written in C#.NET. The website is a Native Object Database and Web Services to warehouse and serve the data to both the client and the website. The system provider manages the interaction with the website and Client applications to ensure that all encoding and delivery is optimized based on global bandwidth trends.

The system provider can easily expand the system into new sports by analysing the unique needs, modifying the Client application and modifying the existing presentation layer to accommodate the new sport.

This Business Logic Layer is completely managed by the system provider for each of the Extreme sports.

It can therefore be seen that the system actively and in real time encode settings on the client applications as required and provides the necessary buffer settings on the website. Further the content associated with the video presentation can be selectively associated by using other buttons and menu's selected by the Client during capture.

The complete process is as follows: a). Download the package from the website after completing the order form b). Now log on to the website admin panel, c). Click on Settings and choose from the available selections

(Aircraft, instructors, camerapersons, rig types), if the desired entry does not exist click create, then come back and repeat.

Click on Summary to view all your settings, d). Now install the product on your machine, e). Once installation is complete, the application will launch automatically. Enter your Registration Code to register your product and establish a potential connection with the server, ready for synchronisation, f). Press Options > Synchronise to populate the application with the settings configured on the website. g). The RealXstream Tandem Video Publisher is now ready for use h). Capture (On-site, with or without internet connection) i). Connect your camera to your IEEE 1394-1995 compliant firewire port j). Unless you have already done so, open the multimedia delivery system component from the desktop icon k). The Capture Window will open.

In the capture process there are four main areas on the Capture Window:

1) Camera Status & Connection lists

2) Customer and jump details 3) Capture Window and camera controls

4) Capture control and Exit and Deployment markers

1. Camera status is displayed Video and Audio driver controls to select camera inputs

2. Enter Customer First name, Last name and Email

Select the Intended Audience: The region where most of the viewers will be. Example: The Tandem student is Japanese, then select Asia.

Select: Tandem Master, Camera Person, Aircraft, Rig Type, Exit Altitude and Deployment Altitude

3. Current view from camera is displayed The following camera controls are available: Play, Stop, Pause, Forward, Rewind, Shuttle Back, Shuttle Forward. These are further extended by your DV Camera remote. (Hint: remote in left hand, mouse in right hand)

4. Press Start Capture to begin the capture process for this customer a). You can Start/Pause capture as many times as you like to edit the footage on the fly. b). At the precise moment the Tandem leaves the plane, click the Exit Marker button (if you are early or late? You can correct using the drop down options) c). At the precise moment the Tandem leaves the plane, click the

Deployment (if you (if you are early or late? You can correct using the drop down options) d). Marker button e). Allow the capture to continue until the footage is complete. f). Press Start XStreaming this Customer g). The page will reload allowing the next customer to be captured.

Sitting behind the Capture Window is the File Manager Window, which works in conjunction with the File Status window. The file manager window lists all customers in progress. Click on the Edit button to edit any mistakes. Click on the + button to quickly view that customer's information and to confirm that it is correct.

In the background, the File Status Window has 3 rows of information. First row: The file being processed Second row: The status of the file Bottom row: The upload %

Once the file has been successfully compressed and uploaded, the entry will vanish from the File Manager window.

Upon successful upload of all files and data, an email is sent to the customer with a link to their published video product, and an item added to invoice for the appropriate amount.

Once the file is uploaded, the user can edit the customer details through the administration panel. If an email address fails, the user will be notified via email to confirm the email address with the System id admin form for that customer. The user can then click on the resend email button in Edit Videos to retry.

If a customer's email address was already in the system, this means that they probably undertook another event such as going bungee jumping and purchased a video product and they already have a System ID. If this is the case then no new System ID will be created and the website will show a link to all the content for that customer. So when their friends come to see the video product of the skydive, they will also get the chance to watch the bungee jump.

The display of the video product of the multimedia delivery system includes: a). The visitor clicking on the email link and a browser window opens b). Obtaining the System ID from the Query String c). Retrieving the last video for the System ID (a customer can have many videos across different sports) d). Creating a visitor record to track their visit, and which record can be viewed in Admin in real time, or report on any date/time range. Used to provide proof of delivery to advertisers, e). Detects whether the user has Flash, if not displays an error and link to download the Flash player f). Displays to the user what bandwidth the video was encoded at while it automatically detects the users bandwidth g). Launches the main site, pre-buffering the playback based on the user's bandwidth h). Asks the visitor for basic demographic information which is used to profile and provide ads based on profile. Sets a cookie so that they only have to fill in the form once, i). Play Advertisement #1 based on demographic profile j). Play the sport specific video content in a rich user experience environment k). Play Ad #2 (10- 15s) based on demographic profile 1). Allow playback and other site content to be navigated after video is finished Example DVD edit based on a camera person template

DVD Folder (for compatibility with Third Party Editing programs) For users who wish to edit the footage themselves instead of using our DVD edited using Templates burn option, the file is passed to a designated folder preset in DVD Options. On Publish, the file is moved to the specified local or network location ready for further file manipulation and burning of media. The File Publisher window outputs the result to the user.

To Image CD

To enable option, configure in 'Image CD Options', setting images per second for each section of footage - In the plane, Freefall and Parachute / Landing - and select drive for burning.

Filenames use the following syntax: first_lastname_section_number, where number is sequential. EG Bob_Smith_intheplane_01.jpg

On Publish, the images are grabbed from the video file and then the files are burnt to the nominated drive and the CD ejected when complete. The File Publisher window outputs the result to the user.

Variations:

Camera Angles: Handy Cam: Selections on Capture Screen - camera person hidden. Outside Cam: Selections on Capture Screen - camera person visible. Ground: select Pre Jump or Post Jump, Date, Camera Person, Aircraft, Editor and Load number. All Ground footage is then placed before or after main footage for all uploaded videos with the same Date, Load number and aircraft.

Jump Types:

Tandem: Only show one instructor field

AFF: Show two instructor fields for all Stages (stage number) which may require two instructors.

TAF: Only show one instructor field Custom

- Select Audience Reach: Local (plays on uploading client's RealXstream website only), National (plays on all RealXstream Network Partner websites for clients within the same country) and International (plays on all sites globally)

Super Admin The two areas of the Super Admin are:

Configuring Compression Settings Advertising Demographic Algorithm

CUSTOM FORMULAS

The following formula was created to determine how long to buffer the content:

Buffer % = ((fileSize/connSpeed*8)/fileLength*100)/2*errorConstant errorConstant is 1.1 (10%), this allows a margin of error to increase the buffer percentage by a further 10% fileSize is KiloBytes connSpeed is Kilobits per second

Edit Compression Settings. The following compression settings can be configured to match the regional bandwidths as they increase over time:

Advertising Demographic Algorithm

In order to facilitate the display of advertisements based on user demographic profiles, the following algorithm has been used.

Age: 13 items numbered 0-12 (<10, 11-15, 16-20, 21-25, 26-30, 31-35, 36-40, 41-45, 46-50, 51-60, 61-70, 71-80, 80+)

Current Location: 8 items numbered 0-7 (America, Australia, Austria, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Other) Sex: 2 items numbered 0-1 (Male, Female)

Note: All items can be edited from the Super Admin panel to adjust as required.

Exclusions: The ability to exclude a certain ad from a certain client's website.

Advertisers can own that algorithm outright or multiple advertisers can share an algorithm.

A typical expression of the first algorithm above would be:

IfAGE is less than or equal to 30 and LOCATION is America OR Australia OR New Zealand and Sex is Male or Female, then play ACME ADl to everyone except users watching a video on clients #1 and #2 websites.

The algorithm matrix can expand horizontally to include any other demographics as required.

TECHNOLOGY USED

The following technology has been used in creating RealXstream

ASP.NET using C#

3rd Party DLL's used to connect to and control the camera and capture the file as AVI format, these are fully owned and used under licence

The database is a Native Object database, which is the latest database technology for

Object Oriented Programming

It should be understood that the above description is of a preferred embodiment and included as illustration only. It is not limiting of the invention. Clearly variations of the multimedia delivery system would be understood by a person skilled in the art without any inventiveness and such variations are included within the scope of this invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims

1. A multimedia delivery system including the steps of: obtaining one or more video inputs; capturing and auto editing said video inputs into a video product including simultaneously adding data or markers dependent on particular parts of the video input for linking with separately saved data or other media; publishing said video product into a required format while retaining the linked added data to form a final viewable multimedia video product which simultaneously and synchronously displays the video input with the linked or separately saved data or other media.

2. The multimedia delivery system according to claim 1 including automatically linking of several captured clips together for simultaneous and synchronous display.

3. The multimedia delivery system according to claim 1 for creation and publishing of a video product comprising video presentations, (such as tandem skydiving videos) including synchronizing with specialized multimedia data, (such as speed, time and altitude variables) and meta data (such as names, places times etc) to the a user's online video portal in real time.

4. The multimedia delivery system according to claim 1 including the steps of: a. connecting a video recorded medium to a processing means, such as connecting a video camera to a personal computer; b. beginning the capture process of video recording to the memory of the processing means while allowing the user to view the video; c. inserting audience and event information (such as date, name, email address, etc) to the custom data fields to define the audience and including sport specific data such as tandem master for skydiving to define the event and select one of a plurality of predefined presentation styles; d. inserting predefined event markers dependent on the defined event and the selected predefined presentation style, (such as exit and deployment markers for a skydive), to link and synchronise with other separately stored multimedia events (such as music, graphs etc); and e. publishing the video product in a form of the predefined presentation style that includes allowing simultaneous and synchronous display of the video input with the linked data or other separately stored multimedia events determined by the inserted event markers and the defined audience and event information.

5. The multimedia delivery system according to claim 4 including the step of publishing the video product in a form that includes inputs and in a format determined from the inputted audience address and from a list of inputs and list of formats predetermined for a range of regional locations related to audience address, wherein the video product is accessible by remote connection by the audience dependent on the audience resident location or viewing location determined by the audience and event information.

6. The multimedia delivery system according to claim 4 or 5 including the step of automatically communicating an access address to the audience to allow display of the published video product.

7. The multimedia delivery system according to claim 4 including the step of a. immediately resenting the whole configuration so as to allow repeating the process again ASAP.

8. The invention further provides a method of providing a video product to a remote customer including the steps of: a system provider providing a multimedia delivery system for producing a video product, the system provider providing to a user a user component of the multimedia delivery system enabling the user to capture, encode and upload the video input including capture of a definition of the audience and encoding in a form in accordance with a predefined format or setting according to the defined audience; the system provider providing access to data and predefined separate multimedia product for linking when publishing by the system together with the captured video and providing in said component of the multimedia delivery system means for capture of links or markers to synchronise display or merge presentation of the captured video with the linked data and predefined separate multimedia product; the system provider providing a link to a publishing means enabling remote display of the video product to the defined audience; whereby the method allows simultaneous and synchronous remote display of the video input with any linked data or other media in the best form suitable to the defined audience.

9. The multimedia delivery system according to claim 6 wherein the system provider can provide an update system of the encoding details for the best form suitable to each of a plurality range of definable audiences.

10. A method of providing a video product to a remote customer including the steps of: a user of the multimedia delivery system downloading or accessing a user component of the multimedia delivery system, for producing a video product which is able to be simultaneously and synchronously remotely display a recorded video input with any linked data or other media, the system provider providing a user component of the multimedia delivery system enabling a capture, encoding and uploading of the video product for publishing by the system provider together with predefined separate multimedia; and obtaining one or more video inputs and capturing, encoding and uploading of the video product comprising video input with the linked separately saved data or other media.

11. A software product comprising a user component of the multimedia delivery system, for producing a video product which is able to be simultaneously and synchronously remotely display the video input with any linked data or other media, the system provider providing a user component of the multimedia delivery system enabling a capture, encoding and uploading of the video product for publishing by the system provider together with predefined separate multimedia.

12. The multimedia delivery system according to claim 8 wherein the publishing of the video product is over a telecommunication means.

13. The multimedia delivery system according to claim 8 wherein the publishing of the video product is over the Internet.

14. The multimedia delivery system according to claim 8 wherein the publishing of the video product is over a wireless communication.

15. The multimedia delivery system according to claim 8 wherein the system also produces an automated DVD created using pre defined templates.

16. The multimedia delivery system according to claim 8 wherein the system creates automated digital photo to CD.

17. The multimedia delivery system according to claim 8 wherein the remote audience selects saving options 1) web 2) DVD 3) Image CD and the main online system publishes according to selected option.

18. The multimedia delivery system according to claim 8 wherein display can occur on a remote display connected by a wireless or landline telecommunication means or other means connected or connectable to the published media provider.

19. The multimedia delivery system according to claim 8 wherein the system provider updates the list of technical requirements of the publishing and display means of the remote audience dependent on the resident location or viewable location of the audience and updating such information to the user's database.

20. The multimedia delivery system according to claim 8 including the step of adding advertising to the delivered multimedia product dependent on the resident location or viewing location of the customer.

21. The multimedia delivery system according to claim 8 wherein processes and systems involved in the vertical integration of the applications to create and end-to-end solution.

22. The multimedia delivery system according to claim 8 wherein the software runs on both the server and the clients PC simultaneously to create an automated content aggregation and management, and publication system.

23. The multimedia delivery system according to claim 8 wherein three previously separate layers of producing and delivering video for the web: the production layer; the presentation layer; and the business logic layer.

24. The multimedia delivery system according to claim 8 wherein interaction of the three layers provides a synergistically improved system and improved video product.