Methods and apparatus for interactive network sharing of digital video content

Abstract

A method of sharing user perspectives on visual data includes publishing an interactive abstract map in which one or more data markers are plotted, wherein each of the one or more data markers represents a traversal record comprising a set of cropped space selections and time selections from said visual data, receiving a first signal indicating an interactive selection of one of the one or more data markers, and playing back a traversal record corresponding to the one of the one or more data markers, responsive to the receiving.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of sharing user perspectives on visual data, the method comprising:
 publishing an interactive abstract map in which one or more data markers are plotted, wherein each of the one or more data markers represents a traversal record comprising a set of cropped space selections and time selections from said visual data;   receiving a first signal indicating an interactive selection of one of the one or more data markers; and   playing back a traversal record corresponding to the one of the one or more data markers, responsive to the receiving.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the interactive abstract map represents an outline of a scene of the visual data, and each of the one or more data markers is plotted within the outline based upon a spatial location in the scene that is captured in a corresponding traversal record. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising, subsequent to the publishing but prior to the receiving:
 receiving a second signal indicating a selection of a spatial area within the outline; and   displaying, in response to the selection, a list of traversal records that correspond to those of the one or more data markers that are located within the spatial area.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein each of the one or more data markers comprises a traversal thumbnail image. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the outline displays a panoramic view of the scene. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the outline displays an edge detected scene of the visual data. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein each of the one or more data markers is indexed according to at least one parameter. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein each of the one or more data markers exhibits a visual appearance corresponding to a value of the parameter. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the outline displays a scatter plot associated with the scene. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein each of the one or more data markers marks a data point on the scatter plot. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the interactive abstract map comprises a graph having axes that measure one or more annotation data values specified for traversal records corresponding to the one or more data markers, and each of the one or more data markers is plotted on the graph based on those of the one or more annotation data values that are specified for a corresponding traversal record. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein each of the one or more data markers comprises a classification code dot. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the visual data comprises a plurality of image frames, and the set of cropped space selections comprises, for at least one of the plurality of image frames, a portion of the visual data residing within less than an entirety of the at least one of the plurality of image frames. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the traversal record comprises a perspective of an authoring user on the visual data. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the publishing makes the traversal record available for viewing by a viewing user different from the authoring user 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein playing back comprises streaming video for the traversal record via a network. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the interactive abstract map is transformable to display the visual data at variable level of abstraction. 
     
     
         18 . A graphical user interface for sharing user perspectives on visual data, comprising:
 an interactive abstract map representing at least a portion of the visual data; and   one or more data markers plotted within the interactive abstract map, wherein each of the one or more data markers represents a traversal record comprising a set of cropped space selections and time selections from said visual data.   
     
     
         19 . The graphical user interface of  claim 18 , wherein each of the one or more data markers comprises a traversal thumbnail image. 
     
     
         20 . The graphical user interface of  claim 18 , wherein each of the one or more data markers comprises a classification code dot.