Automatic Selection, Recording and Meaningful Labeling of Clipped Tracks From Media Without an Advance Schedule

Abstract

Automatic selection, recording and meaningful labeling of tracks from media streams is provided. Content information which relates to tracks currently being played and/or to previously played tracks is used to guide selection of tracks to be recorded and to provide meaningful labels for recorded tracks. This content information does not provide an advance schedule of tracks to be played in the future. A segment is temporarily recorded from a selected media stream. The content information relating to tracks in the segment is compared with previous user input (i.e., track preferences) to select tracks within the segment to be recorded. For each selected track, clipping is performed to identify track start and end times. Clipped tracks are recorded onto a suitable long-term recording medium, and labeled with a meaningful label derived from the content information. Content information can be derived by automatic analysis of the media stream.

1 . An apparatus for automatically selecting, recording and labeling media tracks from a media stream, the apparatus comprising:
 at least one processor; and   at least one memory operatively coupled to at least one of the at least one processor, the at least one memory having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by at least one of the at least one processor cause the at least one processor to;   a) receive user track preferences;   b) derive content information relating to said media stream by analysis of said media stream, wherein said content information is not a time schedule of tracks to be played in the future;   c) select one or more tracks within said media stream in accordance with said content information and said track preferences;   d) flag each of said selected tracks in said media stream;   e) record each of said selected tracks to a recording medium based on the flag of said selected tracks; and   f) label each of said recorded tracks with a meaningful label derived from said content information;   wherein said media stream is substantially continually received by an end-user while being delivered by a provider, and wherein said end-user has no control over content of the media stream.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said analysis comprises recognizing one or more content elements of said media stream. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein said content elements comprise one or more elements selected from the group consisting of: spoken or written words, individuals, objects, and images. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said media stream is a broadcast media stream. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said media stream is a non-broadcast media stream. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein said instructions, when executed by at least one of the at least one processor further cause the at least one processor to create an intermediate recording of at least one segment of the media stream and select one or more tracks within said segment in accordance with said content information and said track preferences based on the intermediate recording. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the flag for each selected track is a start time and an end time of the corresponding selected track. 
     
     
         8 . A method for automatically selecting, recording and labeling media tracks from a media stream, the method comprising:
 a) receiving user track preferences;   b) deriving content information relating to said media stream by analysis of said media stream, wherein said content information is not a time schedule of tracks to be played in the future;   c) selecting one or more tracks within said media stream in accordance with said content information and said track preferences;   d) flagging each of said selected tracks in said media stream;   e) recording each of said selected tracks to a recording medium based on the flag of said selected tracks; and   f) labeling each of said recorded tracks with a meaningful label derived from said content information;   wherein said media stream is substantially continually received by an end-user while being delivered by a provider, and wherein said end-user has no control over content of the media stream.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein said analysis comprises recognizing one or more content elements of said media stream. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein said content elements comprise one or more elements selected from the group consisting of: spoken or written words, individuals, objects, and images. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein said media stream is a broadcast media stream. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein said media stream is a non-broadcast media stream. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein said instructions, when executed by at least one of the at least one processor further cause the at least one processor to create an intermediate recording of at least one segment of the media stream and select one or more tracks within said segment in accordance with said content information and said track preferences based on the intermediate recording. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the flag for each selected track is a start time and an end time of the corresponding selected track.