Directing user focus in 360 video consumption

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a method including obtaining media content and an identification of a plurality of points of interest in the media content, receiving a request from a user to view the media content, obtaining information about the user, identifying one or more highlight and/or degrade points based on the information about the user, modifying the media content to create highlighted content, the highlighted content being the media content modified to attract attention of the user to the highlight point and drive the attention of the user away from the degrade point, presenting the highlighted content to the user, and monitoring the user's consumption of the content. Other embodiments are disclosed.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 identifying, by a processing system including a processor, a highlight point in media content that is identified to likely be of interest to a user based on information about the user;   identifying, by the processing system, a degrade point in the media content that is identified to likely not be of interest to the user based on the information about the user;   modifying, by the processing system, the media content, according to the highlight point and the degrade point, to create highlighted content to draw attention of the user to the highlight point and to drive attention of the user away from the degrade point; and   updating, by the processing system, the information about the user based on monitoring consumption by the user of the highlighted content at equipment of the user.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising obtaining, by the processing system, an identification of a plurality of points of interest in the media content, wherein the plurality of points of interest in the media content include the highlight point. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of points of interest in the media content include the degrade point. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising analyzing, by the processing system, the media content to determine the plurality of points of interest in the media content, wherein the analyzing results in scoring each of the points of interest in the media content. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising updating, by the processing system, the scoring of the points of interest in the media content based on which of the points of interest drew the attention of the user. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the monitoring the consumption by the user of the highlighted content at the equipment of the user. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving, by the processing system, a request from the equipment of the user to view the media content. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising obtaining, by the processing system, the information about the user. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the modifying the media content to create the highlighted content further comprises decreasing, by the processing system, a resolution of a portion of the media content corresponding to the degrade point. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the modifying the media content to create the highlighted content further comprises increasing, by the processing system, a resolution of a portion of the media content corresponding to the highlight point. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 presenting, by the processing system, the media content to the equipment of the user with a first resolution corresponding to the highlight point; and   presenting, by the processing system, the media content to the equipment of the user with a second resolution corresponding to a line of sight of the user.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the line of sight of the user is indicative of where the user is looking and not dependent on an orientation of the equipment of the user. 
     
     
         13 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a processor; and   a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:
 receiving highlighted content from a server, wherein the highlighted content draws attention of a user to a highlighted point in media content and drives attention of the user away from a degrade point in the media content, wherein the highlighted point in the media content is identified as likely to be of interest to the user based on information about the user, and wherein the degrade point in the media content is identified as not likely to be of interest to the user based on the information about the user; 
 presenting the highlighted content; 
 monitoring consumption of the highlighted media content by the user to generate consumption information; and 
 transmitting the consumption information to the server. 
   
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein a plurality of points of interest in the media content are identified, wherein the plurality of points of interest in the media content include the highlight point; and wherein the plurality of points of interest in the media content include the degrade point. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein information about the user is updated according to the consumption information. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the media content is modified to create the highlighted content by decreasing a resolution of a portion of the media content corresponding to the degrade point. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the media content is modified to create the highlighted content by increasing a resolution of a portion of the media content corresponding to the highlight point. 
     
     
         18 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
 identifying a highlight point in media content likely to be of interest to a user based on information about the user;   identifying a degrade point in the media content likely not be of interest to the user based on the information about the user;   modifying the media content, according to the highlight point and the degrade point, to create highlighted content to draw attention of the user to the highlight point and to drive attention of the user away from the degrade point; and   updating the information about the user based on monitoring consumption by the user of the highlighted content at equipment of the user.   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the monitoring the consumption by the user of the highlighted content further comprises:
 tracking a line of sight of the user;   comparing the line of sight of the user with the highlight point; and   analyzing a proportion of time the line of sight of the user corresponds with the highlight point.   
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the operations further comprise analyzing the media content to determine a plurality of points of interest in the media content, wherein the analyzing results in scoring each of the plurality of points of interest in the media content.