Crossing-Media for Video Search: Enabling Usability Beyond Traditional Broadcast and TV
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K. Pastra and S. Piperidis (2006), in Proceedings of the 4th European Interactive TV Conference Crossing-Media for Video Search: enabling usability beyond traditional broadcast and TV Katerina Pastra and Stelios Piperidis Institute for Language and Speech Processing, Artemidos 6 and Epidavrou, 151-25, Maroussi, Greece {kpastra,spip}@ilsp.gr Abstract search functionalities. Does this, new, reinforced The explosion of multimedia digital content and the role of video search render it indispensable for end- development of technologies that go beyond users of the new technologies? Within the rapidly traditional broadcast and TV have rendered access changing multimedia-processing context, does to such content important for all end-users of these video search become an even more challenging task technologies. While originally developed for in terms of the retrieval performance required for providing access to multimedia digital libraries, achieving high usability of the new technologies it video search technologies assume now a more is embedded in? demanding role. In this paper, we attempt to shed light onto this new role of video search In this paper, we look into the role of video search technologies, looking at the rapid developments in in the light of the new “convergent” technologies the related market, the lessons learned from state of and the technological challenges that are art video search prototypes developed mainly in the subsequently posed on its development. In order to digital libraries context and the new technological do so, we present the market status and trends in challenges that have risen. We focus on one of the video search for the new technologies, as well as latter, i.e., the development of cross-media decision the search mechanisms used within commercial and mechanisms, drawing examples from REVEAL research prototypes. We discuss the effects of the THIS, an FP6 project on the retrieval of video and new role subsumed by video search and focus language for the home user. We argue, that efficient mainly on the use of cross-media decision video search holds a key to the usability of the new mechanisms for dealing with such effects. Last, we “pervasive digital video” technologies and that it present REVEAL THIS, a research project which should involve cross-media decision mechanisms. attempts to implement cross-media mechanisms for increasing the usability of both its pull and push 1. Introduction video access scenarios. The proliferation of digital multimedia content and 2. Market Status and Trends in Video Search the subsequent growth of the number of digital video libraries have boosted research on the The formation of regulations for the new development of video retrieval systems. Video technologies that enable traditional broadcast and search technology has traditionally been conceived the internet to converge (e.g. Internet Protocol TV as a way to enable efficient access to large video (IPTV), Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks, Mobile TV) data collections, with automatic indexing and proves that these technologies –with the ever cataloguing of this data being an essential growing popularity- have become something more derivative of its development. The quest for than a trend or optimistic prospect (Carvajal, 2005, efficient video retrieval mechanisms is still Broache, 2005). They already are a new reality, in ongoing, with a number of different unimodal and which: multimodal techniques being implemented and o Traditional TV sets can be extended with evaluated (cf. TRECVID competitions, Hauptmann, intelligent digital video recorders (DVRs), 2004). set-top boxes with PC-like functionalities, or can even communicate with personal However, the emergence of technologies crossing computers for displaying streamed digital the boundaries between traditional broadcast and media through gaming consoles enabling the Internet, and between traditional television and an enhanced, interactive TV experience computers broadens the scope of developing video (Shim et al., 2005). 1 K. Pastra and S. Piperidis (2006), in Proceedings of the 4th European Interactive TV Conference o TV viewing goes beyond traditional TV classified in the following categories according to sets, in mobiles and portable digital media their main business activities1: players (i-pods) enabling on-the-move TV watching (Charney, 2005). a) Content owners: production companies o File-swapping networks and headline (broadcasters who also produce their own syndication technology facilitates the content e.g. BBC are included in this exchange of not only category too) professional/copyrighted TV programmes b) TV service providers: satellite and cable but also of consumer-generated ones (e.g. companies (e.g. Comcast, BeTV etc.) and podcasts, video blogs, etc.) (Borland, TV broadcasters (e.g. CNN, RTBF etc.) 2005, Jaffe, 2005). c) P2P service networks: networks that allow for file-swapping e.g. BitTorrent, e-donkey In opening new markets, suggesting new business etc. models, and indicating new content distribution d) Electronics manufacturers: manufacturers channels, all these technologies boost the of DVRs and set-top boxes (e.g. TiVo, availability of digital video content and motivate Akimbo, Scientific Atlanta etc.), portable digitisation. In this light, the question of easy and digital media players (e.g. Apple), mobiles efficient access to video content that was once (e.g. Siemens). posed in relation to digital video collections raises e) Computer networking companies (e.g. again more demanding than ever. Cisco), Internet Service Providers (e.g. AOL) and Phone companies (e.g. In this section, we will look into the role of video BellSouth, Verizon etc.) search within this new context. This will shed light f) Internet Protocol TV software developers on the implications this new role has on the (e.g. Microsoft, Myrio, Virage) development of video search mechanisms and will g) Content service providers: content point towards possible aspects that need to be taken monitoring companies which provide push into consideration for developing highly usable and/or pull services (e.g. TVEyes, BlinkX) video access services. We present the interested h) Web content aggregators: companies that parties in the market of the new TV/video aggregate digital media (text, audio, video) technologies and their stance towards video search or links to these media and present them functionalities. online to a user upon request/search e.g. Google and Yahoo 2.1 The market players i) Content re-packaging companies: companies that acquire content e.g. sports Electronics manufacturers, software companies, videos/TV programmes and re-package it telecommunication giants, cable companies, for meeting various user needs e.g. broadcasters, content owners all have an interest in interactive viewing of a car race, where the the new market that is being created and which user can choose his/her preferable viewing extends beyond professional users to everyday angle(s) (e.g. Nascar) laymen, to home users. As expected, the convergence of internet and TV has not only All these market players have their own interest in resulted in the convergence of the corresponding the new technologies and therefore attempt to business sectors, but has also created new ones, extend the services they provide by either enriching which are interested in providing end-to-end in-house developments or by making alliances with services, i.e., aggregation of video (and other) each other. Figure 1 illustrates the relative position digital content and distribution of this content to of each business sector in the chain from content interested users through a push (data routing owners to end-users of enhanced-TV. The chain according to a user profile) or pull (data search and reveals the dependencies between the different retrieval) model. market sectors for achieving an end-to-end service, which justify the increasing number of alliances, The business sectors which are being actively partnerships and mergings among key players in involved in providing an enhanced TV experience these sectors that take place on an almost day-to- (i.e. IPTV, i-TV, mobile TV etc.) could be day basis. 1 The categories are not mutually exclusive; on the contrary, there are organisations with a wide range of activities, which span more than one category. 2 K. Pastra and S. Piperidis (2006), in Proceedings of the 4th European Interactive TV Conference Figure 1: Dependencies & dependency trends among different business sectors ddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd In particular, content owners are essential in acquisitions of businesses take place, with IPTV allowing digitisation/monitoring/capture of and software developers playing a key-role; for access to TV/video content; all parties interested in example, Siemens has acquired Myrio in its attempt allowing users to watch proprietary content need to enter the IPTV market (Reardon, 2005a). Deals agreements with them. They are themselves between more than one business sectors are also interested in taking advantage of the new content growing; for example, Microsoft, BT and Virgin distribution channels that are opened. TV service are collaborating for providing mobile TV services, providers and phone companies (cellular and other Microsoft contributing all software needed for telecommunication giants) are also competing for packaging and viewing TV on mobiles, BT entering the IPTV market; for the former this is a contributing a new network for mobile TV and natural extension to their current services