DVRs and media players are growing in popularity because they allow viewers to watch the shows they want, when they want and wherever they want. However, the ability of DVR random access technology to jump to points of interest, or to splice content together, has not been fully exploited. It is not the capability in the DVR that’s lacking, but rather the availability of the appropriate metadata.

JUMMP (Joined Up Metadata for Media Playback) is a new industry group including broadcasters, metadata aggregators and suppliers, and newsroom and sports system equipment vendors. It was previously called Joined Up PVR but the name was changed to reflect the fact that the organization now deals with all media playback devices.

JUMMP aims to improve upon the limited functionality of DVRs and media players by defining how the right metadata, produced by today’s content production systems, can be passed through the broadcast chain all the way to the end device. By integrating this technology with content production, viewers will be able to skip back to review a highlight of a live football game, browse between sections of a recorded news magazine program, or navigate to a particular point in a film. They can already do this with their DVDs. This technology has important applications for broadcast operations.

DVRs and media player devices

Media players differ enormously in form, factor and capability. They can be portable or installed in the home; they may or may not be multi-function devices. Some have screens that are several inches high; others have enormous high definition displays.

Although the capabilities of DVRs and media players may differ they do have some important functionality in common.

• They can store content which means viewers are not limited as to when they can watch it.

• They can support metadata for describing the content. In addition to the program title it may also carry information such as a program synopsis or cast list. Metadata allows viewers to select items from a “library” of content. This is called “macro-navigation.”

• They have random access storage media which means content playback can jump to particular points in the content. Navigation within content is termed “micro-navigation.”

Micro-navigation requires an approach that is more tightly integrated with the production and broadcast of content than was previously necessary.

Applications of micro-navigation

What can micro-navigation metadata do? In general terms it can be used to enable a number of applications, including navigating films, live broadcasts and generating a preview of content.

The most basic form of metadata required for micro-navigation is the time offsets of points of interest within the content. Having this data enables viewers to navigate between them simply by pressing a “skip forward” or “skip backward” key. More advanced functionality builds on this basic metadata with more information. Adding text to each segment allows a menu to be displayed. Adding end points to segment metadata allows parts of the content to be viewed discretely.

The main applications for micro-navigation are live content and off-line content. These categories have different characteristics that affect which applications are possible and how metadata is produced and disseminated.

Live football match

Live generation of micro-navigation data alongside a live sports event, such as a football match, is one of the most powerful examples of how it can be used. With this metadata a DVR can enable viewers to watch game highlights again.

How does this work? If there is a particularly bad tackle the content producer sends micro-navigation metadata referencing the time the incident occurred. When viewers press “skip back” the playback jumps back and viewers can watch the tackle a second time.

Catching up with real time is another example of micro-navigation. Once viewers have finished re-watching the tackle they will want to catch up with current action. By pressing fast forward, viewers skip through content. If the content producer is marking sections of interest in the game, the DVR can catch up with real time by only displaying the interesting parts, skipping over the mundane parts.

Magazine program

Magazine programs are a staple of television viewing and have a structure that makes them ideal for adding micro-navigation.

The most basic application provides references to the start of each “article.” This allows viewers to navigate quickly to their favorite part or to skip content that doesn’t interest them.

Adding graphics and interactivity to the micro-navigation data enables viewers to browse the content as they would flip through a magazine.

If a viewer records the episodes of an entire series, micro-navigation metadata can be used to provide alternative views on the content. For a series on cars, for example, a viewer can choose to watch all of the super-car reviews, or all the features on celebrities and their cars.

Source of micro-navigation metadata

Micro-navigation metadata is most efficiently produced in content production, and this is mainly where this metadata exists today.

For example, modern news production systems feature a disk-based video server which is highly automated. Before a new item is broadcast, the news reader’s script, video clips, images and on-screen graphics are prepared. Stories are then placed in the running order for a news broadcast. During the broadcast, people trigger actions to begin such as displaying graphics during a story. However, it is the automation system which lines up the correct resources and then responds to the people who want them to be displayed.

An implication of this level of automation is that these systems often know the precise frame when each story starts. This means that many news automation systems have the metadata needed to enable micro-navigation. The same is true for other types of live production including many live sports production systems. For these systems once the metadata is extracted, the only remaining challenge is getting the metadata to the DVR.

DVRs and media players join content production

The technology to enable micro-navigation already exists in mass-market devices such as DVRs, portable media players and PC media players. In some cases the information is already in the production system. What is required is to bring content producers and DVRs together by building the metadata chain.

Establishing a metadata chain closely tied to content has benefits outside of enabling micro-navigation on DVRs and media players. When the micro-navigation metadata has a time reference it is called “point of interest.”

Using the same structures as micro-navigation, point of interest metadata can be a useful tool for synchronizing interactive applications with video content. It can also link to further information for a part of a program, for instance how to buy an item which is viewed on screen or where additional information on a particular news story can be found on the Internet.

JUMMP: Engineering the solution

The JUMMP group which includes broadcasters, CE vendors and broadcast platform integrators is committed to developing understanding and to building the metadata chain. JUMMP’s approach is not to re-invent the wheel. Part of the group’s task is to work with the standards bodies to create profiles applicable to JUMMP.

Existing content production and content management systems represent a considerable investment by broadcasters and content production companies. By extending systems to extract and exchange information which is already present, content can be produced with the micro-navigation metadata. In most cases adding JUMMP support to existing systems can be completely transparent to the operator.

Micro-navigation is the application that will join content production with DVRs and media players by building the metadata chain. Once this chain has been established it becomes easy to add other functionality. Micro-navigation data can become richer, offering a wider range of uses. Content can be broadcast with segmentation data that includes alternative versions of the same content: adapting it for different demographics and giving highlights of sports events, for example. Advertising links associated with particular scenes within the content become possible, giving the viewer the opportunity to buy a product or service described during a program. All this is made possible by joining content production with DVRs.

Micro-navigation is a key way of enriching the functionality of DVRs and media players and the content offered by providers. However, to make micro-navigation work efficiently metadata must be extracted or generated during content creation and then exchanged along the same distribution chain as the content. JUMMP is working to make this a reality by bringing together organizations involved in the content chain to define how to exchange micro-navigation metadata.

The future? The possibilities are amazing. Content anywhere, any time, on any device. Skipping backward and forward through broadcast content becomes as easy as flipping through the pages of a magazine. Create a personalized instant replay and then re-join the live action. All of this without missing a beat. If JUMMP has anything to say about it, the future of TV is going to be a whole different ball game.