Media package format for submission to a media distribution system
Contents
1. 6 The system as recited in claim 5 wherein each of the chapters is identified by a title and has a corresponding start time 7 The system as recited in claim 5 wherein each of the chapters has an image associated therewith and wherein the plurality of data files include an image file for each image 8 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the metadata content identifies a territory in which the digital media con tent asset is to be made available 9 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the metadata content includes one or more ratings associated with the media content each of the ratings being associated with a different rating system 10 The system as recited in claim 9 wherein each of the rating systems is associated with a country or region within a country 11 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the metadata content includes one or more advisories 12 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the metadata content identifies at least one genre in which the media con tent has been categorized 13 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the plurality of data files include one or more audio files 14 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the plurality of data files include an audio file including surround sound 15 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the plurality of data files include one or more audio files associated with one or more languages in which the media content can be presented2. The content provider can have one or more contracts with the media submission and distribution system for distributing media content In the contracts a wholesale price tier can be identified Thus a wholesale price tier 772 identifying a wholesale price tier for the video can be specified If it is possible to pre order the media content a pre order sales start date 774 indicating a date on which a pre order should become available e g in the territory that the product is for can be specified The pre order can end and fulfill on the regular sales start date of the product If a pre order sales start date 774 is not specified a pre order is not available e g within the specified territory for the product The metadata can further include a sales start date 776 specifying a date that the video is to be made available for sale to customers If this element is omitted the video can be assumed to be for sale immediately A sales end date 778 can similarly specify a date that the video can no longer be made available for purchase e g via an online media store If no value is specified it can be assumed that the video can be sold indefinitely A cleared for sale attribute 780 can indicate whether the video is cleared for sale For instance the media submission and distribution system can ascertain whether the video is cleared for sale according to contracts with the con tent provider Often videos such as movies are divided into
3. For example some consumers may want subtitles in a particular language while other consumers may wish to purchase a media item that does not include subtitles Similarly some consumers may wish to view the bonus material while others may not want to pay extra for bonus material that they do not want Thus by providing a plurality of data files which may each be encoded to a media distribution system rather than a single encoded file the distribution system can tailor media items for distribution to a variety oftypes of consumers Once a single downloadable file associated with a media item has been generated one or more encryption steps may be per formed to complete at least a portion of an encryption process prior to purchase of the media item Embodiments of various aspects of the invention are dis cussed below with reference to FIGS 1 8 However those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the detailed description given herein with respect to these figures is for explanatory purposes as the invention extends beyond these limited embodiments One aspect of the invention pertains to a system and method for submitting media content over a network to a distribution system enabling media assets 1 e media items to be generated from the media content The resulting media items can then be made available for distribution via the distribution system For instance the media items can be purchased and downloaded from an onlin
4. ID 622 container position 624 release date 626 and original release year 628 A lt genres gt tag 830 can be used to delineate the genres section of the metadata content as set forth above with respect to 630 For each genre a lt genre gt tag 832 can be provided Another lt genres gt tag 834 can be used to designate the end of the genres section of the metadata content A lt ratings gt tag 836 can be used to delineate the ratings section of the metadata content A lt rating gt tag 838 can be used to specify each rating value as set forth above with respect to 632 of FIG 6 Similarly an lt advisory gt tag 840 can be used to specify each advisory 634 Another lt ratings gt tag 842 can be used to designate the end of the ratings section of the metadata content A lt copyright gt tag 844 can be used to identify a copyright 636 In addition a short description gt tag 846 can be used to provide a short description 838 while a long description tag 848 can be used to provide a long description 840 For each data file that is provided a data file gt tag 850 can be used to define the data file section as described above at 642 A file name gt tag 852 can be used to define the file name 644 In addition a size tag 854 can be used to define the size 64 of the data file while a checksum tag 856 can be used to define a calculated checksum value as described above at 648 Another data file gt tag 858 can be used t
5. RP Within the US TV system possible content advisories include Fantasy Violence FV Sexual Content S Violence V Language L and Dialogue D In addition a copyright 636 can be specified for the video In one embodiment the copyright 636 is provided in the format year followed by owner The metadata can include a short description 638 as well as a long description 640 The short description 638 can include a single sentence describing the video The long description 640 can include a brief synopsis of the video If video source material is delivered electronically the metadata can include a data file element e g tag 642 for each file being submitted For instance a file name 644 and file size 646 can be specified In one embodiment the file name 644 can include the file name extension e g mpg In addition a checksum 648 can be provided enabling the media submission and distribution system or content pro vider to ensure that the correct file has been provided or uploaded to the system In accordance with one embodiment a hashing function can be used on the file to determine whether the resulting value matches the checksum value that was provided in the metadata The metadata can also include a preview start time 650 which enables a content provider to specify a custom start time for a preview video For instance the preview start time 650 can specify a number of seconds from program start at which a
6. file name officeR2518 mpg file name 852 856 lt size gt 2595225600 lt size gt 854 bv checksum type md5 2a793a8b460371e48a29dd739b4991 1 a lt checksum gt data file 858 preview starttime 60 gt 860 vendor offer code OF9921 vendor offer code 862 products 864 product 866 territory US territory 868 sales start date 2006 03 12 sales start date 870 sales end date sales end date 872 cleared for sale true cleared for sale 874 lt product gt _ 876 lt products gt 878 lt video gt 808 FIG 8 lt package gt US 7 827 162 B2 1 MEDIA PACKAGE FORMAT FOR SUBMISSION TO A MEDIA DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority from Patent Application No 60 800 843 entitled TECHNIQUES AND SYSTEMS FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF MEDIA CON TENT by Muller et al filed on May 15 2006 which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 Field of the Invention The present invention relates to media asset management and more particularly to submission of media assets to a distribution system in a client server environment 2 Description of the Related Art Digital media service providers distribute media content products to users For example a digital media service pro vider may make media content produc
7. further detail below For instance a package can be submitted in association with a feature film or television episode Gen erally a package includes metadata and identifies a plurality of data files where the metadata describes how the plurality of data files can be used to generate a downloadable digital media content asset Media content submission and distribution system 100 also includes a media storage server 110 and a media store 112 Media storage server 110 represents a remote storage server that couples to the data network 106 Media store 112 pro vides mass storage for media content that is available for purchase via media content submission and distribution sys tem 100 In accordance with one embodiment media store 112 stores or has access to packages that have been submitted to media content submission and distribution system 100 In one embodiment a validation manager 113 validates pack ages that have been submitted to media content submission and distribution system 100 For instance validation manager 113 may check the presence or absence of files that are identified in a package check that various attributes of the package are present check the values of various attributes of the package and or check that extensions of one or more of the identified files are correct In accordance with another embodiment an encoding manager 114 encodes media items from metadata and data files identified in packages Encoding mana
8. A different set of metadata attributes and corresponding values is provided for each different asset that is being submitted in association with the package One type of asset that can be submitted in the package or in association with the package is a video For each video that is submitted a different set of 0 a 5 25 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 corresponding metadata attributes and associated values is provided For instance if a video is being provided in the package the metadata can include a video attribute e g tag 608 More particularly a video tag can be used to signify the beginning of the video element of the package In accordance with one embodiment one video element can be defined per TV episode A video type 610 can be used to indicate how the media submission and distribution system should process the video For instance the video type 610 can indicate that the video type is television or tv A television video type can be used to indicate that the video is a television series episode sport ing event or commercial A network name 612 can be used to identify a network that airs the video For instance the network name can be a cus tomer presentable name such as NBC Thus the media product can be encoded such that the network name 612 is displayed when the media product is played A vendor identifier 614 can be used to identify the video separately from any other video submi
9. and generate the one or more digital media content assets using at least a portion the metadata content in the package and at least a subset of the plurality of data files identified by the information in the package and wherein the processing to generate the one or more digital media content assets is dependent on the information influencing how the media content in the plurality of data files can be processed wherein two or more of the plurality of data files are combined to form a single electronic file when generating at least one of the one or more digital media content assets and wherein using the plurality of files within the same package two or more of the one or more digital media content assets are able to be generated by the digital media asset server whereby the media content assets being generated from the plurality of files within the same package are able to different and thus tailored for different users therefor In column 14 line 51 in Claim 1 after portion insert of In column 15 line 10 in Claim 5 delete The package system and insert The system therefor In column 16 line 53 in Claim 41 after portion insert of
10. chapters for easy access by viewers Thus chaptering information for one or more chapters associated with the media content can also be submitted For instance the chaptering information can be provided in the same or a different XML file Chaptering information can be submitted in conformance with a chaptering metadata format As shown in FIG 7B a chapters version 782 can indicate a version of the chaptering metadata format in use For instance the chapters version 782 can be version 1 A chapter element can define a chapter in the provided media by specifying a chapter start time 784 More particu larly the start time 784 indicates the start time of that chapter in the video stream For example the start time can be speci fied in hours minutes and seconds in a format such as hours minutes seconds A chapter title 786 associated with the chapter can also be provided If no chapter title 786 is pro vided a default title such as Chapter n can be displayed upon viewing the media where n is the chapter number start ing at 1 In addition a chapter picture filename 788 identify ing a file including an image to be used to represent the chapter can be provided A package such as that illustrated in FIG 6 or FIGS 7A B can be submitted for use in submitting a media item to media submission and distribution system Once submitted updates can be submitted using the same package format Metadata such as that described above with refer
11. desirable to indicate the manner in which the document is generated and or encoded As shown in FIG 7 a processing instruction 702 can be used to define the character encoding of the document that is sub mitted For instance the processing instruction 702 can indi cate that the document is encoded via UTF 8 encoding In addition a package container version 704 can indicate a ver sion of the specification to which the metadata conforms For instance the version can indicate that the metadata conforms to a film specification as well as the specified version of the film specification For example the version film2 1 can be used to indicate that the metadata conforms to version 2 1 of the film specification an 5 40 45 50 60 65 10 In addition a content provider 706 providing content to the submission and distribution system can be identified For example the content provider 706 can be a television network or a movie studio such as Paramount The specification of the content provider 706 in the metadata enables the product to be associated with the content provider 706 as well as enable any pertinent contracts to be identified As set forth above the metadata may identify those assets that are being submitted in the package One type of asset that can be submitted in the package is a video If a video is being provided in the package the metadata can include a video attribute e g tag 708 More part
12. mation influencing how the media content in the plural ity of data files are processed wherein two or more of the plurality of data files are com bined to form a single electronic file when generating at least one ofthe one or more digital media content assets and wherein using the plurality of files within the same pack age two or more of the one or more digital media content assets are able to be generated by the digital media asset server whereby the media content assets being gener US 7 827 162 B2 17 18 ated from the plurality of files within the same package more of the plurality of data files being combined to form the are able to different and thus tailored for different users at least one of the one or more digital media content assets 35 A program storage device readable as recited in claim 34 wherein said generating comprises encoding the two or OR OR OR OF UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO 7 827 162 B2 Page 1 of2 APPLICATION NO 11 786031 DATED November 2 2010 INVENTOR S Jason Robert Suitts et al It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent is hereby corrected as shown below In column 3 line 14 delete leels and insert levels therefor In column 3 line 14 delete sae and insert same therefor In column 6 line 26 after file s insert In column 9 line 19 delet
13. of data files including media content and the metadata files including metadata content A digital media file is then encoded using at least a portion of the media content in the plurality of data files according to at least a portion ofthe metadata content to provide a downloadable digital media content asset The invention can be implemented in numerous ways including as a method system device apparatus graphical user interface or computer readable medium Several embodiments of the invention are discussed below Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illus trate by way of example the principles of the invention BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals designate like structural elements and in which FIG 1 is a block diagram of a media content submission and distribution system according to one embodiment of the invention FIG 2 is a process flow diagram illustrating a method of submitting a package to the media content submission and distribution system according to one embodiment of the invention FIG 3 is a process flow diagram illustrating a method of encoding a digital media asset by a media content submission and distribution system according to
14. one embodiment of the invention FIG 4 is a diagram illustrating a simplified package that can be used to submit metadata and media content for use in generating a media product to a media content submission and distribution system FIG 51sa diagram illustrating an example of metadata that can be provided in a package submitted to a media content submission and distribution system FIG 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of metadata providing information for use in generating a digital media file including a television episode sporting event or commer cial for distribution FIGS 7A B together illustrate an example of metadata providing information for use in generating a digital media file including a feature film for distribution FIG 8 is a diagram illustrating an example XML file including metadata of a package for use in generating a tele vision episode DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the management and sub mission of media content to a distribution system More par ticularly one embodiment relates to a media package identi fying and or including media content for submission to a distribution system Another embodiment relates to submis sion of the media package to the distribution system Yet another embodiment relates to the generation of media items US 7 827 162 B2 3 from media content submitted to a distribution system Once generated media items can be downloaded i
15. 04 Data file 1 406 Data file 2 406 Data file n 406 FIG 4 U S Patent Nov 2 2010 Sheet 4 of 8 US 7 827 162 B2 404 N Processing instructions 502 Product identifier 504 Content provider 506 Asset 1 508 File 1 510 Asset 2 508 File2 510 Asset n 508 Fien 510 mE po FIG 5 U S Patent Nov 2 2010 Sheet 5 of 8 US 7 827 162 B2 eee Preview Start Time 650 FIG 6 U S Patent Nov 2 2010 Sheet 6 of 8 US 7 827 162 B2 ISAN Identifier 716 Bonus Material 752 Product 768 FIG 7A U S Patent Nov 2 2010 Sheet 7 of 8 US 7 827 162 B2 Chapters version 782 Chapter start time 784 Chapter title 786 Chapter picture filename 788 FIG 7B U S Patent Nov 2 2010 Sheet 8 of 8 US 7 827 162 B2 TV Metadata XML Example Below is an example metadata xml for an episode of the NBC series The Office You can view the product in the iTunes Music Store at this URL http phobos apple com WebObijects MZStore woa wa view Video id 1293963998 amp p 10280207285 143441 Please note the available product in the iTunes Music Store does not contain the ratings and advisories used in this example 800 lt xml version 1 0 encoding UTF 8 802 d package version tv2 0 804 provider NBCUniversal provider 806 video 808 lt types gt tv lt type gt 810 lt network_name gt NBC lt network_name gt 812 lt vendor_id gt NBC_OFFICE_R251
16. 059929 2004 0167858 2004 0205028 2004 02 15733 2004 0254883 2004 0254949 2004 0267552 2004 0268451 2005 0021478 2005 0038813 2005 0050218 2005 0050345 2005 0182792 2005 0267894 2006 0015489 2006 0041748 2006 0074754 2006 0161604 2007 0011156 2007 0083471 2007 0192352 2007 0265969 2007 0266028 U S PATENT DOCUMENTS Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al Al 10 2002 10 2002 11 2002 12 2002 12 2002 1 2003 4 2003 6 2003 6 2003 7 2003 1 2004 3 2004 8 2004 10 2004 10 2004 12 2004 12 2004 12 2004 12 2004 1 2005 2 2005 3 2005 3 2005 8 2005 12 2005 1 2006 2 2006 4 2006 7 2006 1 2007 4 2007 8 2007 11 2007 11 2007 Lennon Pontenzone et al Ishii et al Levy et al Wang et al Shah et al Tang et al Stefik et al Bansai et al Davis et al Camelio Rodgers et al Erickson Verosub et al Gondhalekar et al Kondrk et al Amirthalingam Gilliam et al Robbin et al Gautier et al Apparao et al Sheldon et al Dowdy et al Israel et al Camahan Probst et al Lockhart et al Toyohara et al Lobo Maron Robbin et al LEVY asie seisi 707 102 Horwat et al Muller et al 2007 0266047 Al 11 2007 Cortes et al FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS WO 02 48920 6 2002 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Radified Guide to Ripping amp Encoding CD Audio http mp3 radi fied com downloaded Oct 7 2003 pp 1 5 Music Collecto
17. 16 24 The system as recited in claim 23 wherein the metadata content further includes a title of the episode 25 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the metadata content includes a container identifier and a container posi tion wherein the container identifier identifies a season for a television series or sporting event and wherein the container position identifies an episode within the season 26 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the metadata content includes a video type 27 The system as recited in claim 26 wherein the video type is tv and wherein the media content includes a television episode sporting event or commercial 28 The system as recited in claim 26 wherein the video type indicates that the media content is a film 29 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the metadata content identifies a content provider that provided the pack age 30 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the metadata content includes an identifier that identifies the media con tent 31 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the metadata content includes at least one of a sales start date indicating a date that the digital media content asset is available for sale a sales end date indicating a date that the digital media content asset is no longer available for sale or an indication as to whether the media content is cleared for distribution 32 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the metadata content incl
18. 16 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the plurality of data files include one or more audio files associated with different soundtracks in the same language wherein one or more of the different soundtracks can be selected to accom pany the media content 17 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the metadata content includes subtitle information identifying one or more of the plurality of data files including one or more timed text tracks 18 The system as recited in claim 17 wherein the timed text tracks are provided in one or more languages 19 The system as recited in claim 18 wherein the timed text tracks are in the same language but represent two or more levels of subtitling 20 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the plurality of data files include bonus material 21 The system as recited in claim 20 wherein the metadata content further indicates whether the bonus material is avail able to customers who purchase a pre order 22 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the media content includes at least one of music video a television episode or a film 23 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the metadata content includes a series name and an episode production number wherein the series name identifies a television series sporting event season or commercial and wherein the episode production number identifies an episode in the series 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
19. 8 lt vendor_id gt 814 lt episode_production_number gt R2518 lt episode_production_number gt 816 series name The Office series name 818 title Take Your Daughter to Work Day lt title gt 820 container id2NBC OFFICE SEASON 002 container id 822 container position 18 container position 824 release date 2006 03 11 release date 826 original release year 2006 original release year 828 genres 830 genres TVShows genre 832 lt genres gt 934 ratings 836 rating system us tv gt TV 14 lt rating gt 938 advisory system us cable gt AL lt advisory gt 840 lt ratings gt copyright cline 2005 NBC Universal copyright cline 844 short description A routine office day is upended when children descend upon Dunder Mifflin tor Take Your Daughter to Work Day short description 846 long description2A routine office day is upended when children descend upon Dunder Mifflin for Take Your Daughter to Work Day Michael Golden Globe winner Steve Carell is surprised when he strikes up a friendship with the five year old daughter of his sworn enemy Toby Paul Lieberstein Jenna Fischer John Krasinski B J Novak Rainn Wilson Leslie David Baker Brian Baumgartner kate Flannery Angela Kinsey Oscar Nunez and Phyllis Smith also star long description _ 848 data file 850
20. 99661 Al 2002 0099696 Al 2002 0099801 Al 2002 0107803 Al 2002 0112171 Al 2002 0116293 Al 2002 0124182 Al 3 2002 Oki et al 4 2002 Nishikawa 7 2002 Kii et al 7 2002 Prince 7 2002 Ishii 8 2002 Lisanke et al 8 2002 Ginter et al 8 2002 Lao et al 9 2002 Basco et al Continued FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS WO WO 00 08909 2 2000 Continued OTHER PUBLICATIONS Liquifier Pro 4 0 for Windows User s Guide 1998 Liquid Audio Inc Continued Primary Examiner Baoquoc N To 57 ABSTRACT The disclosed embodiments relate generally to the submis sion of media content to a media distribution system and the generation of media items from the media content The media items may include for example audio video image or pod cast data In accordance with one embodiment a package for use in generating a downloadable digital media content asset includes metadata content that describes how the media con tent in a plurality of data files including media content can be processed to generate a downloadable digital media content asset where the package includes information identifying the plurality of data files 35 Claims 8 Drawing Sheets Digital Media Service Provider e g Media Commerce Server Media Player 108 US 7 827 162 B2 Page 2 2002 0152267 2002 0152278 2002 0165811 2002 0186844 2002 0198843 2003 0005 173 2003 0074465 2003 0115144 2003 0120593 2003 0135424 2004 00 15427 2004 0
21. ata files can be used to generate a digital media item The many features and advantages of the present invention are apparent from the written description and thus it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention Further since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art the invention should not be limited to the exact construction and operation as illustrated and described Hence all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to as falling within the scope of the invention The invention claimed is 1 A system for using a package to generate at least one downloadable digital media content asset comprising a package generator configured to generate the package the package including metadata content having a plu rality of attributes information identifying a plurality of data files each of the plurality of data files including media content wherein one or more of the plurality of attributes for the metadata content includes associated tag and associ ated data and wherein at least one or more of the plurality of attributes for the metadata content includes information influencing how the media con tent in the plurality of data files can be processed to generate one or more digital media content assets and a digital media asset server configured to receive the pack age and generate the one or more digital media content assets u
22. az United States Patent Suitts et al US007827162B2 US 7 827 162 B2 Nov 2 2010 10 Patent No 45 Date of Patent 54 MEDIA PACKAGE FORMAT FOR SUBMISSION TO A MEDIA DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM 75 Inventors Jason Robert Suitts San Francisco CA US Jonathan James Currey San Francisco CA US Max Muller III San Jose CA US 73 Assignee Apple Inc Cupertino CA US Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 325 days 21 Appl No 11 786 031 22 Filed Apr 9 2007 65 Prior Publication Data US 2008 0040379 A1 Feb 14 2008 51 Int CI G06F 17 30 2006 01 92 SUS Libreta 707 707 707 695 58 Field of Classification Search 707 770 707 769 736 See application file for complete search history 56 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 5 884 280 A 3 1999 Yoshioka et al 6 085 253 A 7 2000 Blackwell et al 6 263 313 Bl 7 2001 Milsted et al 6 338 044 B1 1 2002 Cook et al 6 385 596 Bl 5 2002 Wiser et al 6 549 922 Bl 4 2003 Srivastava et al 6 731 312 B2 5 2004 Robbin 6 874 003 B2 3 2005 Morohashi 7 073 193 B2 7 2006 Marsh 7 209 892 Bl 4 2007 Galuten et al 2001 0021926 Al 2001 0044786 Al 2002 0002541 Al 9 2001 Schneck et al 11 2001 Ishibashi 1 2002 Williams 100 Validation Media Manager Storage Server Content Provider 2002 0032658 Al 2002 0049844 Al 2002 00
23. ble for sale in retail stores FIG 4 is a diagram illustrating a simplified package that can be used to submit metadata and media content for use in generating a media product to a media content submission and distribution system A package 402 for use in generating a downloadable digital media content asset includes metadata content 404 In addition the package 402 also includes infor mation identifying a plurality of data files 406 where each of the plurality of data files includes media content The meta data content describes how the media content in the plurality of data files can be processed to generate a downloadable digital media content asset Metadata content 404 can be provided in the form of one or more metadata files For instance each metadata file can be US 7 827 162 B2 7 provided in the form of an XML file Moreover the metadata content 404 can identify one or more of the plurality of data files In other words the data files 406 can be identified within the context of the metadata content 404 For instance the metadata content 404 can identify various image files audio files text files video files etc The package 402 can also include the actual data files 406 FIG 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of metadata content 404 that can be provided in a package submitted to a media content submission and distribution system As shown in this example metadata content 404 can include one or more processing ins
24. cess flow diagram illustrating a method of encoding a digital media asset by a media content submission and distribution system according to one embodiment of the invention A package is obtained e g in response to the purchase of a media item at 302 where the package includes one or more metadata files that include metadata content and a plurality of data files that include media content A digital media file is then generated e g encoded at 304 using at least a portion of the media content according to at least a portion ofthe metadata content Thus multiple digital media files may be produced from a single package using overlapping or non overlapping subsets of the data files and metadata within the package More par ticularly in order to generate a media product two or more of the plurality of data files can be combined during an encoding process Generation of the digital media file can include fur ther processing of one or more of the data files such as transcoding and encryption of video files The digital media file can then be distributed at 306 For instance the digital media file can be sold rented or made available for re sale Distribution can include the distribution of the digital media file via the Internet Alternatively distribution can include the distribution of a physical media such as a DVD storing thereon the digital media file Such a physical media can similarly be sold via the Internet or can be made availa
25. ded The AMG V_ID can be obtained from an AMG Database Dictionary for Mov ies or from an AMG Movie Overview page A title 722 can be used to uniquely identify the title of the film contained in the video An original release year 724 can identify the year the film was originally released for public viewing in the theater on television or on physical media A country of origin 726 can identify the country in which the film was primarily produced One or more genres 728 can be identified for a film For instance a possible genre can be Action amp Adventure Anime Classics Comedy Documentary Drama Foreign Horror Independent Kids amp Family Music Romance Sci Fi amp Fantasy Short Films Special Interest Thriller Sports West ern or Urban One or more ratings 730 can be specified for the media content being submitted For instance the MPAA system supports the following ratings General Audience G GP Parental Guidance Suggested PG Parents Strongly Cau tioned PG 13 M Restricted amp No One 17 and Under Admitted NC 17 X and Unrated UR A system attribute can be used to specify the MPAA rating system reason attribute can also be provided which indicates a reason for the specified rating For example a reason for a PG 13 rating may indicate that a film was Rated PG 13 for drug content some sensuality and war violence Acopyright 732 can also be specified for the video In one embodiment the copyri
26. describe the delivered assets for the film If video source material is delivered electroni cally the metadata can include a data file element e g tag for each file being submitted For instance a file name 742 and file size 744 can be specified The file name 742 should include the file name extension e g mpg In addition a checksum 746 can be provided enabling the media submis sion and distribution system to ensure that the correct file has been provided or uploaded to the system Similarly a poster image can be identified by file name 748 A checksum 750 corresponding to the poster image file can also be specified Bonus material 752 can also be submitted Bonus material 752 can be identified by filename for example Bonus mate rial 752 can include for example material such as a video showing the making of the film or additional footage not shown in the film Alternatively the bonus material 752 could include a digital booklet or an interactive booklet A vendor identifier 754 can be used as an identifier for the bonus mate rial Vendor identifier 754 can be unique with respect to other vendor identifiers of any other bonus material in the same package Vendor identifier 754 can be used to relate bonus material updates e g sent in a package after the initial pack age delivery to the correct item of bonus material As long as the vendor identifier is specified any other attribute of the bonus material including the file
27. e e g mpg and insert e g mpg therefor In column 11 line 29 delete e g mpg and insert e g mpg therefor In column 14 lines 34 67 in Claim 1 delete A system for using a package to generate at least one downloadable digital media content asset comprising a package generator configured to generate the package the package including metadata content having a plurality of attributes information identifying a plurality of data files each of the plurality of data files including media content wherein one or more of the plurality of attributes for the metadata content includes associated tag and associated data and wherein at least one or more of the plurality of attributes for the metadata content includes information influencing how the media content in the plurality of data files can be processed to generate one or more digital media content assets and a digital media asset server configured to receive the package and generate the one or more digital media content assets using at least a portion the metadata content in the package and at least a subset of the plurality of data files identified by the information in the package and wherein the processing to generate the one or more digital media content assets is dependent on the information influencing how the media content in the plurality of data files can be processed wherein two or more of the plurality of data files are combined to form a s
28. e media store In accordance with one embodiment in order to purchase a media item from the online media store a potential pur chaser can search and browse through numerous media items that are available for purchase Once purchased a media item can be downloaded over the network to the purchaser The content for the media item may be encrypted and therefore at least some of the encryption steps may take place at the time of purchase In this manner a media item may be encrypted for the purchasers use and stored on the purchaser s machine Moreover at least some ofthe encryption steps may occur after the content for the media item has been down loaded to a client Thereafter the purchaser can make use of the media item e g play the media item However the use ofthe media item can still be limited For example only up to 0 jak 5 20 40 45 65 4 a predetermined number user machines can be authorized to use the media item or only up to a predetermined number of compact disc copies can be made of a grouping or collection of media items e g a playlist FIG 1 is a block diagram of a media content submission and distribution system 100 according to one embodiment of the invention Media content submission and distribution sys tem 100 includes a digital media service provider such as a media commerce server 102 Media commerce server 102 coordinates review purchase and or rental of media items through on
29. ence to FIGS 6 7B can be provided in the form of one or more XML files FIG 8 is a diagram illustrating an example XML file including metadata ofa package for use in generating a digital media file including a television episode More particularly different metadata tags can be used to identify the various metadata attributes such as those described above with refer ence to FIG 6 As shown in this example XML file 800 can include an XML version tag 802 identifying the processing instruction 602 In addition a package version tag 804 can identify the package container version 604 while a pro vider gt tag 806 identifies the content provider 606 US 7 827 162 B2 13 For each video being submitted with the package a differ ent set of corresponding XML tags and associated values can be provided In this example a lt video gt tag 808 can be used to indicate the beginning of the video element 608 as well as the end of the video element 608 A lt type gt tag 810 can include the video type 610 Similarly a lt network name gt tag 812 lt vendor id gt tag 814 lt episode production number gt tag 816 lt series name gt tag 818 lt title gt tag 820 lt container id gt tag 822 container position gt tag 824 release date gt tag 826 and lt original release year gt tag 828 can identify the corre sponding network name 612 vendor identifier 614 episode production number 616 series name 618 title 620 container
30. es XM Version 2 0 ISO IEC Mar 2000 pp 1 138 International Search Report and Written Opinion for PCT US207 068995 mailed Nov 27 2007 U S Appl No 11 946 711 entitled Resubmission of Media for Network Based Distribution filed Nov 28 2007 cited by examiner WO U S Patent Nov 2 2010 Sheet 1 of 8 US 7 827 162 B2 100 Validation Media Manager Storage Server Encoding 113 Manager 109 102 Content Provider Digital Media Service Provider e g Media Commerce Server 108 FIG 1 U S Patent Nov 2 2010 Sheet 2 of 8 Generate package including metadata content and identifying a plurality of data files wherein each of the data files include media content Submit the package to a media content distribution system thereby enabling a media asset to be generated using the media content according to the metadata content FIG 2 Obtain a package including one or more metadata files and a plurality of data files the metadata files including metadata content and the plurality of data files including media content Encode a digital media file media content according to the metadata content Distribute the digital media file FIG 3 US 7 827 162 B2 202 204 302 using at least a portion ofthe 304 306 U S Patent Nov 2 2010 Sheet 3 of 8 US 7 827 162 B2 PACKAGE 402 Metadata content 4
31. ger 114 can encode the media items as they are purchased or can encode the media items prior to purchase by a consumer Thus media store 112 may store media items that have been generated as well as store packages that have been submitted for distribu tion by media content and distribution system 100 Once US 7 827 162 B2 5 purchased the media items can be accessed from media store 112 over the data network 106 by way of media storage server 110 More particularly media content and distribution system 100 allows a user of client 104 to utilize media player 108 to browse search or sort through a plurality of media items that can be purchased from media commerce server 102 Media player 108 may also allow the user to preview a media clip of the media items In the event that the user of media player 108 desires to purchase a particular media item the user via the media player 108 and media commerce server 102 engage in an on line commerce transaction in which the user pays for access rights to the particular media item In one embodi ment a credit card associated with the user is charged for the purchase amount of the particular media item In media content and distribution system 100 shown in FIG 1 the media content e g packages and or media items that have been encoded from the packages are stored in media store 112 and retrieved via media storage server 110 Hence media commerce server 102 need not burden its resources t
32. ght 732 is provided in the format year followed by owner US 7 827 162 B2 11 Information associated with the cast 734 of a film can also be specified For instance cast actors can be listed along with the character name portrayed by the actor The name of an actor can be provided where the last name comes first In addition the actor s name can also be specified in the manner in which it would naturally be displayed e g where the first name comes before the last name An All Movie Guide person ID assigned to the actor can also be specified If an actor requires top billing for the film a billing attribute can indicate that the actor requires top billing Similarly information associated with the crew 736 can also be specified For instance crew members can be listed along with the role e g Director that they performed The name of a crew member can be provided where the last name comes first In addition the crew member s name can also be specified in the manner in which it would naturally be dis played e g where the first name comes before the last name An All Movie Guide person ID assigned to the crew member can also be specified If a crew member such as the Director requires top billing for the film a billing attribute can indicate that the crew member requires top billing A synopsis 738 including a general summary of the film s content and story line can be provided An asset description 740 may
33. ic or audiobooks video items e g video files television episodes or movies or image items e g photos The invention is preferably implemented by software but can also be implemented in hardware or a combination of 0 an 5 40 45 50 60 14 hardware and software The invention can also be embodied as computer readable code on a computer readable medium The computer readable medium is any data storage device that can store data which can thereafter be read by a computer system Examples of the computer readable medium include read only memory random access memory CD ROMs DVDs magnetic tape and optical data storage devices The computer readable medium can also be distributed over net work coupled computer systems so that the computer read able code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion The advantages of the invention are numerous Different embodiments or implementations may but need not yield one or more of the following advantages One advantage of the invention is that media items are able to be generated e g encoded from a subset of media data provided in a plurality of data files Another advantage of the invention is that infor mation supporting the generation of media items can be uploaded in a package format that identifies the plurality of data files For instance the package can include a metadata file that identifies the data files as well as define the manner in which the d
34. icularly a video tag can be used to signify the beginning of the video element of the package In accordance with one embodiment one video element can be defined per movie A video type 710 can be used to indicate how the media submission and distribution system should process the video For instance the video type 710 can indicate that the media content being submitted is a film More particularly in one embodiment the video type is film for feature films or short for short films under one hour in length A production company attribute 712 can be used to identify a customer presentable name of the production company that created the film For instance the production company can be Paramount Pictures A vendor identifier 714 can be used to identify the video separately from any other video submitted by a content pro vider The vendor identifier 714 can be used to uniquely identify the video in the media submission and distribution system For instance a value such as an International Stan dard Audiovisual Number ISAN or Universal Product Code UPC can be used as the vendor identifier 714 In one embodiment the vendor identifier may consist of uppercase alphanumeric characters the underscore mark and dashes An ISAN identifier 716 and UPC 718 can also be separately identified The UPC 718 can be used if the film is sold as physical media in stores In addition an All Movie Guide Video ID AMG V_ID 720 can be provi
35. ingle electronic file when generating at least one of the one or more digital media content assets and wherein using the plurality of files within the same package two or more of the one or more digital media content assets are able to be generated by the digital media asset server whereby the Signed and Sealed this Fifteenth Day of November 2011 David J Kappos Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION continued Page 2 of 2 U S Pat No 7 827 162 B2 media content assets being generated from the plurality of files within the same package are able to different and thus tailored for different users and insert A system for using a package to generate at least one downloadable digital media content asset comprising a package generator configured to generate the package the package including metadata content having a plurality of attributes information identifying a plurality of data files each of the plurality of data files including media content wherein one or more of the plurality of attributes for the metadata content includes associated tag and associated data and wherein at least one or more of the plurality of attributes for the metadata content includes information influencing how the media content in the plurality of data files can be processed to generate one or more digital media content assets and a digital media asset server configured to receive the package
36. line transactions On line transactions to pur chase media items is also referred to as electronic commerce e commerce Media content submission and distribution system 100 also includes a client 104 Typically media con tent submission and distribution system 100 would include a plurality of different clients 104 Each client 104 can include a media player 108 Media player 108 is an application pro gram e g software application that operates on client 104 which is a computing device Client 104 is coupled to media commerce server 102 through a data network 106 Hence any ofclients 104 can interact with media commerce server 102 to review and or purchase media items In one embodiment data network 106 includes at least a portion of the Internet Clients 104 can vary with application but generally are com puting devices that have memory storage Often clients 104 are personal computers or other computing devices that are capable of storing and presenting media to their users Media content submission and distribution system 100 is also accessible to one or more media content providers 109 A media content provider 109 may be for example a movie studio television network or record company providing media content that can be distributed via one or more digital media service providers e g via a media distribution sys tem Each media content provider 109 may submit media content 111 in the form of packages as will be described in
37. lustrating an example of metadata providing information for use in generating a digital media file including a television episode sporting event or commer cial for distribution In order to ensure that the metadata can be parsed it may be desirable to indicate the manner in which the document is generated and or encoded As shown in FIG 6 a processing instruction 602 can be used to define the character encoding of the document that is submitted For instance the processing instruction 602 can indicate that the document is encoded via UTF 8 encoding In addition a package container version 604 can indicate a version of the specification to which the metadata conforms For instance the version can indicate that the metadata conforms to a television specification as well as the specified version of the television specification For example the version tv2 0 can be used to indicate that the metadata conforms to version 2 of the television specification In addition a content provider 606 providing content to the submission and distribution system can be identified For example the content provider 606 can be a television net work The specification of the content provider 606 in the metadata enables the product to be associated with the con tent provider 606 as well as enable any pertinent contracts to be identified As set forth above the metadata may identify those assets that are being submitted in association with the package
38. mbodiment the release date 626 is in the format Y Y Y Y MM DD where YYYY is the 4 digit year MM is the 2 digit month and DD is the 2 digit day In addition an original release year 628 can be used to identify the year that the video was originally made available In addition a genre 630 in which the television series episode sporting event or commercial has been categorized can be provided For instance a genre can be Action amp Adventure Anime Classics Comedy Documentary Drama Foreign Horror Independent Kids amp Family Music Romance Sci Fi amp Fantasy Short Films Special Interest Thriller Sports Western or Urban Of course these examples are merely illustrative and a television show could be categorized in other genres A rating 632 can be used to specify a rating label for the corresponding media product In one embodiment more than one rating can be specified e g for multiple rating systems which may correspond to different countries For instance a rating label within the US TV system can be TV Y TV Y7 TV G TV PG TV 14 or TV MA Similarly the metadata can further specify one or more content advisory indicators 634 For instance within the US US 7 827 162 B2 9 CABLE system possible content advisories include Violence V Mild Violence MV Graphic Violence GV Adult Language AL Graphic Language GL Adult Content AC Sexual Content SC Nudity N Brief Nudity BN and Rape
39. mis sion of media content to a media submission and distribution system and the generation of media items from the media content The media items may include for example audio video image or podcast data which may include movies and television episodes In accordance with one embodiment a package for use in generating a downloadable digital media content asset includes metadata content that describes how the media con tent in a plurality of data files can be processed to generate a downloadable digital media content asset where the package includes information identifying the plurality of data files In accordance with another embodiment a content pro vider uploads one or more packages to a media submission and distribution system More particularly a package includ ing one or more metadata files and identifying a plurality of data files is generated each of the plurality of data files including media content and the metadata files including 0 40 45 55 2 metadata content The package is then submitted to a media content distribution system thereby enabling a digital media file to be encoded using at least a portion ofthe media content in the plurality of data files according to at least a portion of the metadata content In accordance with yet another embodiment a media dis tribution system obtains a package including one or more metadata files and identifying a plurality of data files each of the plurality
40. more ofthe plurality of data files The media content provider then submits the package to a media content distribution system at 204 thereby enabling a media asset to be generated using the media content accord ing to the metadata content For instance in order to generate a digital media file storing thereon a media asset such as a movie in Italian the media file can be generated using a subset of the plurality of data files that include the Italian audio file and or Italian subtitles As set forth above the media file can be generated prior to and or subsequent to purchase of the media asset In accordance with one embodiment the package includes the plurality of data files In another embodiment upon sub mission of the package the media content submission and distribution system requests the data files upon validation of the package The data files can be submitted in a subsequent package along with the metadata or the data files can be submitted separately from the package format Once the package has been submitted the package or por tion thereof can be stored in a directory structure For instance the metadata file s or information obtained from the metadata file s can be stored in a directory structure together with or separately from corresponding data file s Once the metadata and media files are stored a digital media asset can be generated e g encoded using the infor mation provided in the metadata FIG 3 is a pro
41. n a client server environment A media item can for example be a podcast episode television episode movie feature film audio video or image data In one embodiment a package that is submitted to a media submission and distribution system identifies a plurality of data files and includes metadata that defines how the plurality of data files can be used to generate a media item For instance a package can identify data files that include a variety of assets such as subtitles or closed captioning infor mation including timed text tracks and bonus material as well as audio and or video file s Timed text tracks can include for example different leels of subtitling in the sae language such as full subtitling versus just subtitling of words that appear in a video but not on the soundtrack Audio file s can include audio in surround sound as well as other audio options in different languages Moreover data files can include a variety of soundtracks such as commentary tracks and sound effect only tracks in one or more languages which can be selected to accompany other media content From the package it is possible to produce different media items cor responding to the same media content e g television epi sode or film More particularly a media item can be gener ated e g encoded using a subset of the metadata and or a subset ofthe plurality of data files Moreover multiple media items can be generated from the same package
42. name can be changed In one embodiment if a vendor identifier 754 is not specified the file name of the bonus asset can be used implicitly as the vendor identifier and therefore cannot be changed In other words submission of additional bonus material would result in a second item of bonus material being added A name 756 of the bonus material that can be provided for display in an online media store can be provided as well as any copyright 758 of the bonus material In addition a volume number 760 ofthe bonus material can be submitted A track number 762 of the bonus material can also be specified for use in ordering the bonus material among other items within the same volume within the package In other words the volume number and track number can be unique across all track items in the package A pre order only 764 attribute can indicate whether the bonus material item is only made available to customers who purchase the pre order bonus file name 766 identifies the file that contains the bonus material being submitted In one embodiment a product element 768 defines a prod uct for each territory in which a video is to be sold For 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 12 instance a territory 770 attribute can be used to identify a territory As one example the territory 770 can specify a territory country code such as US World wide clearances can be specified using a World wide country code WW
43. o designate the end of the data file section of the metadata content A preview starttime gt tag 860 can be used to define the preview start time 650 Similarly a vendor offer code tag 862 can be used to identify the vendor offer code 652 A products tag 864 can be used to delineate the products section of the metadata For each product element 654 a product tag 866 can be provided followed by a territory tag 868 sales start date tag 870 sales end date tag 872 and or cleared for sale gt tag 874 corresponding to the terri tory 656 sales start date 658 sales end date 660 and or cleared for sale indicator 662 that are provided in the meta data Another lt product gt tag 876 can be used to define the end ofthe information for a single product while another prod ucts gt tag 878 can be used to define the end of the products section of the metadata The example described above with reference to FIG 8 is directed to a television episode in accordance with the format described with reference to FIG 6 A similar XML file can be generated for use in specifying information for a film in accordance with a format such as that described above with reference to FIGS 7A B The various aspects features embodiments or implemen tations of the invention described above can be used alone or in various combinations The media items can pertain to podcast episodes audio items e g audio files or songs such as for mus
44. o deliver any of the media items that may be purchased to client 104 Instead on purchasing a particular media item encoding manager 114 can generate the desired media item e g by encoding the purchased media asset or obtain a media item that the encoding manager 114 has already generated from a corresponding package In this regard encoding manager 114 can obtain the media content corresponding to the particular media item from media store 112 and download such content through data network 106 to client 104 The downloaded media content can then be stored on client 104 In one embodiment the downloaded media content is stored on client 104 as received In another embodi ment the downloaded media content is transcrypted from one encryption key to another encryption key before persistent storage on client 104 In still another embodiment the down loaded media content is encrypted as received at client 104 but is decrypted and then re encrypted before persistent stor age on client 104 Thereafter media player 108 can present e g play the media content at client 104 One or more of the connections through data network 106 between media commerce server 102 client 104 and media storage server 110 can be through secure connections such as Secure Sockets Layer SSL For instance a client can be authenticated prior to downloading content from media stor age server 110 in order to ensure that the client can download content from media s
45. preview video is to begin A vendor offer code 652 can be used as an identifier for accounting purposes In one embodiment a product element 654 defines a prod uct for each territory in which a video is to be sold For instance a territory 656 attribute can be used to identify a territory As one example the territory 656 can specify a territory country code such as US World wide clearances can be specified using a World wide country code WW The metadata can further include a sales start date 658 specifying a date that the video is to be made available for sale to customers In one embodiment if this element is omitted the video can be assumed to be for sale immediately A sales end date 660 can similarly specify a date that the video can no longer be made available for purchase e g via an online media store In one embodiment if no value is specified it can be assumed that the video can be sold indefinitely A cleared for sale attribute 662 can indicate whether the video is cleared for sale For instance the media submission and dis tribution system can ascertain whether the video is cleared for sale according to contracts with the content provider FIGS 7A B together illustrate an example of metadata providing information for use in generating a digital media file including a feature film for distribution The metadata can include a plurality of attributes In order to ensure that the metadata can be parsed it may be
46. r Features Collectorz com music collector fea tures http www collectorz com music features php downloaded Oct 7 2003 pp 1 2 Gracenote CDDB Gracenote product webpage http www gracenote com gn products cddb html downloaded Oct 7 2003 pp 1 2 Gracenote MusicID Gracenote product webpage http www gracenote com gn products music id html downloaded Oct 7 2003 pp 1 2 AVCataloger Overview NC Software Inc http www avcataloger com Products aspx downloaded Oct 6 2003 pp 1 4 Jyri Huopaniemi Music Encoding and Transmission CUIDAD meeting ICMC 2000 Berlin Aug 28 2000 Media Encoding FAQ Loudeye Corp http www loudeye com digitalmedia solutions mediaenchost enclodingfaq asp down loaded Oct 9 2003 pp 1 3 Media encoding datasheet Loudeye Corp http www loudeye com digitalmedia solutions mediaenchost encloding asp down loaded Oct 9 2003 pp 1 4 Media hosting datasheet Loudeye Corp http www loudeye com digitalmedia solutions mediaenchost hosting asp downloaded Oct 9 2003 pp 1 2 Preview and Convera Announce availability of Digital Media Com merce Platform for Secure Digital Audio Devices Convera press release Las Vegas NV Consumer Electronics Show Jan 8 2001 pp 1 3 Sonopress Global Network User Manual Client Tools Upload Data Graphics Files to Sonopress Sonopress data unknown MPEG 7 Multimedia Description Schem
47. sing at least a portion the metadata content in the package and at least a subset of the plurality of data files identified by the information in the package and wherein the processing to generate the one or more digital media content assets is dependent on the infor mation influencing how the media content in the plural ity of data files can be processed wherein two or more of the plurality of data files are com bined to form a single electronic file when generating at least one of the one or more digital media content assets and wherein using the plurality of files within the same pack age two or more of the one or more digital media content assets are able to be generated by the digital media asset server whereby the media content assets being gener ated from the plurality of files within the same package are able to different and thus tailored for different users US 7 827 162 B2 15 2 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the package includes one or more metadata files including the metadata content wherein the metadata content identifies one or more of the plurality of data files 3 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the package further includes the plurality of data files 4 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the plurality of data files include a file including closed captioning informa tion 5 The package system as recited in claim 1 wherein the metadata content identifies one or more chapters
48. torage server 110 Moreover a given client can be authenticated in order to ensure that the client is authorized to download the content that the client wants to download Further the media content can be encrypted at one or more stages as set forth above prior to and or after the media content is stored at client 104 In order to make media content for a media item available for distribution a media content provider 109 can submit a set of files that can be used in whole or in part to generate the media item For instance the set of files can include one or more metadata files including metadata as well as a plurality of data files More particularly the metadata defines how the media item can be generated from the plurality of data files The set of files can be submitted together separately or in groups In accordance with one embodiment a media content pro vider 109 can submit the set of files in the form of a package FIG 2 is a process flow diagram illustrating a method of submitting a package to the media content submission and distribution system according to one embodiment of the invention media content provider generates a package including metadata content and identifying a plurality of data 40 45 60 65 6 files at 202 where each of the data files includes media content For instance the package can include one or more metadata files including the metadata content The metadata content can identify one or
49. tructions e g tags indicating how the data files submitted are to be processed The metadata content can also include a number of attributes that include informa tion pertinent to the product For instance the metadata con tent can include identifying information such as a product identifier 504 identifying the corresponding media product e g movie or album and a content provider identifier 506 identifying the content provider e g record company or movie studio The metadata content 404 can identify a plu rality of assets 508 where each of the assets 508 is provided in a corresponding identified file 510 For instance each of the assets 508 can include an image video clip audio clip song feature film television episode sporting event com mercial audiobook game etc The metadata content 404 can be generated and submitted to the media submission and distribution system in a variety of formats For example the metadata content 404 may be described using a plurality of attributes Some of the metadata attributes may have one or more corresponding data values as will be described in further detail below with respect to FIGS 6 7B More particularly example metadata content describ ing a television episode will be described in further detail below with reference to FIG 6 while example metadata content describing a feature film will be described in further detail below with reference to FIGS 7A 7B FIG 6 is a diagram il
50. ts available for rental purchase and or free distribution The digital media service provider is often able to fulfill a request for a user desired media content product by handling digital rights management of the desired media content product an associated billing transaction if any and delivery of the desired media content product to the user Often media content providers such as recording labels distributors movie studios distributors and media content creators provide the media content to a third party digital media service provider by providing one or more files to the digital media service provider Traditionally for a single media content product a single file containing the playable content e g a feature film of the media content product is provided to the digital media service provider However under this approach any modification to a single component of the media content product e g addition dele tion or replacement of an alternate audio track requires the media content provider to produce again the single media content file by incorporating the modification and uploading again the entire single media content file containing even the unmodified components to the digital media service pro vider In view of the above there exists a need for a way to more flexibly manage media content provided to a digital media service provider SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The disclosed embodiments relate generally to the sub
51. tted by a content pro vider The vendor identifier 614 can be used to uniquely identify the video in the media submission and distribution system More particularly the vendor identifier 614 can be used in conjunction with the content provider 606 to uniquely identify the video in the media submission and distribution system In oneembodiment the vendor identifier may consist ofuppercase or lowercase alphanumeric characters and other characters such as the underscore mark or hyphens An episode production number 616 can identify a produc tion number for the episode In this manner an episode of a series can be uniquely identified The episode production number 616 can be provided via a display enabling a pur chaser to uniquely identify the episode of a series A series name 618 can be used to identify the name of the television series or sporting event In addition a title 620 can be used to uniquely identify the title of the episode contained in the video In one embodiment a container identifier 622 can be used to identify episodes of a particular season For instance a container identifier 622 such as NBC OFFICE SEASON 002 can be used to identify the second season of The Office Each video within a container can be identified by a container position 624 For instance a an 18 episode in a season can be identified by container position 18 A release date 626 can be used to identify the original air date of the episode In one e
52. udes a pre order sale start date indicating a date on which a pre order can be submitted for the media content 33 The system as recited in claim 1 wherein the metadata content includes a checksum for one or more of the plurality of data files 34 A program storage device readable by a machine tan gibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for using a package to generate at least one downloadable digital media content asset the method comprising generating the package by a package generator the pack age including metadata content and information identifying a plurality of data files each of the plurality of data files including media content wherein one or more of the plurality of attributes for the metadata content includes associated tag and associ ated data and wherein at least one or more of the plurality of attributes for the metadata content includes information influencing how the media con tent in the plurality of data files are processed when generating one or more digital media content assets receiving the package at a digital media asset server and generating the one or more digital media content assets using at least a portion the metadata content in the pack age and at least a subset of the plurality of data files identified by the information in the package and wherein the processing to generate the one or more digital media content assets is dependent on the infor
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