Presentation scheduling in digital cinema system
Contents
1. Intermission Run Ignore Pause Ignore Cancel Ignore Run or C Intermission Platter dee utoStart Processing Completed Running Entry Activate Running Indicator Paused Do Process Platter Run Entry Activate Paused Indicator Exit Deactivate Running Indicator Exit Deactivate Paused Indicator Pause Ignore Run lgnore Cancel Ignore FIG 12 U S Patent Dec 7 2004 Sheet 8 of 8 US 6 829 033 B2 Online o Automatic Mode o Running o Paused O CANCEL FIG 13 Online RUN Automatic Mode o Running Paused O FIG 14 Online RUN Automatic Mode o Running o Paused 2 FIG 15 US 6 829 033 B2 1 PRESENTATION SCHEDULING IN DIGITAL CINEMA SYSTEM RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority from U S Provisional patent application entitled Apparatus and Method for Pre sentation Scheduling in a Digital Cinema System Ser No 60 316 921 filed Aug 31 2001 BACKGROUND I Field of Invention The invention generally relates to digital cinema and is more particularly related to scheduling one or a plurality of presentations in a digital cinema system II Description of the Related Art Video compression is a key factor of multimedia An effective digital compression can reduce the cost as well as increase the quality of video displayed over any digital communication One application of the video compression techn2. assigned to the same assignee as the present invention Generally the playlist builder 170 allows users to generate a playlist from one or more programs stored in the storage module 130 In addition the playlist builder 170 may also allow a user to insert a cue or milestone into a playlist The generated playlist s may then be stored in the storage module 130 Alternatively some or all of the playlists may be generated externally Accordingly in some embodiments the theatre manager 110 may receive generated playlist s from an external source for storage in the storage module 130 Once playlist s are generated and or stored the scheduler 180 may allow a user to schedule a single playlist When a user attempts to schedule and or update an assigned playlist the decoding module 140 may verify that the system has resources to present the assigned playlist before presenting the playlist The verification may include but is not limited to checking that each image program each audio program and each Cryptographic key needed to present the playlist in its entirety exist in the storage module 130 If the decoding module 140 determines that a resource is not available the decoding module may reject the schedule change The decoding module 140 may further send a message to the theatre manager 110 indicating the reason for the rejection After the scheduling of a playlist is verified playback control may be performed by the theatre manager
3. Also a user may be cued to control the playback of the next schedule entry Here determining the next schedule entry comprise locating a current schedule entry and deter mining an entry following the current schedule entry to be the next schedule entry and otherwise determining the next schedule entry as the earliest schedule entry whose start time is equal to or greater than a current time In yet another embodiment a decoding system for decod ing programs comprises three states an intermission state a paused state and a running state The decoding system comprises starting presentation of a currently scheduled playlist from the beginning of the playlist when a start command is received if the decoding system is in an intermission state starting presentation of the currently scheduled playlist from approximately the point the playlist was stopped when a start command is received if the decoding system is in a paused state entering the paused state when a stop command is received before completing the presentation of the playlist and entering the intermission state either if a cancel command is received or if the presentation of the playlist is completed The system may comprise a decoding module with a user interface Alternatively the system may comprise a theatre manager having a user interface The user interface may comprise either one or a combination of a visual indicator that signifies that the decoding system is online a v
4. either one or a combination of checking that each image program needed to present each playlist exists checking that each audio program needed to present each playlist exists checking that no security conflict exists checking that no time conflicts are created and checking that there is no resource conflicts The method may further comprise speci fying a presentation start date of each selected playlist specifying a presentation end date of each selected playlist specifying the start time for one day and or replicating the start time across multiple days starting on a presentation start date and ending on a presentation end date if a presentation end date that is later than a presentation start date In yet a further embodiment a method for decoding programs for presentation comprises checking a schedule to determine if there is a schedule entry for presentation the schedule entry being comprised of one or more programs and initiating playback of the schedule entry according to the schedule by appropriately decoding each program of the schedule entry Checking the schedule comprises determin ing a next schedule entry for presentation Initiating playback comprises initiating playback of the next schedule entry according to the time it is scheduled to start Here determining the next schedule entry comprises determining the next schedule entry as the earliest schedule entry whose start time is equal to or greater than a current time
5. necessary decompressed and output respectively to a pro jector 150 and a sound module 160 The projector 150 plays back the image information on a projector and the sound module 160 plays back the audio information on the sound system Therefore the decoding module 140 is configured to prepare contents of each assigned playlist for playback More particularly the theatre manager 110 comprises a scheduler 180 that allows users to schedule one or a plurality US 6 829 033 B2 7 of playlists for presentation at an auditorium module 120 Scheduling involves assigning a playlist to a designated decoding module 140 at a designated time in a particular auditorium module 120 The scheduler 180 may comprise a user interface that displays a list of available playlist from which the user can select a playlist to schedule or assign The name of the playlist currently scheduled or assigned on the decoding module 140 may also be displayed Also although the scheduler 180 shown in FIG 1 is implemented in the theatre manager 110 the scheduler 180 may be implemented separately from the theatre manager 110 In one embodiment the theatre manager 110 may further comprise a playlist builder 170 configured to generate one or more playlists for presentation A playlist may be created by a playlist builder as disclosed in pending U S patent appli cation Ser No 09 708 361 filed on Mar 2 2001 entitled Apparatus and Method for Building a Playlist
6. 2004 U S Patent Old o npeuoo au uo paseg sisijke d 2104 10 Su peubiissy eu Jo uonejuesaid J0Ju02 ozs uonejuesoJg 10 sjsi e d SIO JO BUC ubissy 0 ejnpeuog v ejeJeuec 01S v 9l3 sjsiAe d peubissy eJoy Jo euQ oy uo peseg e npeuog e sje19uec oet 15r eu uo peseg uonejuesaJd JO Sjsi Ae d a10 10 BUC uBissy 0C sysi e d Jo 1s ejdsiq U S Patent Dec 7 2004 Sheet 4 of 8 US 6 829 033 B2 Check Schedule to Determine if there is a Schedule Entry For Presentation Initiate Playback of the Schedule Entry According to the Schedule FIG 6 U S Patent Dec 7 2004 Sheet 5 of 8 US 6 829 033 B2 LEDs PUSH BUTTONS Automatic Mode o Running o PAUSE Paused O FIG 7 Intermission Run Ignore Pause Ignore Cancel Ignore AutoStart f Cancel Processin Complet Running Entry Activate Running Indicator Paused Do Process Platter Run Entry Activate Paused Indicator Exit Deactivate Running Indicator Exit Deactivate Paused Indicator Run Ignore Pause Ignore Cancel Ignore FIG 8 U S Patent Dec 7 2004 Sheet 6 of 8 US 6 829 033 B2 Online o RUN Automatic Mode Running o PAUSE Paused O FIG 9 Online o RUN Automatic Mode Running o Paused O FIG 10 U S Patent Dec 7 2004 Sheet 7 of 8 US 6 829 033 B2 Online RUN Automatic Mode Running o PAUSE Paused 9 FIG 11
7. In still another embodiment a presentation system comprises means for assigning a single playlist for presentation and means for generating a schedule to assign one or more playlists for presentation In the above embodiments a message indicating a change in the schedule may be sent if a change is made in the schedule Also a verification that the digital cinema system has resources to present each assigned playlist can be performed when generating the schedule The verification may be performed by the scheduler or the decoding module Moreover generation of the schedule may comprise desig nating a playlist as a repeating playlist and or designating a playlist as an intermission playlist The intermission playlist may either be assigned and presented between a predeter mined two assigned playlists or be presented between each assigned playlist In a further a method for generating a schedule comprises displaying a list of playlists assigning one or more playlists for presentation based on the list and generating a schedule based on the assigned one or more playlists The method 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 may further comprise verifying that the digital cinema system has resources to present each playlist assigned in the schedule when generating the schedule and rejecting assignment of a playlist in the schedule if the digital cinema does not have the resource Also the method may comprise
8. a schedule to assign one or more playlists for presentation and means for sending a message indicating a change in the schedule if a change is made in the schedule 35 In a digital cinema system a method for generating a schedule comprising 18 displaying a list of playlists assigning one or more playlists for presentation based on the list generating a schedule based on the one or more assigned playlists verifying that the digital cinema system has resources to present each playlist assigned in the schedule when generating the schedule and rejecting assignment of a playlist in the schedule if the digital cinema system does not have the resource 36 The method of claim 35 wherein verifying the resources comprises either one or a combination of checking that each image program needed to present each assigned playlist exists checking that each audio program needed to present each assigned playlist exists checking that no security conflict exists checking that no time conflicts are created and checking that there is no resource conflicts 37 The method of claim 36 further comprising sending a message that indicates a reason for the rejection 38 The method of claim 35 wherein the schedule com prises either one or a combination of a list of assigned playlist identifications IDs times that each assigned play list is scheduled to be presented and ID of a decoding module that is to present each assigned playlist 39 The m
9. a user attempts to cancel a current presentation the theatre manager 110 may requests a confirmation from the user that requires a non trivial affirmative response before executing the Cancel command Requiring the user to click on an OK button may be considered trivial while requiring the user to type in a response such as yes may be considered non trivial The theatre manager 110 may allow a user to abort the Cancel command if there is not affirmative response to the theatre manager Cancel confirmation request This is to reduce the possibility of accidentally canceling a presentation in progress Note that in the Idle state 210 the Stop and Cancel commands are ignored Similarly the Start command is ignored in the Running State 220 and the Stop command is ignored in the Paused state 230 Therefore the scheduler 180 is configured to schedule a playlist and then at a designated time the theatre manager 110 and or optionally the TAS is configured to control the presentation of a single playlist In addition to scheduling a single playlist the scheduler 180 may also allow a user to schedule or assign one or a plurality of playlists for presen tation This may be achieved by creating a schedule that the decoding module 140 checks regularly FIG 3 shows an example of a user interface of the scheduler 180 that allows users to create and or edit a schedule The schedule may comprise a list of playlist identifications I
10. guage and sound format Moreover the image programs on the platter should have the appropriate ratings That is one wants to ensure that an R rated trailer is not displayed with a G rated movie Further cues must be inserted in the proper places and the correct lens needs to be attached to the projector in order for viewing at the proper display aspect ratio However human error is inevitable and all too fre quent An evolution of the film industry is occurring as the industry moves from celluloid film to digitized image and audio programs However theatres are not equipped to process digital programming to create and schedule digital platters SUMMARY Advances in digital technology have led to a distribution concept whereby presentation material is electronically stored in a digitized format Digitized images may be distributed on various storage mediums such as magnetic media or compact optical discs and or transmitted over wired fiber optic wireless or satellite communication sys tems To reduce the data rate requirement for the storage and or transmission of high quality electronic images compression algorithms are being developed For example absolute discrete cosine transform ABSDCT allows significant compression while preserving the quality of image signals ABSDCT is disclosed in U S Pat No 5 021 891 entitled Adaptive Block Size Image Compression Method And System assigned to the assignee of the pres
11. mission playlist Auto Start feature for Manual Mode Changing the mode of a decoding module is accom plished by entering the change mode command at the theatre manager 110 user interface The change mode function is not available via the decoding module 140 user interface When a change mode command is received by a decoding module 140 the decoding module 140 determines the Next Schedule Entry according to its new mode as it does upon initialization i e as if the Current Schedule Entry is unde termined If a decoding module 140 receives the change mode command while it is processing a playlist or Paused it waits until the processing has completed or is cancelled before updating the Next Schedule Entry so as not to interfere with the current presentation changing the mode should have no effect on a presentation in progress As part of the nominal decoding module 140 shutdown procedure the current operating mode of the decoding module 140 is saved in persistent memory This allows the decoding module 140 to come back online in the same operating mode as it was when it last shutdown Regardless of the operational mode the decoding module 140 can be in one of three states Intermission is the state of a decoding module 140 during an Intermission Running is the state of the decoding module 140 when processing a Schedule Entry Paused is the state of the decoding module 140 after the Pause command is received when in Running state
12. no resource conflicts exist i e that presenting the playlist at the specified times will not cause the system to exceed network capacities If a resource conflict exists scheduler 180 may 10 15 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 10 notify the user of the conflict and reject the assignment of the playlist into the schedule Scheduler 180 may verify that no security conflicts exist i e that all required encryption keys are present and that the presentations fall within valid key epochs If a security conflict exists scheduler 180 may notify the user of the conflict and reject the assignment of the playlist into the schedule Scheduler 180 may allow a user to reserve a screen for a specified period of time Auditorium module 120 may be reserved for something other than playlist presentation e g maintenance or special function This is a convenience feature that prevents double booking Before allowing a user to reserve a screen scheduler 180 may verify that no time conflicts are created by adding the reserve to the schedule If a time conflict exists scheduler 180 may notify the user of the conflict and not insert the reserve into the schedule After completing the assignment of playlist s scheduler 180 may allow a user to save the schedule to the storage module 130 Saving a schedule causes the scheduler 180 to send an Update Schedule message to the decoding modules 140 in the theatre subsystem 104 to give notifi
13. 110 Playback control may comprise starting stopping and can celing the scheduled playlist FIG 2 shows the response of the decoding module 140 to the Start Stop and Cancel commands based upon a current playback state of the decoding module 140 Starting from the Idle state 210 the designated decoding module 140 starts playback of the assigned playlist when a Start command is received from the theatre manager 110 In some embodiments the theatre subsystem may further comprises a Theatre Automation System TAS 190 that allows the theatre manager 110 to operate in a TAS mode In TAS mode the starting and stopping of the playback is performed by the TAS More particularly the designated decoding module 140 starts playback of the assigned playlist when a Start command is received from the TAS The TAS allows users to automate the playback of a playlist including the execution of the necessary cue s for control of envi ronmental functions To avoid having multiple points of control user may not be allowed to start or stop playback from the theatre manager 110 when operating in the TAS mode Referring back to FIG 2 when a Start command is received while the decoding module 140 is in the Idle state 210 the decoding module 140 may start the presentation of 10 15 20 25 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 the currently scheduled playlist starting at the beginning of the playlist Stopping playback before the presentation i
14. Ds the time that the playlist is scheduled to be presented the ID of the decoding module that is to present the playlist and other information relevant to pre sentation scheduling Through the schedule the decoding module 140 is informed of what and when to present a playlist FIG 4 shows one embodiment of a process 400 for generating a schedule to assign one or more playlists for presentation in a digital cinema system Generally a list of playlists is displayed block 410 from which one or more playlists can be assigned for presentation block 420 Based on the assigned one or more playlists a schedule is gener US 6 829 033 B2 9 ated The generated schedule may be stored in the storage module 130 and can be updated using the user interface In some embodiments the scheduler 180 may not allow any entity other than a playlist to be scheduled for presen tation Also when scheduling playlist s scheduler 180 may require a user to specify the auditorium module 120 or screen for which the playlist is to be scheduled to specify a presentation start date and or to specify a presentation end date The start date may not be set to be earlier than the date on which the scheduling activity takes place i e a start date cannot be in the past The presentation end date may be the same or a later date as the presentation start date The scheduler 180 may allow a user to enter a single day s presentation start times with up to a pre
15. Edit Intermission playlist Properties Go To Window Help and About Scheduler Here Go To Window allows a user to bring an open GUI window to the forefront of the screen in the event that multiple views are open Therefore a schedule can be generated and updated When a schedule is generated playlist s is are presented based on the schedule FIG 5 shows one embodiment of a procedure 500 for presentation in a digital cinema Generally the procedure 500 comprises generating a sched ule to assign one or more playlists for presentation block 510 and controlling presentation of the assigned one or more playlists based on the schedule block 520 Here each playlist can be presented by the decoding module 140 of a specified auditorium module 120 at a specified date and or a specified time in accordance with the assignment When presenting playlist s based on a schedule the decoding module 140 checks the schedule to determine if there is a schedule entry for presentation as shown in block 610 of FIG 6 Here a schedule entry is comprised of one or more programs The playback of the schedule entry is initiated according to the schedule by appropriately decod ing each program of the schedule entry block 620 That is each program of the schedule entry is retrieved from the storage module 130 and processed by the appropriate audi torium module 120 at the appropriate time according to the schedule Moreover the decoding module 140 may
16. The commands available to the user in each state may vary depending on the mode FIG 8 shows a state transition chart for Automatic Mode Each state represents a Decoding module 140 User Interface state Run Pause and Cancel transition events correspond to inputs entered at the decoding module 140 UI or from the theatre manager UI AutoStart event occurs when the start time of the Next Schedule Entry arrives Transitioning from Running to Intermission occurs when the processing of the Current Schedule Entry completes Here if enablement of the Intermission playlist is provided and activated the decoding module 140 presents playlist s specified as Inter mission playlist without user intervention Note that in FIG 8 a state may optionally have some action s performed each time the state is entered or exited denoted respectively as entry condition J action and exit condition J action where action describes the action taken A state may optionally have an activity that is performed while in the state denoted by do condition J activity where activity describes the activity performed Each entry do and exit statement may optionally have a condition associated with it contained within square brackets and The condition is a Boolean expression that causes the transition and associated action to occur only if the expres sion evaluates to true A state may contain multiple entry do and exit actions A s
17. a United States Patent Hose et al US006829033B2 US 6 829 033 B2 Dec 7 2004 10 Patent No 45 Date of Patent 54 75 73 21 22 65 60 51 52 58 PRESENTATION SCHEDULING IN DIGITAL CINEMA SYSTEM Inventors Jesse Hose Carlsbad CA US Michael Mitrani San Diego CA US Roger Olmstead Carlsbad CA US Assignee QUALCOMM Incorporated San Diego CA US Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 0 days Appl No 10 233 257 Filed Aug 30 2002 Prior Publication Data US 2003 0048418 A1 Mar 13 2003 Related U S Application Data Provisional application No 60 316 921 filed on Aug 31 2001 Int CI oen G03B 19 18 HO4N 7 18 H04N 7 173 USCh inesse 352 40 725 78 725 116 Field of Search 725 74 78 86 725 93 116 352 40 244 Central Facility Hub Theatre Subsystem Theatre Manager Playlist Builder Auditorium Module s _ 5 Decoding Module 56 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 6 141 530 A 10 2000 Rabowsky 725 116 6 384 893 B1 5 2002 Mercs et al 352 133 2002 0095679 A1 7 2002 Bonini 725 74 2002 0156912 A1 10 2002 Hurst et al 709 236 cited by examiner Primary Examiner Rodney Fuller Assistant Examiner Arthur A Smith 74 Attorney Agent
18. ack or audio Examples of a moving picture includes but is not limited to a full or portion of motion picture trailers a movie a video clip a commercial a drama or a combination thereof The term storage medium refers to any one or more means for storing comprising high capacity data storage devices such as a digital versatile disk DVD or a removable hard drive RHD The terms encryption refers to any means of processing digital data streams of various sources using any of a number of cryptographic techniques to scramble cover or directly encrypt digital data streams using sequences generated using secret digital values keys in such a way that it is very difficult to recover the original data sequence without knowledge of the secret key values Furthermore it is noted that the invention may be described as a process which is depicted as a flowchart a flow diagram a structure diagram or a block diagram 10 15 20 25 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently In addition the order of the operations may be re arranged A process is terminated when its operations are completed A process may correspond to a method a function a procedure a subroutine a subprogram etc When a process corresponds to a function its termina tion corresponds to a return of the functi
19. ailers advertisements and other audio image cinema quality programs are delivered to theatres throughout the world using digital technology Authorized theatres receive the digitized programs and store them typically while still compressed At each showing the digitized information is retrieved via a local area network from the storage medium then is decrypted if necessary decompressed and displayed using cinema quality elec tronic projectors featuring high quality digital sound In one embodiment a presentation system comprises a theatre manager configured to control presentation and a scheduler configured to allow assignment of one playlist for presentation The scheduler is also configured to allow assignment of one or more playlists for presentation by generating a schedule The scheduler may be implemented in the theatre manager The presentation system may further comprise a decoding module configured to prepare contents of each assigned playlist for playback The decoding module may check the schedule and control playback of the contents of each playlist based on the schedule Alternatively the decoding modules may check the schedule and cue a user to control playback of the contents of each assigned playlist In another embodiment a method for presentation com prises generating a schedule to assign one or more playlists for presentation and controlling presentation of the assigned one or more playlists based on the schedule
20. cations of the schedule change or update The scheduler 180 sends to the auditorium 120 a message indicating a change or update in the schedule if a change or update is made in the schedule Scheduler 180 may allow a user to exit the scheduler 180 application User may save or discard unsaved changes prior to exiting the application Scheduler 180 may allow a user to undo the last operation if there is an operation to undo One or more schedule entries may be selected Selecting one or more entries may cause the entry or entries to be highlighted giving visual con firmation of the selection Selecting multiple schedule entries may be allowed when the entries selected form a contiguous block of entries Scheduler 180 may allow a user to delete a selected entry or entries This removes the selected entries from the schedule The delete operation may be available only when an entry or entries is selected Scheduler 180 may allow a user to get scheduler appli cation help via an online user manual Scheduler 180 may allow a user to display Scheduler application version and copyright information online The user interface of the scheduler 180 may be a GUI that provides two types of views a theatre view and a screen view The theatre view as shown in FIG 3 displays the schedule for all of the screens in the theatre for a given day and allows a user to display the entire theatre s schedule on a day by day basis The user can select the date o
21. determined number e g 8 of separate presentation start times per day If a user has specified a presentation end date that is later than the presentation start date i e user is scheduling for multiple days at once the user has only to specify the start time for a single day and scheduler 180 may replicate the start times across each of the days starting on the presentation start date and ending on the presentation end date Scheduler 180 may allow a user to specify any special audio properties to be used for the presentations being scheduled Moreover scheduler 180 may allow a user to designate the playlist as a repeating playlist A playlist designated as a repeating playlist exhibits carousel like behavior during presentation A repeating playlist is scheduled for a specified period of time called the repeat duration If during the presentation of a repeating playlist the presentation of the last program of the playlist completes before the repeat duration has elapsed the decoding module continues the presentation starting over at the beginning of the playlist When the repeat duration elapses the decoding module 140 ceases presentation of the playlist immediately even though the end of the program may not have been reached If a user designates a playlist as a repeating playlist scheduler 180 may require the user to enter the associated repeat duration Scheduler 180 may on a per screen basis allow a user to specify a playlist a
22. ed Determining the Next Schedule Entry is then mode dependent In Automatic Mode the decoding module determines the Next Schedule Entry as the earliest Schedule Entry whose start time is equal to or greater than a current time In Manual Mode the current schedule entry is located in the schedule and the schedule 10 15 20 25 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 12 entry immediately following the current schedule entry is determined to be the Next Schedule Entry If the Current Schedule Entry is Undetermined e g upon decoding mod ule 140 initialization the Next Schedule Entry is determined in the same manner as in Automatic Mode Also in automatic mode playback of the Next Schedule Entry is initiated by the decoding module 140 according to the time it is scheduled to start When the decoding module 140 determines its Next Schedule Entry it checks to see if the start time is equal to the current time If the start time is equal to the current time the decoding module 140 starts playback of the Next Schedule Entry otherwise the decod ing module 140 waits until the specified start time to start playback When processing begins on the Next Schedule Entry the Next Schedule Entry becomes the Current Sched ule Entry When playback of the Current Schedule Entry completes the decoding module 140 determines the Next Schedule Entry and initiates the playback accordingly In manual mode playback of the Next Schedule En
23. ending on a presentation end date if a presentation end date that is later than a presentation start date 51 The scheduling system of claim 45 further compris ing means for designating a playlist as a repeating playlist and means for assigning the repeating playlist in the schedule 52 The scheduling system of claim 45 further compris ing means for designating a playlist as an intermission play list 53 The scheduling system of claim 52 further compris ing means for assigning the intermission playlist in the sched ule and means for presenting the intermission playlist between each assigned playlist in the schedule 54 In a digital cinema system a method for decoding programs for playback comprising checking a schedule to determine if there is a schedule entry for presentation the schedule entry being com prised of one or more programs and initiating playback of the schedule entry according to the schedule by appropriately decoding each program of the schedule entry 55 The method of claim 54 wherein checking the sched ule comprises determining a next schedule entry for presentation 56 The method of claim 55 wherein initiating playback comprises initiating playback of the next schedule entry according to the time it is scheduled to start 57 The method of claim 56 wherein determining the next schedule entry comprises determining an earliest schedule entry whose start time is equal t
24. ent invention and incorporated herein by reference DCT techniques are also disclosed in U S Pat No 5 107 345 entitled Adaptive Block Size Image Compression Method And System assigned to the assignee of the present invention Further the use of the ABSDCT technique in combination with a Dis US 6 829 033 B2 3 crete Quadtree Transform technique is discussed in U S Pat No 5 452 104 entitled Adaptive Block Size Image Com pression Method And System also assigned to the assignee of the present invention Technologies such as ABSDCT offer the possibility of a digital cinema system Generally defined digital cinema refers to the electronic distribution and display of high quality film programming which has been converted to a digital electronic representation for storage transmission and display purposes A digital cinema system would over come many of the limitations of the current film distribution process A digital system would not be subject to the quality degradation over time experienced by celluloid film Further a digital system may eliminate the theft and illegal duplication of films by allowing implementation of security measures within the digital system itself Moreover distri bution of film information using a digital electronic format actually increases the potential for rapid low cost duplica tion without quality degradation With the advent of digital cinema systems full length motion pictures tr
25. es A platter may consist of two or more large discs of approximately four or five feet in diameter that are stacked vertically about one to two feet apart The discs are large enough to hold one large spool of film which the theatre operator assembles by splicing together all of the lengths of film from the different reels Splicing is the process of cutting the end of one strip of film so that it carefully matches up to the beginning of the next strip of film and then taping the strips together This allows the theatre operator to show the entire presentation without changeovers Therefore a theatre operator builds a platter by sequencing reels of celluloid film in the order in which it is to be presented and physically splicing together the film to be played by the projector theatre operator may also insert cues and milestones onto celluloid film by physically attach ing trigger strips onto the film Cues may be attached in between programming or within a particular feature or trailer Currently a theatre operator controls auditorium environment through the use of theatre automation systems 10 15 25 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 Theatre automation systems control such functions as turn ing lights on and off opening and closing curtains and changing the projector lens Theatre automation systems control these functions by reading a trigger strip physically placed onto the film as the film passes throu
26. esent each playlist assigned in the sched ule when generating the schedule and 65 means for rejecting assignment of a playlist in the sched ule if the digital cinema system does not have the resource US 6 829 033 B2 19 46 The scheduling system of claim 45 wherein the means for verifying the resources comprises either one or a com bination of means for checking that each image program needed to present each assigned playlist exists means for checking that each audio program needed to present each assigned playlist exists means for checking that no security conflict exists means for checking that no time conflicts are created and means for checking that there is no resource conflicts 47 The scheduling system of claim 45 further compris ing means for sending a message that indicates a reason for the rejection 48 The scheduling system of claim 45 further compris ing either one or a combination of means for specifying an auditorium module for which each playlist is to be assigned means for specifying a presentation start date of each selected playlist and means for specifying a presentation end date of each selected playlist 49 The scheduling system of claim 48 further compris ing means for specifying the start time for one day 50 The scheduling system of claim 49 further compris ing means for replicating the start time across multiple days starting on a presentation start date and
27. ethod of claim 35 further comprising either one 39 Or combination of specifying an auditorium module for which each playlist is to be assigned specifying a presentation start date of each assigned playlist and specifying a presentation end date of each assigned play list 40 The method of claim 39 further comprising specifying the start time for one day 41 The method of claim 40 further comprising replicating the start time across multiple days starting on a presentation start date and ending on a presentation end date if a presentation end date that is later than a presentation start date 42 The method of claim 35 further comprising designating a playlist as a repeating playlist and assigning the repeating playlist in the schedule 43 The method of claim 35 further comprising designating a playlist as an intermission playlist 44 The method of claim 43 further comprising either one of assigning the intermission playlist in the schedule or presenting the intermission playlist between each assigned playlist in the schedule 45 In a digital cinema system a scheduling system for generating a schedule comprising means for displaying a list of playlists means for assigning one or more playlists for presentation based on the list means for generating a schedule based on the selected one 20 25 35 40 45 50 60 or more playlists means for verifying that the digital cinema system has resources to pr
28. f the schedule to be display with the entire theatre schedule being available in this manner one day at a time Scrolling may be necessary to examine all the data for a given day as it may be too large to fit into a GUI window at one time The Theatre view may be set as the default view that is displayed when scheduler 180 is started The screen view shows the schedule for a given auditorium module 120 and allows a user to display a single screen s schedule across multiple days The screen view spans the given decoding module 140 s entire schedule although scrolling may be necessary to examine all parts of the schedule as it may be too large to fit into a GUI window at one time Scheduler 180 may allow no more than one window containing the Theatre view to be open at any one time Scheduler 180 may allow no more than one window con taining the Screen view for each screen in the theatre to be open at any time Multiple screen views may be open at once as long as they are for different auditorium modules Sched uler 180 may allow a user to select a window from a list of US 6 829 033 B2 11 open windows belonging to the scheduler application in order to bring the selected window to the forefront of the application The scheduler 180 GUI may allow users to enter various commands to create edit and or save a schedule Commands may include but is not limited to Undo Select Delete Scheduled playlist Schedule Playlist Reserve Screen
29. g that the digital cinema system has resources to present each assigned playlist when generating the schedule 21 The method of claim 20 wherein generating the schedule comprises designating a playlist as a repeating playlist 22 The method of claim 20 wherein generating the schedule comprises designating a playlist as an intermission playlist 23 The method of claim 22 further comprising either one 50 55 60 of assigning and presenting the intermission playlist between a predetermined two assigned playlists or presenting the intermission playlist between each 65 assigned playlist 24 The method of claim 20 wherein generating the schedule comprises US 6 829 033 B2 17 assigning a predetermined playlist for at least two pre sentations such that a second presentation of the pre determined playlist begins before the end of a first presentation 25 The method of claim 20 wherein generating the schedule comprises reserving an auditorium module for a specified period of time 26 In a digital cinema system a method for presentation comprising generating a schedule to assign one or more playlists for presentation controlling presentation of the assigned one or more playlists based on the schedule and sending a message indicating a change in the schedule if a change is made in the schedule 27 In a digital cinema system a presentation system comprising means for assigning a single playlist for presenta
30. gh a reader connected to the theatre automation system Trigger strips are typically metallic or optical pieces of tape adhered onto the film When the tape passes under the reader an electrical signal is output to the theatre automation system Along with reels of films comprising features and trailers the theatre operator receives one or more soundtracks to be played with each film Soundtracks come in a variety of languages and sound formats Sound formats such as stereo 7 1 or 5 1 refer to the number of channels the sound format requires Because sound systems vary greatly from theatre to theatre the studio or distributor typically ship multiple soundtracks for a given film Moreover trailers and features each have associated ratings which define the appropriateness of the material for a given audience In the United States ratings are labeled to motion pictures and trailers by the Motion Picture Associa tion of America MPAA However different jurisdictions have different ratings systems and not all jurisdictions are consistent as to the rating level of a given program Accordingly a theatre operator in a given jurisdiction need be conscious of the types of programs he plans to display together Therefore when a theatre operator is building a platter the operator must be careful to ensure that the platter is created accurately For example each image program should have the appropriate soundtrack loaded in terms of lan
31. illed in the art What is claimed is 1 In a digital cinema system having at least one storage module and at least one auditorium module a presentation system comprising a theatre manager configured to control presentation and a scheduler configured to allow assignment of one playlist for presentation the scheduler further configured to allow assignment of one or more playlists for presen tation by generating a schedule and configured to verify that the system has resources to present contents of each assigned playlist when generating the schedule 2 The presentation system of claim 1 wherein the sched uler is implemented in the theatre manager 3 The presentation system of claim 1 wherein the sched uler is configured to store the schedule in the storage module 4 The presentation system of claim 1 wherein the storage module is configured to store one or more programs and wherein the presentation system further comprises a playlist builder coupled to the scheduler the playlist builder configured to generate at least one playlist based on the programs stored in the storage module 5 The presentation system of claim 4 wherein the playlist builder is configured to store the playlist in the storage module 6 The presentation system of claim 1 further comprising a decoding module configured to prepare contents of each assigned playlist for playback 7 The presentation system of claim 6 wherein the decod ing module i
32. ique is in the motion picture industry In the traditional motion picture industry theatre opera tors receive reels of celluloid film from a studio or through a distributor for eventual presentation in a theatre audito rium The reels of film include the feature program a full length motion picture and a plurality of previews and other promotional material often referred to as trailers The theatre operator may also be required or choose to present some of its own trailers often comprising of local promo tional and advertising material A two hour motion picture plus five minutes of trailers for example generates approxi mately 11 250 feet of celluloid film As a result theatre operators may receive a two hour movie that is divided into five or six reels One way to present the multiple reels of film is to use two projectors One projector is threaded with the first reel and the other projector with the second reel The theatre operator starts the film on the first projector At an appropriate time for a changeover the theatre operator starts the second projector and stops the first projector While the second reel is rolling the theatre operator removes the first reel and threads a third reel on the first projector This swapping continues throughout the presentation Therefore the theatre operator must monitor each presentation in each auditorium for the changeovers Alternatively a device called a platter is also used in theatr
33. isual indicator that signifies that the decoding system is currently processing a playlist and a visual indicator that signifies that the decoding system is in the paused state The user interface may also comprise either one or a combination of means for receiving the start command means for receiving the pause command and means for receiving the cancel command BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Various embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements wherein US 6 829 033 B2 5 FIG 1 shows an example of a digital cinema system FIG 2 shows the decoding module behavior in response to various commands FIG 3 shows an example view for scheduling playlists FIG 4 shows an embodiment of a process for generating a schedule FIG 5 shows an embodiment of a process for presentation in a digital cinema system FIG 6 shows an embodiment of a process for decoding programs for presentation in a digital cinema system FIG 7 shows an example of a decoding module user interface FIG 8 shows the decoding module user interface transi tion diagram for automatic mode FIGS 9 11 show various the decoding module user interface in various states when in automatic mode FIG 12 shows the decoding module user interface tran sition diagram for manual mode and FIGS 13 15 show various the decoding module user interface in various states whe
34. module 140 user interface may have a Run button that allows a user to tell the decoding module 140 to start processing the Next Schedule Entry or to resume processing the Current Schedule Entry or Intermis sion playlist if the processing has been paused The decoding module 140 user interface may have a Pause button that allows a user to pause the processing of the Current Sched ule Entry or Intermission playlist The decoding module 140 user interface may have a Cancel button that allows a user to cancel the processing of the Current Schedule Entry Note that the Run Pause and Cancel buttons may be any other input means such as a switch dial or a touch panel The theatre manager 110 user interface UI provides remote access to some or all of the playback control func tionality that is available from the decoding module 140 user interface UI More particularly the theatre manager 110 UI may have one or a combination of the Online indicator the Running indicator the Paused indicator input to Run input to Pause and input to Cancel When a playback control related command is entered at the theatre manager 110 the theatre manager 110 sends a message to the indicated US 6 829 033 B2 13 decoding module 140 and the decoding module 140 carries out the appropriate behavior In addition the theatre man ager 110 user interface provides functionality to change the mode of the decoding module 140 and to enable the Inter
35. n in manual mode DETAILED DESCRIPTION Generally the disclosed embodiments allow a user such as theatre operator to schedule presentations in a digital cinema system In one embodiment a user can schedule a presentation and control the playback of the presentation In another embodiment a user can assign one or more presen tations More particularly a schedule can be generated to assign one or more presentations Digital cinema may comprise the electronic generation compression encryption and storage of audio visual programming such as motion pictures in theatre systems theatres theatre complexes and or other presentation sys tems Accordingly the invention is applicable to the presen tation of image and audio information in a variety of locations such as theatre or theatre complex outdoor amphitheatres drive in complexes civic auditoriums schools and specialty restaurants For purposes of the explanation the invention will be described with reference to a theatre or theatre complex However those skilled in the art will readily understand that the invention may be applied to other types of locations systems and fields Also as disclosed hereafter the term playlist refers to a list of one or more programs for display in theatres cinemas televisions and or any other presentation system and or locations The term program refers to any digital data relating to an image moving picture and or associated soundtr
36. nfigured to generate the schedule by display ing a list of playlists receiving selection of one or more playlists for presentation and generating the schedule based on the selected one or more playlist 16 The presentation system of claim 15 wherein the scheduler comprises a user interface configured to receive selection of one or more playlists for presentation 17 The presentation system of claim 16 wherein the user interface is one of a graphical user interface GUI a liquid crystal display soft keys or video graphic array panel 18 The presentation system of claim 17 wherein the GUI is configured to provide either one or both a theatre view and screen view 19 In a digital cinema system having at least one storage module and at least one auditorium module a presentation system comprising a theatre manager configured to control presentation and a scheduler configured to allow assignment of one playlist for presentation the scheduler further configured to Un 10 um 20 25 Ww o 35 a0 store one or more playlists for presentation by gener ating a schedule and configured to send a message indicating a change in the schedule if a change is made in the schedule Z 20 In a digital cinema system a method for presentation comprising generating a schedule to assign one or more playlists for presentation controlling presentation of the assigned one or more playlists based on the schedule and verifyin
37. ng of the Current Schedule Entry completes Here the decoding module 140 presents playlist s specified as Intermission playlist without user intervention When the decoding module 140 is in Manual Mode the Automatic Mode Indicator on the decoding module 140 user interface is deactivated FIG 11 shows the decoding module 140 user interface for the Intermission State in Manual Mode In this state there would be nothing onscreen The projector 150 may be dowsed The available function is RUN which causes the decoding module 140 to begin processing the Next Schedule Entry FIG 13 shows the decoding module 140 user interface for the Running State in Manual Mode In this state the decoding module 140 is presenting scheduled playlist Current Schedule Entry When presentation is complete next decoding module 140 UI state is either Intermission or Running if the Intermission playlist is activated and Inter mission playlist Auto Start is enabled The available function is PAUSE which causes decoding module 140 to pause the presentation FIG 14 shows the decoding module 140 user interface for the Paused State in Manual Mode In this state there would be nothing onscreen The projector 150 may be dowsed The available functions are RUN and CANCEL RUN command causes decoding module 140 to resume presentation where US 6 829 033 B2 15 it left off CANCEL causes decoding module 140 to abort processing of Current Schedule Entry Therefore a
38. ning state FIG 10 shows the decoding module 140 user interface for the Running State in Automatic Mode In this state the decoding module 140 is presenting a scheduled playlist Current Schedule Entry When presentation is complete the next is either Intermission or Running depending upon whether the Intermission playlist is activated or now is the start time of the Next Schedule Entry The available function is PAUSE which causes decoding module 140 to pause the presentation FIG 11 shows the decoding module 140 user interface for the Paused State in Automatic Mode In this state there also would be nothing onscreen For example the projector 150 may be dowsed The available functions are RUN and Cancel The Run command causes the decoding module 140 to resume presentation where it left off The CANCEL command causes decoding module 140 to abort processing of Current Schedule Entry FIG 12 shows the state transition chart for Manual Mode Each state represents a Decoding module 140 User Interface state Run Pause and Cancel transition events correspond to buttons being pushed at the decoding module 140 UI or from the theatre manager UI Enablement of Intermission playlist can also be provided in Manual Mode If activated the Intermission playlist AutoStart event occurs when Auto Start feature of the Intermission playlist is enabled from the theatre manager GUI Transitioning from Running to Inter mission occurs when the processi
39. o or greater than a current time and determining the earliest schedule entry as the next sched ule entry 5 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 20 58 The method of claim 55 further comprising cueing a user to control the playback of the next schedule entry 59 The method of claim 58 wherein determining the next schedule entry comprises locating a current schedule entry and determining an entry following the current schedule entry to be the next schedule entry and otherwise determining the next schedule entry as the earliest sched ule entry whose start time is equal to or greater than a current time 60 In a digital cinema system a decoding system for decoding programs comprising starting presentation of a currently scheduled playlist from the beginning of the playlist when a start com mand is received if the decoding system is in an intermission state starting presentation of the currently scheduled playlist from approximately the point the playlist was stopped when a start command is received if the decoding system is in a paused state entering the paused state when a stop command is received before completing the presentation of the playlist and entering the intermission state either if a cancel command is received or if the presentation of the playlist is completed 61 The system of claim 60 wherein the decoding system comprises a user interface 62 The system of claim 61
40. on to the calling function or the main function One embodiment of a theatre complex implementing a digital cinema system 100 is illustrated in FIG 1 Digital cinema system 100 comprises two main systems at least one central facility or hub 102 and at least one presentation or theatre subsystem 104 The hub 102 and the theatre sub system 104 may be of a similar design to that of pending U S patent application Ser No 09 075 152 filed on May 8 1998 entitled Apparatus and Method for Distribution of High Quality Image and Audio Programs to Remote Locations and pending U S patent application Ser No 09 564 174 filed May 3 2000 entitled Apparatus and Method for Encoding and Storage of Digital Image and Audio Signals and pending U S patent application Ser No 09 563 880 filed May 3 2000 entitled Apparatus and Method for Decoding Digital Image and Audio Signals all assigned to the same assignee as the present invention In the hub 102 a program is either generated or received from an external source The program or digital information is then compressed and may be encrypted such that only specific locations for example theatres are authorized to show specific programs The compressed and optionally encrypted program is distributed to the theatre subsystem 104 Here the compressed information may be physically transported using a storage medium Alternatively the com pressed information or portions thereof may be tran
41. operate in one of two modes automatic and manual In Automatic Mode playback may be initiated without user intervention based on a schedule This may be accomplished with no user inter vention User intervention is allowed to cancel or resume playback if any event interrupts the playback of a presen tation In Manual Mode the playlist designated by the schedule may be cued for playback The playback may then begin after a user enters a start command from the theatre manager 110 user interface The operating mode of the decoding module 140 may be a part of the saved state when a decoding module 140 shuts down so that the next time the decoding module is brought online it will come up in the same operating mode as its last saved state If the operating mode cannot be determined from its last saved state the default may be set to the Automatic Mode For purposes of explanation a Schedule Entry refers to any scheduled playlist in the schedule A Current Schedule Entry refers to the playlist that is currently being presented A Next Schedule Entry refers to the playlist that a decod ing module 140 will playback after the Current Schedule Entry Therefore in order for a decoding module 140 to know what Schedule Entry to process or playback the decoding module 140 determines the Next Schedule Entry In order to determine the Next Schedule Entry upon initialization the Current Schedule Entry is set to indicate that it is undetermin
42. or Firm Philip R Wadsworth Sandip S Minhas Jae Hee Choi 57 ABSTRACT Embodiments disclosed allow assigning programs for pre sentation in a digital cinema system In one embodiment a scheduler 180 is implemented to generate a schedule in accordance to which decoding modules 140 control play back of data for presentation in the digital cinema systems The decoding module 140 may operate in an automatic mode and or manual mode In automatic mode the decoding module 140 controls playback based on the schedule with out user intervention In manual mode the decoding module 140 cues the user at the appropriate times to control play back based on the schedule 68 Claims 8 Drawing Sheets 104 190 se es Scheduler 130 Storage Module 120 16 0 Q US 6 829 033 B2 Sheet 1 of 8 Dec 7 2004 U S Patent SVL 061 te E b Old ainpow Opt 0S4 sjanpo uinuojipny ogl ejnpoyy e amp eoj5 oel aping qnH jstjAe d yyoe J eue Jajnpayos Seats Jabeueyy ajeau uejs sqns ejeeu YOL U S Patent Dec 7 2004 Sheet 2 of 8 US 6 829 033 B2 Idle Stop Ignore Cancel Ignore Processing Completed or Cancel Running Paused Start lgnore Stop Ignore FIG 2 Playlist Scheduler File Edit View Window Help Theatre View LAYLIST 2 PLAYLIST 2 PLAYLIST 3 US 6 829 033 B2 Sheet 3 of 8 Dec 7
43. r receiving the start command means for receiving the pause command and means for receiving the cancel command
44. s complete may cause the decoding module 140 to stop the presentation remember where in the presentation it was stopped and or dowse the projector 150 Here the stopping of the playback may cause events other than dowsing of the projector 150 Starting playback after it has been stopped during a presentation may cause the presentation to continue at the point it was stopped or as near as possible prior to that point to allow for resynchronization of the audio and image programs Therefore a Stop command received in the Run ning state 220 causes the decoding module 140 to enter a Paused state 230 wherein the decoding module 140 may save the information necessary to allow the decoding mod ule 140 to restart the presentation at the point that it was stopped When a Start command is received while the decoding module 140 is in the Paused state 230 the decod ing module 140 may restart the presentation at the point in was stopped or as near as possible prior to that point to allow for resynchronization of audio and image programs Canceling playback is done from the theatre manager 110 regardless of the mode Canceling a presentation in the Running state 220 or the Paused state 230 has the same result in that the decoding module 140 does not remember where it was stopped For example the decoding module 140 may reset the presentation progress state such that the next time playback is started the playlist will start from the beginning When
45. s an intermission playlist for presentation during an intermission Users may add properties including the ID of the playlist to be used as the intermission playlist A repeating playlist may be specified as an intermission playlist The intermission playlist can then be scheduled or assigned in the appropriate time slots or between two assigned playlists Alternatively the scheduler 180 may on per screen basis allow a user to enable or disable the intermission playlist behavior If the intermission playlist is enabled the intermission playlist would be presented between each assigned playlists without user intervention Furthermore when assigning a playlist into the schedule scheduler 180 may verify that the system has resources to present each assigned playlist The scheduler 180 may verify that no time conflicts are created by adding the playlist to the schedule i e that no two presentations are scheduled during the same time period for a given decoding module 140 If there is a time conflict scheduler 180 may notify the user of the conflict and reject the assignment of the playlist into the schedule Also scheduler 180 may verify that the programs specified in the playlist are present in the storage module 130 If scheduler 180 cannot find programs specified in the playlist scheduler 180 may notify the user of the missing file s and reject the assignment of the playlist into the schedule Furthermore scheduler 180 may verify that
46. s configured to verify that the presentation system has resources to present the contents of each assigned playlist 8 The presentation system of claim 6 wherein the decod ing module is configured to check the schedule and control playback of each assigned playlist based on the schedule 9 The presentation system of claim 6 wherein the decod ing modules is configured to check the schedule and cue a user to control playback of each assigned playlist 16 10 The presentation system of claim 1 wherein the scheduler is configured to designate a playlist as a repeating playlist 11 The presentation system of claim 1 wherein the scheduler is configured to designate a playlist as an inter mission playlist 12 The presentation system of claim 11 wherein the scheduler is configured to enable or disable the intermission playlist and wherein the intermission playlist is presented between each assigned playlist if the intermission playlist is enabled 13 The presentation system of claim 1 wherein the scheduler is configured to assign a predetermined playlist for at least two presentations such that one presentation the 5 predetermined playlist initiates before the completion of another presentation of the predetermined playlist 14 The presentation system of claim 1 wherein the scheduler is configured to reserve the auditorium module for a specified period of time 15 The presentation system of claim 1 wherein the scheduler is co
47. single playlist or a schedule comprising of one or more playlist s can be scheduled or assigned for presentation However the foregoing embodiments are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the invention For example although FIG 1 shows the storage module 130 as separately implemented in the theatre sub system 104 each auditorium module 120 may be imple mented with a storage module 130 Also in theatre systems having multiple auditoriums each auditorium module may process and present a different playlist from other audito rium modules or one or more auditorium modules may simultaneously process and present the same playlist That is the scheduler may assign a predetermined playlist for at least two presentations such that one presentation of the predetermined playlist begins before the end of the other presentation Moreover while a theatre complex has a theatre manager in context of other presentation systems a theatre manager may be any module capable of implementing a scheduler and optionally a playlist builder Similarly in context of other presentations an auditorium module may be any module capable of processing and presenting a playlist Accordingly the present teachings can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses The description of the invention is intended to be illustrative and not to limit the scope of the claims Many alternatives modifications and variations will be apparent to those sk
48. smitted to a storage module 130 using any wireless and or wired transmission methods The wireless and or wired transmis sion of the information compressed allows real time delivery and playback of presentations in the theatre subsystem 104 The theatre subsystem 104 may comprise a theatre man ager 110 at least one auditorium module 120 and the storage module 130 The storage module 130 may store one or more programs and one or more playlists A playlist is a list comprising at least one or a combination of presentation entries or programs such as for example advertisement s preview s feature presentation s trailer s and cue s The auditorium module 120 is configured to present a playlist from the storage module 130 The theatre manager 110 is configured to assign a playlist for presentation in the audi torium module 120 In one embodiment the theatre manager 110 assigns a playlist from the playlists stored in the storage module 130 The auditorium module 120 may comprise a decoding module 140 a projector 150 and a sound module 160 When an assigned playlist is to be presented in the auditorium module 120 the decoding module 140 receives the com pressed information or program s of the playlist from the storage module 130 and process the compressed information for playback The decoding module 140 prepares the com pressed information to a predetermined sequence size and data rate The compressed information is then decrypted if
49. tate may also process certain events that cause action to be taken without causing a transition to another state denoted by event condition action where event is the name of the event condition is a Boolean expression that causes the action to occur only if the expression evaluates to true and action is the action taken when the event is received Actions are associated with transitions occur quickly and cannot be interrupted Activities are associated with states can take a while to perform and can be inter rupted If an entry do exit or event designation is explicitly 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 14 specified for a state then the state has no associated action or activity for the unspecified designation Transitions consist of an event and optionally a condition and or an action When the decoding module 140 is in Automatic Mode the Automatic Mode Indicator on the decoding module 140 user interface is activated FIG 9 shows the decoding module 140 user interface for the Intermission State in Automatic Mode In this state there would be nothing onscreen For example the projector 150 may be dowsed Also there is no available functions for Idle state in Automatic Mode Next Schedule Entry cannot be started manually When start time of Next Schedule Entry arrives the decoding module 140 starts processing the Next Schedule Entry Decoding module 140 user interface enters a Run
50. tion means for generating a schedule to assign one or more playlists for presentation and means for verifying that the system has resources to present each assigned playlist before presenting each assigned playlist 28 The presentation system of claim 27 further compris ing means for controlling presentation of each assigned play list 29 The presentation system of claim 28 wherein the means for controlling presentation comprises means for checking the schedule and means for controlling playback of contents of the assigned playlist based on the schedule 30 The presentation system of claim 28 wherein the means for controlling presentation comprises means for checking the schedule and means for cueing a user to control playback of contents of the assigned playlist 31 The presentation system of claim 27 further compris ing means for designating one of the stored playlist as a repeating playlist 32 The presentation system of claim 27 further compris ing means for designating one of the stored playlist as an intermission playlist 33 The presentation system of claim 32 further compris ing means for enabling or disabling the intermission playlist and means for presenting the intermission playlist between each assigned playlist if the intermission playlist is enabled 34 In a digital cinema system a presentation system comprising means for assigning a single playlist for presentations means for generating
51. try is initiated by a Start Resume command from decoding mod ule 140 or the theatre manager 110 user interface When the Start Resume command is received by the decoding module 140 the Next Schedule Entry becomes the Current Schedule Entry and playback begins When playback of the Current Schedule Entry completes the decoding module 140 deter mines the Next Schedule Entry and waits for the Start Resume command to initiate playback To allow a user to enter the Start Resume command the decoding module 140 may also comprise a user interface The decoding module 140 user interface may comprise one or more visual indicators and or buttons The decoding module 140 user interface may be implemented by GUI liquid crystal display LCD soft keys and or video graphic array VGA panels FIG 7 shows an example of the decoding module 140 user interface The decoding module 140 user interface may have a visual Online indicator that when activated signifies the decoding module 140 is online and ready for normal opera tion The decoding module 140 user interface may have a visual Running indicator that when activated signifies the decoding module 140 is currently processing the Current Schedule Entry or Intermission playlist The decoding mod ule 140 user interface may have a visual Paused indicator that when activated signifies the processing of the Current Schedule Entry or Intermission playlist has been paused The decoding
52. wherein the user interface is one of a graphical user interface GUI a liquid crystal display soft keys or video graphic array panel 63 The system of claim 61 wherein the user interface comprises either one or a combination of a visual indicator that signifies that the decoding system is online a visual indicator that signifies that the decoding system is currently processing a playlist and a visual indicator that signifies that the decoding system is in the paused state 64 The system of claim 61 wherein the user interface comprises either one or a combination of means for receiving the start command means for receiving the pause command and means for receiving the cancel command 65 The system of claim 60 further comprising a theatre manager wherein the theatre manager comprises a user interface 66 The system of claim 65 wherein the user interface is one of a graphical user interface GUI a liquid crystal display soft keys or video graphic array panel 67 The system of claim 65 wherein the user interface comprises either one or a combination of a visual indicator that signifies that the decoding system is online a visual indicator that signifies that the decoding system is currently processing a playlist and a visual indicator that signifies that the decoding system is in the paused state 68 The system of claim 65 wherein the user interface comprises either one or a combination of means fo
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