AU2009212931A1 - Method for indicating video viewing history - Google Patents

Description

S&F Ref: 916834 AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT Name and Address Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, of 30-2, Shimomaruko 3 of Applicant: chome, Ohta-ku, Tokyo, 146, Japan Actual Inventor(s): Jonathan Anthony Duhig, I-Jan Eric Wang Address for Service: Spruson & Ferguson St Martins Tower Level 35 31 Market Street Sydney NSW 2000 (CCN 3710000177) Invention Title: Method for indicating video viewing history The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 5845c(2276953_1) - 1 METHOD FOR INDICATING VIDEO VIEWING HISTORY Technical Field of Invention The current invention relates to visually browsing a collection of videos displayed as thumbnails and, in particular, to displaying information relating to the viewing history of the videos. Related Background Art 5 A wide range of video capture devices are available that record a scene over time and store the moving image so that it can be viewed again at a different time and place. The moving image is usually stored as a sequence of uncompressed or compressed still images which, when played back rapidly in sequence, give the impression of a smooth moving image. Some of these devices record the video sequence as digital sequences 10 which allows easy transfer of the video to different devices and formats for playback on a wide range of devices. Digital sequences can use compression methods to reduce the size of the stored information by adapting the way the sequence of still images is rendered onto the screen of the playback surface. Digital playback involves the selection of a video sequence or the selection of part of a video sequence and then the control of playback using 15 play, pause, skip forwards, skip backwards, fast forward and fast rewind controls. Digital video storage also allows visual browsing of multiple video clips which can be displayed as thumbnail images that show one or more still images from within the video sequence. A series of such thumbnail images can be browsed on a computing device screen allowing a user fast and simple access to their collection of videos. With large 20 collections of video clips and the ability to view clips in a series in any order, it would be desirable to allow the user the ability to easily and pleasantly find clips which they have 2260736_1 916834_speci_lodge -2 recently watched, and to find clips which they enjoy watching frequently, without the need to use a special history display mode. Summary of the Invention In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a method 5 of indicating viewing history comprising: (a) displaying a set of thumbnail images representing movie clips, (b) retrieving viewing history information including viewing order information and viewing frequency information, (c) displaying a marker in relation to a thumbnail image whereby the position of the marker is relative to a time interval within the associated movie clip, and (d) modifying one or more graphical properties of 10 said marker as a function of said viewing order information associated with said time interval and said viewing frequency information associated with said time interval. According to another apsect, there is provided a method of displaying a collection of digital files comprising: displaying a set of icons representing at least part of the collection of digital files, retrieving digital file information comprising two or more 15 attributes of at least one of the digital files, displaying a marker in relation to an icon associated with the at least one digital file, and modifying one or more graphical properties of said marker as a function of at least two of said attributes. Other aspects are also dislcosed. Brief Description of the Drawings 20 One or more embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the following drawings, in which: Figs. 1 A and 1 B form a schematic block diagram of a general purpose computer system upon which the arrangements described can be practiced; Fig. 2 is a drawing of an exemplary video player user interface; 2260736_1 916834_specilodge -3 Fig. 3 is a drawing of an exemplary video player user interface; Fig. 4 is a drawing of markers placed on thumbnail images; Figs. 5A, 5B, 5C and 5D show examples of modifying intensity using different graphical characteristics, and; 5 Fig. 6 shows markers placed on video thumbnails according to one embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a data processing architecture according to an embodiment of the invention. Detailed Description including Best Mode 10 Figs. 1A and 1B collectively form a schematic block diagram of a general purpose computer system 100, upon which the various arrangements described can be practiced. As seen in Fig. 1 A, the computer system 100 is formed by a computer module 101, input devices such as a keyboard 102, a mouse pointer device 103, a scanner 126, a camera 127, and a microphone 180, and output devices including a printer 115, a display 15 device 114 and loudspeakers 117. An external Modulator-Demodulator (Modem) transceiver device 116 may be used by the computer module 101 for communicating to and from a communications network 120 via a connection 121. The network 120 may be a wide-area network (WAN), such as the Internet or a private WAN. Where the connection 121 is a telephone line, the modem 116 may be a traditional "dial-up" modem. 20 Alternatively, where the connection 121 is a high capacity (eg: cable) connection, the modem 116 may be a broadband modem. A wireless modem may also be used for wireless connection to the network 120. The computer module 101 typically includes at least one processor unit 105, and a memory unit 106 for example formed from semiconductor random access memory (RAM) 2260736_1 916834_speci_lodge -4 and semiconductor read only memory (ROM). The module 101 also includes an number of input/output (1/0) interfaces including an audio-video interface 107 that couples to the video display 114, loudspeakers 117 and microphone 180, an I/O interface 113 for the keyboard 102, mouse 103, scanner 126, camera 127 and optionally a joystick (not 5 illustrated), and an interface 108 for the external modem 116 and printer 115. In some implementations, the modem 116 may be incorporated within the computer module 101, for example within the interface 108. The computer module 101 also has a local network interface 111 which, via a connection 123, permits coupling of the computer system 100 to a local computer network 122, known as a Local Area Network (LAN). As also illustrated, 10 the local network 122 may also couple to the wide network 120 via a connection 124, which would typically include a so-called "firewall" device or device of similar functionality. The interface 111 may be formed by an EthernetTM circuit card, a BluetoothThM wireless arrangement or an IEEE 802.11 wireless arrangement. The interfaces 108 and 113 may afford either or both of serial and parallel 15 connectivity, the former typically being implemented according to the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standards and having corresponding USB connectors (not illustrated). Storage devices 109 are provided and typically include a hard disk drive (HDD) 110. Other storage devices such as a floppy disk drive and a magnetic tape drive (not illustrated) may also be used. An optical disk drive 112 is typically provided to act as a non-volatile source of data. 20 Portable memory devices, such optical disks (eg: CD-ROM, DVD), USB-RAM, and floppy disks for example may then be used as appropriate sources of data to the system 100. The components 105 to 113 of the computer module 101 typically communicate via an interconnected bus 104 and in a manner which results in a conventional mode of operation of the computer system 100 known to those in the relevant art. Examples of 2260736_1 916834_speci_lodge -5 computers on which the described arrangements can be practised include IBM-PC's and compatibles, Sun Sparcstations, Apple Macm or alike computer systems evolved therefrom. The methods of video viewing history indication may be implemented using the 5 computer system 100 wherein the processes of Figs. 2 to 7, to be described, may be implemented as one or more software application programs 133 executable within the computer system 100. In particular, the steps of the methods of video viewing history indication are effected by instructions 131 in the software 133 that are carried out within the computer system 100. The software instructions 131 may be formed as one or more 10 code modules, each for performing one or more particular tasks. The software may also be divided into two separate parts, in which a first part and the corresponding code modules performs the video viewing history indication methods and a second part and the corresponding code modules manage a user interface between the first part and the user. The software 133 is generally loaded into the computer system 100 from a 15 computer readable medium, and is then typically stored in the HDD 110, as illustrated in Fig. 1A, or the memory 106, after which the software 133 can be executed by the computer system 100. In some instances, the application programs 133 may be supplied to the user encoded on one or more CD-ROM 125 and read via the corresponding drive 112 prior to storage in the memory 110 or 106. Alternatively the software 133 may be read by the 20 computer system 100 from the networks 120 or 122 or loaded into the computer system 100 from other computer readable media. Computer readable storage media refers to any storage medium that participates in providing instructions and/or data to the computer system 100 for execution and/or processing. Examples of such storage media include floppy disks, magnetic tape, CD-ROM, a hard disk drive, a ROM or integrated 2260736_1 916834_specilodge -6 circuit, USB memory, a magneto-optical disk, or a computer readable card such as a PCMCIA card and the like, whether or not such devices are internal or external of the computer module 101. Examples of computer readable transmission media that may also participate in the provision of software, application programs, instructions and/or data to 5 the computer module 101 include radio or infra-red transmission channels as well as a network connection to another computer or networked device, and the Internet or Intranets including e-mail transmissions and information recorded on Websites and the like. The second part of the application programs 133 and the corresponding code modules mentioned above may be executed to implement one or more graphical user 10 interfaces (GUIs) to be rendered or otherwise represented upon the display 114. Through manipulation of typically the keyboard 102 and the mouse 103, a user of the computer system 100 and the application may manipulate the interface in a functionally adaptable manner to provide controlling commands and/or input to the applications associated with the GUI(s). Other forms of functionally adaptable user interfaces may also be 15 implemented, such as an audio interface utilizing speech prompts output via the loudspeakers 117 and user voice commands input via the microphone 180. Fig. 1B is a detailed schematic block diagram of the processor 105 and a "memory" 134. The memory 134 represents a logical aggregation of all the memory devices (including the HDD 110 and semiconductor memory 106) that can be accessed by 20 the computer module 101 in Fig. 1A. When the computer module 101 is initially powered up, a power-on self-test (POST) program 150 executes. The POST program 150 is typically stored in a ROM 149 of the semiconductor memory 106. A program permanently stored in a hardware device such as the ROM 149 is sometimes referred to as firmware. The POST program 150 2260736_1 916834_speci-lodge -7 examines hardware within the computer module 101 to ensure proper functioning, and typically checks the processor 105, the memory (109, 106), and a basic input-output systems software (BIOS) module 151, also typically stored in the ROM 149, for correct operation. Once the POST program 150 has run successfully, the BIOS 151 activates the 5 hard disk drive 110. Activation of the hard disk drive 110 causes a bootstrap loader program 152 that is resident on the hard disk drive 110 to execute via the processor 105. This loads an operating system 153 into the RAM memory 106 upon which the operating system 153 commences operation. The operating system 153 is a system level application, executable by the processor 105, to fulfil various high level functions, including processor 10 management, memory management, device management, storage management, software application interface, and generic user interface. The operating system 153 manages the memory (109, 106) in order to ensure that each process or application running on the computer module 101 has sufficient memory in which to execute without colliding with memory allocated to another process. 15 Furthermore, the different types of memory available in the system 100 must be used properly so that each process can run effectively. Accordingly, the aggregated memory 134 is not intended to illustrate how particular segments of memory are allocated (unless otherwise stated), but rather to provide a general view of the memory accessible by the computer system 100 and how such is used. 20 The processor 105 includes a number of functional modules including a control unit 139, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) 140, and a local or internal memory 148, sometimes called a cache memory. The cache memory 148 typically includes a number of storage registers 144 - 146 in a register section. One or more internal buses 141 functionally interconnect these functional modules. The processor 105 typically also has 2260736_1 916834_speci_lodge -8 one or more interfaces 142 for communicating with external devices via the system bus 104, using a connection 118. The application program 133 includes a sequence of instructions 131 that may include conditional branch and loop instructions. The program 133 may also include 5 data 132 which is used in execution of the program 133. The instructions 131 and the data 132 are stored in memory locations 128-130 and 135-137 respectively. Depending upon the relative size of the instructions 131 and the memory locations 128-130, a particular instruction may be stored in a single memory location as depicted by the instruction shown in the memory location 130. Alternately, an instruction may be 10 segmented into a number of parts each of which is stored in a separate memory location, as depicted by the instruction segments shown in the memory locations 128-129. In general, the processor 105 is given a set of instructions which are executed therein. The processor 105 then waits for a subsequent input, to which it reacts to by executing another set of instructions. Each input may be provided from one or more of a 15 number of sources, including data generated by one or more of the input devices 102, 103, data received from an external source across one of the networks 120, 122, data retrieved from one of the storage devices 106, 109 or data retrieved from a storage medium 125 inserted into the corresponding reader 112. The execution of a set of the instructions may in some cases result in output of data. Execution may also involve storing data or variables 20 to the memory 134. The disclosed video viewing history indication arrangements use input variables 154, that are stored in the memory 134 in corresponding memory locations 155 158. The video viewing history indication arrangements produce output variables 161, that 2260736_1 916834_speci_lodge -9 are stored in the memory 134 in corresponding memory locations 162-165. Intermediate variables may be stored in memory locations 159, 160, 166 and 167. The register section 144-146, the arithmetic logic unit (ALU) 140, and the control unit 139 of the processor 105 work together to perform sequences of micro-operations 5 needed to perform "fetch, decode, and execute" cycles for every instruction in the instruction set making up the program 133. Each fetch, decode, and execute cycle comprises: (a) a fetch operation, which fetches or reads an instruction 131 from a memory location 128; 10 (b) a decode operation in which the control unit 139 determines which instruction has been fetched; and (c) an execute operation in which the control unit 139 and/or the ALU 140 execute the instruction. Thereafter, a further fetch, decode, and execute cycle for the next instruction may 15 be executed. Similarly, a store cycle may be performed by which the control unit 139 stores or writes a value to a memory location 132. Each step or sub-process in the processes of Figs. 2 to 7 is associated with one or more segments of the program 133, and is performed by the register section 144-147, the ALU 140, and the control unit 139 in the processor 105 working together to perform the 20 fetch, decode, and execute cycles for every instruction in the instruction set for the noted segments of the program 133. Fig. 2 shows an example of a simple video playback user interface 201 that allows a user to watch a video clip. The video clip may be stored locally on the computer, but also may be stored remotely and accessed over a network. While the user interface 201 of Fig. 2260736_1 916834_specilodge -10 2 is shown as a standalone interface, it is also possible that the user interface may be provided through a web browser or other application adapted to access digital video and other information over a network. In such an application it is possible that the user interface, in addition to the video clip, is stored remotely and transferred via the network to 5 the computer which executes the required instruction for operation of the user interface. The user interface 201 includes features and controls of the supporting operating system common to other applications running on the system such as a dialog surround 202, a header bar 203 and general windowing controls 204. Different platforms use different common controls, as is well known to those familiar with everyday computing devices. A 10 video playback user interface 201 can include a video playback area 210 and playback controls such as rewind 205, stop 206, play 207, pause 208 and fast forward 209. Other playback controls are also possible such as controls for skip functions and for repeat functions as will be known to those familiar with video playback. A seek bar 211 with a position indicator 212 is also often provided which informs the user of the current progress 15 of the video related to the overall clip length. The user may also be able to use a mouse cursor 213 or other positional input devices like a touch screen to move the position indicator 212 along the seek bar 211 and thereby move the playback of the video in the video playback window 210 to a frame in the video corresponding to the new position of the position indicator 212 relative to the seek bar 211. Using the fast-forward 209 and 20 rewind 205 controls and moving the position indicator 212 along the seek bar 211 allows users to select a portion of a clip to view. As such, not all of a clip may be watched at a normal playback speed in any one viewing session. Fig. 3 shows a video browsing and playback user interface 301 which includes most of the features of the abovementioned video playback user interface 201 such as the 2260736_1 916834_speci-lodge - 11 operating system windowing features 202 203 204, video playback area 210 and playback controls 205 206 207 208 209. There is also a video clip browser 302 which displays a list of videos. Each video is shown as a thumbnail image 304 and the list of thumbnails can be scrolled within the browser 302 using the scroll bar control 303 so that a desired thumbnail 5 can be operated. Each thumbnail 304 can be used as a seek bar by moving the pointing device such as a mouse pointer 213 across the thumbnail image. This can either update the frame displayed in the thumbnail or update the position of playback in the video window 210, depending on the configuration of the particular application. A position indicator 305 may be displayed on the thumbnail image to indicate the current video clip and playback 10 position within the clip being displayed in the video playback area 210. The position indicator 305 can be dragged by the pointer 213 or other user interface control device to update the playback in the playback area 210. Hence the thumbnail is used as an improvement which replaces the seek bar 211 in the abovementioned video playback user interface 201. Integrating the seek bar 211 into the video thumbnail 304 removes visual 15 complexity from the user interface, provides the circumstances for a more pleasing visual style and provides a better user experience. It is possible to record data whenever a playback event occurs so that a history of the viewing events is maintained. Data can be recorded which stores when a clip was last played, which sections of the clip were played, how often each segment of the clip was 20 played and so on. Each of these examples of recordable or recorded data form attributes associated with the particular video clip. This data can be recorded on the same device that generates the video playback interface 201 301 or the device that generates the video playback interface 201 301 could pass the playback event data to another device or software program when each event occurs so that the other device or software program 2260736_1 916834_specilodge - 12 stores the data. The data can be stored as a single reference file, a set of linked files, a database or simply as metadata related to each video file. The video files associated with the data may form, or form part of, a database or collection of digital files. Where the digital files are non-video files, each may be represented by an icon, however where the 5 digital files are video files, the icons are preferably thumbnail image representaions. Different embodiments of the video history storage system have different advantages familiar to those skilled in the art. The video history storage system then allows the device that generates the video playback interface 201 301 to retrieve the video history on demand so it can, for example, retrieve how many clips or sections of clips have been played since 10 the clip or section of clip was last played (i.e. viewing order information, being a further attribute). A list is available, either stored as a list or computable from data stored within the system, which lists the sections of video in the order in which they were viewed. The most recently viewed item is at the top of the list and items further back in the list have been viewed less recently. Therefore an item high up in the list has been viewed quite 15 recently and as more sections are viewed the items in the list move further down, or backwards, in the list. It is also possible to record and retrieve how many times a clip or a section of a clip was played (i.e. viewing frequency information, being a further attribute). Each time a section of video is viewed, a counter is incremented so that for each section of a video clip it is possible to retrieve the number of times it has been viewed. As more 20 viewing events are passed to the video history storage and retrieval system the video history information is updated to reflect the new data. Other embodiments of a video history storage system are possible and evident to those skilled in the art, including systems which manage the viewing history information according to rules or algorithms such that the data is modified in advantageous ways, for example removing viewing history 2260736_1 916834_specilodge - 13 information which exceeds a predetermined age, selective updating of data and data which includes individual user information. Fig. 4 shows indicators placed on top of a video thumbnail 304. The concept of using the thumbnail 304 as a seek bar can be expanded by drawing attention to certain parts 5 of the video that may be useful for the user. An indicator can be placed to mark a section of the video whereby the placement and size of the indicator relative to the thumbnail is proportional to the chronological position of the relevant section of video within the video sequence. This chronological position is thus relative to a time interval within the associated video or movie clip. So, for example, an indicator could be placed 402 which 10 marks a short section of video at the start, or it could be placed 403 to mark a longer section in the middle, or placed 404 to mark a very long section starting before the middle of the clip and ending near the end of the clip. This method of indication coupled with the ability to use the thumbnail to control playback means that the user can easily see and jump to relevant sections of video based on the indicators. 15 The purpose of the present invention is to allow easy and pleasing access to viewing history information within the normal video browsing experience. A simple binary indicator is a limited device for transmitting information to a user. In an aspect of the present invention, the indicator can be modified in order to convey more detailed information to the user. Fig. 5A shows a marker 501 with high color saturation, a marker 20 502 with medium color saturation and a marker 503 with low color saturation. Hence the intensity of the color saturation can represent at least three levels of some value, plus a zero level. Fig. 5B shows a similar gradation of value display but using line thickness; marker 504 has a very thick border, marker 505 has a medium thickness border and marker 506 has a thin border. Hence border thickness can represent at least three levels of some value. 2260736_1 916834_speci lodge -14 Similarly, Fig. 5C shows a marker 507 which is tall, a marker 508 which is medium height and a marker 509 with a greatly reduced height. So the height of a marker can be used to represent some value. Similarly, although not illustrated, width of the marker may be modified to represent some changing or changeable value. As a final example, Fig. 5D 5 shows a marker 510 which has high opacity, a marker 511 with medium opacity and a marker 512 with low opacity. Hence opacity can be used to represent some value. Figs 5A, 5B, 5C and 5D show examples of variations in a visual or graphical property that can be used to represent some sort of value. Other variations in other sorts of visual or graphical properties are possible whilst still utilizing the principle of the present invention. 10 Accordingly, modifying one or more of these graphical properties can be used as a mechanism for indicating changes in the value. These variations of modifications in a visual or graphical property can be mapped to viewing history information in a further aspect of the present invention. For example, a section of a clip which was the last video viewing instance is the most recent item in the 15 viewing history. When a user watches another section of a different clip, or a different section of the same clip, the first-mentioned section moves back one place in the sequence of recently viewed video sections when the video history is updated. This may mean that a list of recently viewed sections is updated or in another embodiment the metadata related to recently viewed video sections is updated. As more sections of clips are viewed the first 20 moved section continues to move backwards in the list of recently viewed sections. In an aspect of the present invention, a property of an indicator or marker is mapped to the position of the related section in the list of recently viewed sections such that the intensity of the visual or graphical property decreases as the section moves backwards in the list of recently viewed sections. Fig. 6 shows exemplary variations of the use of a 2260736_1 916834_specilodge - 15 marker, such as shown in Figs. 5A-5D, used in relation to and these instances on or over a thumbnail 304 as a user watches different clips. The first series of four images 601 602 603 604 shows modifications to a marker on a single thumbnail image instance 304 over time. Immediately after watching a section of a video, the thumbnail 601 shows the 5 thumbnail image 304 and a marker 605 which has an intense fill saturation, indicating the section is very high in the list of recently viewed clips. As the user continues their viewing session and watches other clip sections, the marker fades so, for example after the section moves to a predetermined position in the list of recent items, the thumbnail 602 shows the thumbnail image 304 and a marker 607 which has a less intense fill saturation. Later, 10 following more viewing events of other clips sections, the thumbnail 603 shows the thumbnail image 304 and a marker 606 which has a low fill saturation. Finally, when the clip section has moved past a predetermined point in the order of recently viewed sections, the thumbnail 604 shows only the thumbnail image 304 with no associated marker. Using variations in another visual or graphical property, a second feature of viewing 15 history can also be indicated using the same visual space and therefore without adding unnecessary detail to the overall visual style of the video browser. For example, to indicate the sections of clips which are most frequently viewed, the outline of the marker can be adapted in conjunction with adapting the fill intensity to indicate how recently a clip was viewed as described above. In the first series of four images 601 602 603 604 each marker 20 605 606 607 has no visible border as a threshold number of viewing instances for the relevant section of a clip has not been reached. Fig. 6 shows a further series of four images 608 609 610 611 similar to the first series of four images 601 602 603 604 where the same section of clip is viewed on a later occasion. Immediately after watching the section of video again, the thumbnail 608 shows the thumbnail image 304 and a marker 612 which 2260736_1 916834_specilodge -16 has an intense fill saturation indicating recent viewing and also a thin or faint border indicating that the section of clip has been viewed a number of times. With an intense fill, the thin border may be difficult or impossible to see. This is not a serious problem for the function of locating clips as the recent clip will most likely still be strong in the memory of 5 the user and will still be easy to locate. As the user continues their viewing session and watches other clip sections, the marker fill 612 fades so that, at a later time, the thumbnail 609 shows the thumbnail image 304 and a marker 613 which has a less intense fill saturation and a thin border. Even later, following more viewing events of other clips sections, the thumbnail 610 shows the thumbnail image 304 and a marker 614 which has a 10 low fill saturation and the same thin border. Finally, when the clip section has moved past a predetermined point in the order of recently viewed sections, the thumbnail 611 shows the thumbnail image 304 and a marker with a thin border, indicating the clip has been viewed a number of times, but with no associated fill intensity. Fig. 6 also shows a third series of four images of the same video thumbnail 340 at different times after the clip has 15 been viewed many times and has reached the highest level of viewing frequency as determined by the particular embodiment. When the user watches the clip again it is immediately marked as shown 616 with a strong fill and a wide border 620. As the user watches other clips the fill fades step by step so that after some viewing events 617 it fades to a medium fill with a wide border 621 then later 618 to light fill with a wide border 622 20 until eventually 619 there is no fill but the strong border 623 remains. In this way, frequently watched clips and recently watched clips are easy to locate with a visual search. Fig. 7 shows an exemplary workflow of a simple embodiment of the invention. In step 710 the thumbnail representing the video clip is displayed. In step 720 the viewing history information, including viewing order information and viewing frequency 2260736_1 916834_specilodge - 17 information, is retrieved. Next in step 730 a marker on the thumbnail is updated dependent on the viewing order information. This may include showing no marker at all, or may include marking part of the relative length of a marker to indicate certain sections within the whole length of the video clip. The graphical characteristic of the parts which may be 5 marked is varied proportionally to how recently they have been watched. 'Recently' here does not only mean chronologically recent but may, alternatively, refer to how many clips or sections of clips have been watched since the clip or section of clip to be marked was last watched. Next in step 740 a marker on the thumbnail is updated dependent on the viewing frequency information. This may include showing no marker at all, or may 10 include marking part of the relative length of a marker to indicate certain sections within the whole length of the video clip. The graphical characteristic of the parts which may be marked is varied proportionally to how frequently they have been watched. The frequency may be compared to a predetermined definition of frequent or it may be determined based on the frequency of viewing other clips and sections of clips. Once the marker has been 15 visually modified based on the frequency and viewing order information the process ends at step 799. This process can of course be repeated for multiple representations of video clips. This particular embodiment of using a fill intensity to indicate recent viewing and a border intensity to indicate viewing frequency is a natural and intuitive formation because 20 the user can easily imagine a removable mark being made which gradually leaves more and more of a stain each time it is marked and removed. Other embodiments are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention described here. In a similar way, a further embodiment of the invention could set the opacity of the marker as very opaque for 2260736_1 916834_speci-lodge - 18 recent clips and less opaque for less recent clips and set a minimum opacity of the marker using the viewing frequency information. This invention reveals to the user details of the viewing history without encumbering the user interface with unwanted visual clutter as would be the case with 5 numerical annotation and without encumbering the user with unwanted extra steps as would be the case with an optionally displayed list of viewing history information. The user can continue their video browsing tasks, including using the video browser to assemble video compilations, without changing the mode of view of the user interface in order to locate recently viewed and frequently viewed clips and clip sections. In this way 10 this invention offers significant convenience to users as they compare and choose different clips. Industrial Applicability The arrangements described are applicable to the computer and data processing industries and particularly for the retrieval of digital video information. 15 The foregoing describes only some embodiments of the present invention, and modifications and/or changes can be made thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, the embodiments being illustrative and not restrictive. (Australia Only) In the context of this specification, the word "comprising" means "including principally but not necessarily solely" or "having" or "including", and not 20 "consisting only of'. Variations of the word "comprising", such as "comprise" and "comprises" have correspondingly varied meanings. 2260736_1 916834_specilodge

Claims (9)

1. A method of indicating viewing history comprising: (a) displaying a set of thumbnail images representing movie clips, 5 (b) retrieving viewing history information including viewing order information and viewing frequency information, (c) displaying a marker in relation to a thumbnail image whereby the position of the marker is relative to a time interval within the associated movie clip, and (d) modifying one or more graphical properties of said marker as a function of 10 said viewing order information associated with said time interval and said viewing frequency information associated with said time interval.

2. The method of claim 1 where the fill of the marker is adapted as a function of the viewing order information and the border of the marker is adapted as a function of the 15 viewing frequency information.

3. The method of claim 1 where the border of the marker is adapted as a function of the viewing order information and the fill of the marker is adapted as a function of the viewing frequency information. 20

4. The method of claim 1 where the opacity of the marker is modified as a function of the viewing order information and the minimum opacity is set as a function of the viewing frequency information. 2260736_1 916834_specijlodge - 20 5. The method of claim 1 where the width or height of the marker is adapted as a function of the viewing order information and the minimum width or height is set as a function of the viewing frequency information.

5

6. A method of displaying a collection of digital files comprising: displaying a set of icons representing at least part of the collection of digital files, retrieving digital file information comprising two or more attributes of at least one of the digital files, displaying a marker in relation to an icon associated with the at least one digital file, 10 and modifying one or more graphical properties of said marker as a function of at least two of said attributes.

7. A method of displaying information regarding a collection of digital files 15 substantially as described herein with reference to Figs. 4 to 7 of the drawings.

8. A computer system having a processor, a display device and a memory, the memory having a computer program recorded therein, the program being executable by the processor to display on the display device information regarding a collection of digital file, 20 the displaying being in accordance with the method as claime din any one of the preceding claims. 2260736_1 916834_specilodge - 21

9. A computer readable stroage medium having a computer program recorded thereon, the program being executable by computer appratus to perform a method according to any one claims 1 to 7. 5 Dated this 2nd day of September 2009 CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA Patent Attorneys for the Applicant Spruson & Ferguson 2260736_1 916834_specijlodge