WO2001054007A1

WO2001054007A1 - Customer oriented visual information system

Info

Publication number: WO2001054007A1
Application number: PCT/GB2001/000231
Authority: WO
Inventors: John Cole
Original assignee: RETEC EUROPE Ltd
Current assignee: RETEC EUROPE Ltd
Priority date: 2000-01-22
Filing date: 2001-01-22
Publication date: 2001-07-26
Anticipated expiration: 2002-07-22
Also published as: GB0001416D0; AU2695301A

Abstract

Authenticated film trailers, which have been digitally encoded and stored on a computer database or DVD disc (22), are made visually accessible to a consumer by use of the bar code on the video or DVD case. The consumer presents the bar code to a scanner (14), and this information is used to access the database (22). The chosen visual material is delivered to a CRT monitor (10) or TFT screen for preview. The end of each clip can be recognised, with the display then returning to a continuously playing loop until interrupted by the next user scanning a bar code.

Description

CUSTOMER ORIENTED VISUAL INFORMATION SYSTEM

This invention relates to visual display systems, methods of accessing and displaying information and apparatus for carrying out the aforesaid methods.

The invention is particularly concerned with visual display systems, methods and apparatus for use in the retail environment, to enable customers to preview the visual content of goods, such as videos and DVDs, which they may wish to rent or purchase.

It is known to provide in-store consoles which are based upon touch-screen technology, where customers can choose from menus in order to display information about goods and services . Over the past few years, video film and more recently DVD film either for rental or purchase has become an accepted entertainment format and each film maker has seen a massive growth of video and DVD for home viewing.

The traditional method of selection of this entertainment format is to read the promotional material supplied on the video or DVD sleeve. In some cases if the film is current it may be promoted by TV advertising or other in-store promotions. The only other method of previewing the film content is provided at the cinema as a trailer to the film prior to viewing at some other time in the cinema.

The trailer for the film is produced from the body of the film and is generally a montage of several parts of the film, often with voice-overs promoting the special features of the film, depicting the special contribution of actors or the location, and in some cases the special features relating to the adaptation from a best-selling book. The film trailer is the promotional vehicle, which is used to entice the cinema audience to return to view the film at a later date .

It is an object of the invention to enable the customer who has not viewed the trailer in the cinema to view the same material in store prior to purchase or rental of a video or

DVD. The consumer can preview an authenticated film clip or trailer prior to purchase or rental.

The present invention is helpful to retailers selling entertainment products for use by consumers to enable consumers to make a more informed choice and fulfil their expectations in their product selection.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a display system which is "user friendly" and which enables a customer easily and quickly to preview visual material which is an abridgement of lengthier material without having to make choices from a menu.

The invention is based on the use of the bar coding which substantially all products for retail sale bear as an identification mark, and on the use of digitally encoded visual film material stored for access. The invention requires the creation of a database, composed from existing film clips, suitably collated and encoded, preferably with the addition of promotional or advertising material .

In accordance with the invention there is provided a method of viewing a selected film clip from a database comprising a plurality of digitally encoded visual film clips, which comprises presenting a bar code representative of said selected clip to a scanner, accessing the database with the scanned information, and delivering from the database to a display means the visual content of the selected film clip.

Preferably, the audio content of the film clip is also delivered to the display means .

Preferably, the bar code presented to the scanner is on a video or DVD.

The database can be stored on a DVD disc or on a computer and the display means can be a CRT monitor or a TFT screen. Also in accordance with the invention, there is provided a visual display system comprising a bar-code scanner, a database comprising a plurality of digitally encoded visual film clips, means for accessing the database with information from the scanner, and means for delivering to a display means from the database the visual content of a film clip selected by presentation of its identifying bar code to the scanner. Preferably, the audio content of the film clip is also delivered to the display means. The system may include a DVD player arranged to receive a DVD disc carrying the database, with the display means being a CRT monitor or a TFT screen.

Alternatively, the system may include a computer carrying the database, with the display means being a CRT monitor or a TFT screen.

The database preferably includes advertising and/or promotional material in addition to the film clips.

It is to be emphasised that in all these embodiments, in accordance with the invention, the customer or consumer is required to do no more than present the bar code on the product to the scanner. There is no requirement to operate a keyboard or to touch a screen. The display system is therefore very easy to use and is very quick to respond.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, five presently preferred embodiments in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic illustration of a first embodiment of display system in accordance with the invention using a CRT monitor in conjunction with a DVD player where the database is stored on a DVD disc;

Fig. 2 is a schematic illustration of a second embodiment of display system in accordance with the invention using a TFT screen in conjunction with a DVD player where the database is stored on a DVD disc; Fig. 3 is a schematic illustration of a third embodiment of display system in accordance with the invention using a CRT monitor in conjunction with a computer and where the database is stored on the hard disc of the computer;

Fig. 4 is a schematic illustration of a fourth embodiment of display system in accordance with the invention using a TFT screen in conjunction with a computer and where the database is stored on a hard disc of the computer; and,

Fig. 5 is a schematic illustration of a fifth embodiment of display system in accordance with the invention using a TFT screen in conjunction with a local computer but connected to a server, which automatically updates a network of computers in different locations.

In the several illustrations, items which are the same are depicted by the respective same reference numerals. ' Referring first to Fig. 1, there is shown schematically a display system for particular use in an in-store retail environment such as is provided by a retailer selling or renting videos or DVDs. The system comprises a CRT monitor 10 which is here shown as being provided also with a pair of headphones 12. This monitor would normally be sited in a booth or gondola for personal customer access. Positioned physically adjacent to the monitor 10 or integrated with the monitor is a bar-code scanner 14 which is connected by leads 16 to a remote unit 18 which includes bar code identification software, i.e. decoding access software. The decoding unit 18 is connected to a DVD player 20 which carries a DVD disc 22. The DVD disc 22 will carry digitally encoded clips or trailers of the movies available in the retail outlet for preview. The customer takes the video or DVD required for preview and scans the product bar code which is located on the promotional sleeve or box of the video or DVD. The integrated scanner 14 reads the bar code information, which is sent to the identification and access software in remote unit 18. The software reconfigures the information and enables identification of the correct film clip stored on the DVD disc. This is then transmitted to the monitor 10. This can be for example a 30 second film clip. Such clips are obtainable from the film distributors and can be stored on the DVD disc 22. In the case of movies, the distributors normally prepare clips of all the movies which they will be distributing during a forthcoming period and these can therefore all be stored on the DVD disc 22 in advance of the release dates. Then, as soon as the videos are available in the store, customers can access the clips and preview them. It is of course also possible, indeed desirable, to program the DVD disc 22 with material additional to the movie clips, for example with background information about the making of a film or with biographical details about the actors, or with advertising or promotional material. It can also be arranged that the monitor screen will not be "blank" at any time but will cycle through "background" material until a customer triggers the scanner to access a particular clip. Once the film preview has ended, the software recognises the end and restores the continuous play material which is stored on the DVD disc.

In the second embodiment, shown in Fig. 2, the film preview data is again stored on a DVD disc 22 but is delivered to a TFT screen 24 for preview. The bar code scanner 14 is again integrated with the screen. The scanner 14 is connected by leads 16 to the remote bar code identification software in unit 18, so that the software can reconfigure the information from the scanner and identify the appropriate preview material on the database. The film preview material from DVD disc 22 is transmitted to the TFT screen 24 via a video to VGA converter 26.

Again, once the film preview has ended, the software recognises the end of the preview and restores the continuous play material which is stored on the disc 22.

In the third embodiment , shown in Fig . , the system uses a CRT monitor 10, a bar code scanner 14, and a remote bar code identification software unit 18. Here however the digitally encoded film database is stored on a local computer 28. The computer 28 comprises a hard drive 30 and computer software, indicated at 32. Again, the bar code is scanned and the information is transmitted to the integrated computer software

32, which reconfigures the information to enable selection of the specific film clip. Once identified on the computer database, the preview material is transmitted to the CRT monitor 10 via a VGA to composite video signal converter 34, which allows the material to be viewed on a CRT monitor. Once the film preview has ended, the software recognises the end and restores the continuous play material. The continuous play material is stored on the computer database. In the fourth embodiment, shown in Fig. 14, the digitally encoded film trailers are stored on a computer 36 and the visual content is delivered to a TFT screen 24 for preview. The preview material is stored on the computer hard disc 30. In this embodiment the computer 36 includes a database identifica ion access program 38. The computer 36 can be located in the video and DVD merchandising area of the shop or store .

In the fifth embodiment, shown in Fig. 5, the digitally encoded film trailers are stored on a remote computer i.e. a server 40, and are delivered to a local computer 36 which is networked to a TFT screen 24. The server 40 and the local computer are connected by a LAN (local area network) link 42.

In the first instance, the film database is downloaded onto the server 40, whereupon the server is connected to individual display systems comprising computers 36, bar code readers 18 and TFT screens 1 .

The local computer 36 is downloaded with a specific play list of film previews via the server 40. A consumer who wishes to preview a specific video or DVD uses a host preview system.

The consumer selects the video or DVD, locating the product bar code and scanning the bar code on the integrated bar code reader 18. The information is transmitted to the computer access and identification software 38, which reconfigures the information and selects the specific preview content and delivers the visual content to the TFT screen 24 for preview.

Once the film preview has ended the software recognises the end and restores the continuous play material, which is stored on the local host database . stored on the local host database.

Although reference has been made herein to videos and DVDs, it is to be understood that with developments in technology these goods may in future be replaced by other forms of information-bearing material. Provided that any such future developments are individually identifiable by the use of bar codes, their use in the claimed method and system of the invention are considered to fall within the scope of the present invention, and references herein to videos and DVDs should be understood and interpreted as such.

Claims

CLAIMS :

1. A method of viewing a selected film clip from a database comprising a plurality of digitally encoded visual film clips, which comprises presenting a bar code representative of said selected clip to a scanner, accessing the database with the scanned informaton, and delivering from the database to a display means the visual content of the selected film clip.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 , in which the audio content of the film clip is also delivered to the display means .

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2 , in which the bar code presented to the scanner is on a video or DVD.

4. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the database is stored on a DVD disc and the display means comprises a CRT monitor.

5. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, in which the database is stored on a DVD disc and the display means comprises a TFT screen.

6. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 , in which the database is stored on a computer and the display means comprises a CRT monitor.

7. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 , in which the database is stored on a computer and the display means comprises a TFT screen.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7, in which the database is stored on a server which is linked to a local computer which is networked to the TFT screen.

9. A method as claimed in any preceding claim, in which at the end of the display of the selected clip the display means shows continuous advertising and/or promotional material .

10. A visual display system comprising a bar-code scanner, a database comprising a plurality of digitally encoded visual film clips, means for accessing the database with information from the scanner, and means for delivering to a display means from the database the visual content of a film clip selected by presentation of its identifying bar code to the scanner.

11. A system as claimed in claim 10, in which the audio content of the film clip is also delivered to the display means .

12. A system as claimed in claim 10 or 11, in which the bar code presented to the scanner is on a video or DVD .

13. A system as claimed in claim 10, 11 or 12, which includes a DVD player arranged to receive a DVD disc carrying the database, and the display means comprises a CRT monitor.

14. A system as claimed in claim 10, 11 or 12, which includes a DVD player arranged to receive a. DVD disc carrying the database, and the display means comprises a TFT screen.

15. A system as claimed in claim 10, 11 or 12, which includes a computer carrying the database, and the display means comprises a CRT monitor .

16. A system as claimed in claim 10, 11 or 12, which includes a computer carrying the database, and the display means comprises a TFT screen.

17. A system as claimed in claim 16, in which the database is stored on a server which is connected to a local computer which is networked to the TFT screen.

18. A system as claimed in any of claims 10 to 17, in which the database includes advertising and/or promotional material in addition to the film clips.

19. A system as claimed in any of claims 10 to 18, in which the bar code reader is integrated with the display means .