VIDEO COMMERCE SYSTEM

Abstract

A system for generating and communicating playable videos over a computer network to customers of subscribing retailers is provided. The system employing software running on computers in engaged electronic memory, provides for the assembly and video content categorizing of information concerning each electronic video, in a library of such held in electronic memory, to allow for individual electronic video files to be matched to the customers, based a correlation thereof to the interests, buying habits, social and other ascertained customer information relating to each respective customer.

Claims

1. A method for providing electronic video files held in electronic memory of a computer of a system provider, over a computer network to a computer operating a website of a seller, which are related to products of interest of a buyer visiting the seller website, comprising: employing software running in electronic memory of a computer having an operating system and processor and which is operated solely by said system provider, to input information registering users as sellers of products with the system provider; employing software running in said electronic memory operating to form and store an electronic product database relating to each respective seller in electronic memory engaged with said computer operated by said system provider identifying with a respective product identifier relating to each product offered for sale upon each respective website operated by each respective seller; employing software running in said electronic memory operating to creat a respective product descriptor file for each said product having a product identifier, using submitted product descriptions from each respective said seller relating to each said product offered for sale to buyers visiting a website of each respective said seller, said product descriptor file containing searchable text descriptions of each respective said product held in said electronic product database; employing software running in said electronic memory operating to the task of storing each of said respective product descriptor files in said electronic memory in a database of said product descriptor files; employing search software running on said computer in said electronic memory operating to the task of searching websites on the internet on an ongoing basis, for electronic video files having soundtracks; employing said search software operating to the secondary task of downloading to said electronic memory, said video files having soundtracks discovered by searching of said websites, to form a library of electronic video files having soundtracks held in said electronic memory; from said library of electronic video files having soundtracks, employing software running in said electronic memory operating to playing said video files and converting speech in said soundtracks to soundtrack text; forming a video content descriptor file related to each respective electronic video file, containing said soundtrack text as searchable text of an audio track contained in each respective said electronic video file; storing each said video content descriptor file in said electronic memory in a searchable database containing all said video content descriptor files; monitoring the input of buyers visiting respective websites offering said products of said sellers for sale, for an input communicating an interest in a said product on said seller website, to ascertain a product identifier of a product of interest to said buyer from said product database associated with said website of said seller; employing software running in said electronic memory operating to the task of matching said searchable descriptions in a respective said product description file correlated to said product of interest and held in said database of said product descriptor files, to a video content descriptor file related to a respective said video file, to ascertain a matched video file held in said library of electronic video files; and communicating said matched video file to the website of said seller for communication thereof from said website of said seller to said buyer, for viewing on a display of a computing device of said buyer for which said product of interest is ascertained.

2. (canceled)

3. The method of claim 1, additionally comprising: having humans listen to each said soundtrack contained in each respective electronic video file, and transcribe said searchable text to said video content descriptor file.

4. The method of claim 1, additionally comprising: for each said electronic video file held in said library of electronic video files having soundtracks, employing video review software running in said electronic memory operating to the task of ascertaining a presence of metadata within each said electronic video file; and employing said video review software running in said electronic memory to insert said metadata within the respective video content descriptor file related to each respective electronic video file, whereby content of both the soundtrack and any included metadata descriptions of each said electronic video file are both includable within said video content descriptor files.

5. (canceled)

6. The method of claim 3, additionally comprising: for each said electronic video file held in said library of electronic video files having soundtracks, employing video review software running in said electronic memory operating to the task of ascertaining a presence of metadata within each said electronic video file; and employing said video review software running in said electronic memory to insert said metadata within the respective video content descriptor file related to each respective electronic video file, whereby content of both the soundtrack and any included metadata descriptions of each said electronic video file are both includable within said video content descriptor files.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING FIGURES

[0041] FIG. 1 depicts a graphical depiction of the steps or method of the system herein for communicating videos matching buyer product interest to buyers.

[0042] It should be noted the steps in the system may be reordered and that other aspects of the present invention shall be more readily understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and the following detailed description, neither of which should be considered limiting.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0043] In this description, any directional prepositions if employed, such as up, upwardly, down, downwardly, front, back, top, upper, bottom, lower, left, right and other such terms refer to the device or depictions as such may be oriented are describing such as it appears in the drawings and are used for convenience only. Such terms of direction and location are not intended to be limiting or to imply that the device or method herein has to be used or positioned with graphics in any particular orientation. Further, computer and network terms such as network, database, browser, media, digital files, videos and other terms are for descriptive purposes only, and should not be considered limiting, due to the wide variance in the art as to such terms depending on which practitioner is employing them. The system herein should be considered to include any and all manner of software, firmware, operating systems, executable programs, files and file formats, databases, computer languages and the like, as would occur to one skilled in the art in any manner as they would be described.

[0044] Now referring to drawings in FIG. 1 there is depicted a graphical showing of the system 10 herein and the steps or method of discerning videos from a collection of digital videos stored in electronic memory engaged with a computer, which are matched to a particular product being reviewed by a buyer, whereby one or a plurality of matched videos may be communicated over a network for viewing by the buyer during the purchase consideration.

[0045] As shown in a subscriber registration step 10, subscribers to the service herein provided by the service provider, subscribing sellers will register with the system 12. Such can be all the information needed to conventionally transact business between the parties such as name, location, contact information, and other information.

[0046] Once so registered, in a product database creation step 14, the subscribing seller will provide the system provider, with electronic data which may be formed to a database held in memory containing all of the products offered for sale by the subscribing seller, on an E-commerce website featuring the products of the subscribing seller and graphic interfaces employable by the buyer to purchase those products in a communication over a network such as the internet.

[0047] As noted above, for each product a product identifier is assigned which relates to that product.

[0048] In another step a product descriptor file is created 16, which is an electronically stored file of text or metadata which relates directly to a product and or a respective product identifier, which contains searchable text or metadata, which is correlated to a respective one of the products, sold by the subscribing seller. All of the group of product descriptor files, including at least one for each respective product, form a database of searchable language product descriptor files, which is stored in electronic memory accessible by a computer running software adapted to the task of storing, searching and retrieving such files.

[0049] In another step of the system 10 herein, which is ongoing and may be in no particular order due to the ongoing nature, the system provider amasses a collection of digital video files 18 which are stored in electronic memory and are retrievable for communication over a network subsequently. The digital video files 18 are in conventional digital formats playable on the computing devices of buyers. As noted earlier this collection of video files can be collected from a plethora of sources for example manufacturers, product reviewers, bloggers, social media, or prior purchasers.

[0050] In another step of the system 10, which is also ongoing since the collection of digital video files is as noted, ongoing, for each respective video file in the collection in electronic memory, a video content descriptor 20 is determined. As noted above, the system employs software running in electronic memory on a computing device, to electronically review the audio sound track of each video file in electronic memory, and recognize speech and output the language in text or metadata to form a video content descriptor 20 file, stored as a searchable file of words or metadata. This video content descriptor file 20 may contain searchable text or alphanumeric characters directly correlated some or all of the content of speech or language found in the audio track, which has been recognized in each video file in a manner employable for a later match to a portion of the text file, to a searched product or input term from a buyer. Optionally, the video content descriptor file 20, may be formed by humans listening to the sound track and inputting words from the soundtrack to the audio descriptor file 20, or combinations of software and human input.

[0051] In another step in the system 10, which can be optional, should ascertaining a buyer identity not be desirable to a buyer, a buyer identifier 22 may be determined for each buyer visiting a subscribing sellers website. This buyer identifier may be stored in a buyer database and used for other reasons noted herein, or simply used by the system to match a current buyer with a product being reviewed and/or searched for, on a subscribing sellers website.

[0052] During visits by buyers to a subscribing seller's E-commerce or other website selling products, the system operator for the system 10 herein is given electronic access over a network such as the internet or a private network, to the subscribing sellers website whereby the system 10 will monitor the buyers for individual products 24, and the products being reviewed and/or searched for by the buyer for potential purchase. Ascertaining a buyer interest as noted may be accomplished by providing a search window on the selling website for text input, and monitoring such, or ascertaining a buyer interest where the buyer chooses a presented product resulting from a search, or review of an online catalog, where a cursor or screen touch or other designator is employed by the buyer to input an interest from products presented to the buyer for review.

[0053] Ongoing during this monitoring of buyers for products 24 in which they seem interested, using software running in computer memory adapted to the task of searching databases and ascertaining matches of text, words, or metadata 26, the system 10 will match one or plurality of videos held in the collection in electronic memory, to each respective product being reviewed by a buyer. This is accomplished by discerning a match between a product language Description related to the product or product identifier of the product being reviewed, and each respective video content descriptor relating to one or a plurality of respective videos held in electronic.

[0054] In another step of the system 10, based on matches in video content descriptor to each respective product language description of a product with a product identifier, one or a plurality of electronic video files, discerned as a match, are made available for a buyer to choose to review, or simply sent over the network 28, to the buyer for play on their computing device. In this fashion, for each product in which a buyer shows interest, that buyer may be provided one or a plurality of videos for viewing and listening which include information concerning the product or service of interest. Further, the video files sent to each buyer for each product will directly relate to that product and provide the buyer with information concern each respective product of interest, no matter the source of the stored video file, because the system has discerned a language match in the audio track of the video, and/or a match to metadata or should it have been provided with the video file.

[0055] While all of the fundamental characteristics and features of the video content matching and provision system herein have been shown and described herein, with reference to particular embodiments thereof, a latitude of modification, various changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosure and it will be apparent that in some instances, some features of the invention may be employed without a corresponding use of other features without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth. It should also be understood that upon reading this disclosure and becoming aware of the disclosed novel and useful system, various substitutions, modifications, and variations may occur to and be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Consequently, all such modifications and variations and substitutions, as would occur to those skilled in the art are considered included within the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.