Apple has filed for a patent (number 20180293243) for “slideshows comprising various forms of media” that, interestingly, involves DVDs.
Apple hasn’t offered built-in DVD players on Macs for a long time. And its external SuperDrive hasn’t been updated with USB-C connectivity, so I’m not sure what Apple’s goal is with this patent.
In the patent filing, the tech giant says that methods and apparatus for providing users with the ability to easily and simply create multimedia devices, such as DVDs are needed. Apple adds that it would be advantageous if the tools to create these devices could provide the consumer with enough information so that the user could make informed decisions in the tradeoffs that are often experienced.
In addition, the company says what is needed are methods and apparatus for providing the user with the ability to simply and easily add information, such as digital images and movies or film clips, to the menu portion of the DVD interface, so that the user can customize each aspect of his or her creation.
Another aspect of DVD creation that is needed, is to provide the creative users with the ability to intermix different forms of media in a single slideshow presentation, adds Apple. In that manner, the creative person would be able to document events in the chronological order in which the images, movies, etc. were captured.
Here’s Apple’s summary of the invention: “The method includes receiving one or more video content element and one or more image content element that are each associated with a respective audio track, where a first video content element includes a corresponding first audio track and a second video content element includes a corresponding second audio track that is disabled or non-existent, receiving input selecting a background audio track for the slide show, and automatically integrating the video content element, the image content element, and the background audio track together into the slide show, where the background audio track is played during playback of the slide show when the computing device detects that there is no audio signal generated by another audio track in the slide show.”
Of course, Apple files for — and is granted — lots of patents by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Many are for inventions that never see the light of day. However, you never can tell which ones will materialize in a real product.
