US-20260129141-A1 - SCENE LAYOUTS IN VIDEO CONFERENCES

US20260129141A1US 20260129141 A1US20260129141 A1US 20260129141A1US-20260129141-A1

Abstract

One example method for conducting a conference between conference participants includes obtaining a scene layout for the conference, the scene layout comprising a plurality of video areas that are each assigned to a respective display video stream from one of the conference participants, and the scene layout forming a common visual presentation for the conference; receiving video streams from one or more of the conference participants; and displaying the scene layout, wherein the video streams from the conference participants are displayed in their respective assigned video areas.

Inventors

Lin Han
Wei Li

Assignees

ZOOM COMMUNICATIONS, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20260105

Claims (20)

1 . A method comprising: obtaining a scene layout for a conference, the scene layout comprising a background layer and at least one video layer, a plurality of video areas that are each assigned to a video layer; receiving information assigning video streams received from one or more other client devices associated with participants in the conference to corresponding video areas; constructing the scene layout based on the background layer and the at least one video layer; and providing the scene layout to the one or more other client devices associated with participants in the conference.
2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving video streams captured by the one or more other client devices joined to the conference; and displaying a visual representation of the conference based on the scene layout and the received video streams.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the scene layout comprises obtaining a universal resource locator (“URL”) corresponding to the scene layout; and wherein providing the scene layout comprises providing the URL.
4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving a request to modify the scene layout from a first client device; transmitting authorization to modify the scene layout to the first client device; receiving one or more configuration parameters from the first client device; modifying the scene layout based on the one or more configuration parameters; and providing the modified scene layout to the one or more other client devices.
5 . The method of claim 4 , further comprising: receiving video streams captured by the one or more other client devices; and displaying a visual representation of the conference based on the modified scene layout and the received video streams.
6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving modifications to one or more configuration parameters for the scene layout; modifying the scene layout based on the modifications to the one or more configuration parameters; and providing the modified scene layout to the one or more other client devices.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the scene layout comprises creating the scene layout.
8 . A system comprising: a non-transitory computer-readable medium; and one or more processor communicatively coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable medium, the one or more processors configured to execute processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium to: obtain a scene layout for a conference, the scene layout comprising a background layer and at least one video layer, a plurality of video areas that are each assigned to a video layer; receive information assigning video streams received from one or more other client devices associated with participants in the conference to corresponding video areas; construct the scene layout based on the background layer and the at least one video layer; and provide the scene layout to the one or more other client devices associated with participants in the conference.
9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute further processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium to: receive video streams captured by the one or more other client devices joined to the conference; and display a visual representation of the conference based on the scene layout and the received video streams.
10 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute further processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium to: obtain a universal resource locator (“URL”) corresponding to the scene layout; and provide the URL to the one or more other client devices.
11 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute further processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium to: receive a request to modify the scene layout from a first client device; transmit authorization to modify the scene layout to the first client device; receive one or more configuration parameters from the first client device; modify the scene layout based on the one or more configuration parameters; and provide the modified scene layout to the one or more other client devices.
12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute further processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium to: receive video streams captured by the one or more other client devices; and display a visual representation of the conference based on the modified scene layout and the received video streams.
13 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute further processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium to: receive modifications to one or more configuration parameters for the scene layout; modify the scene layout based on the modifications to the one or more configuration parameters; and provide the modified scene layout to the one or more other client devices.
14 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute further processor-executable instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable medium to create the scene layout.
15 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising processor-executable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to: obtain a scene layout for a conference, the scene layout comprising a background layer and at least one video layer, a plurality of video areas that are each assigned to a video layer; receive information assigning video streams received from one or more other client devices associated with participants in the conference to corresponding video areas; construct the scene layout based on the background layer and the at least one video layer; and provide the scene layout to the one or more other client devices associated with participants in the conference.
16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , further comprising processor-executable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to: receive video streams captured by the one or more other client devices joined to the conference; and display a visual representation of the conference based on the scene layout and the received video streams.
17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , further comprising processor-executable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to: obtain a universal resource locator (“URL”) corresponding to the scene layout; and provide the URL to the one or more other client devices.
18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , further comprising processor-executable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to: receive a request to modify the scene layout from a first client device; transmit authorization to modify the scene layout to the first client device; receive one or more configuration parameters from the first client device; modify the scene layout based on the one or more configuration parameters; and provide the modified scene layout to the one or more other client devices.
19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 , further comprising processor-executable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to: receive video streams captured by the one or more other client devices; and display a visual representation of the conference based on the modified scene layout and the received video streams.
20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , further comprising processor-executable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to: receive modifications to one or more configuration parameters for the scene layout; modify the scene layout based on the modifications to the one or more configuration parameters; and provide the modified scene layout to the one or more other client devices.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/230,514, filed Aug. 4, 2023, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/513,303, filed Oct. 28, 2021, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,758,086, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/068,757, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,190,710, filed Oct. 12, 2020, titled “Methods and System for Providing Scene Layouts During a Network Conference,” the entireties of all of which are incorporated herein by reference. FIELD The exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of network communication. More specifically, the exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to conducting a network conference. BACKGROUND With the increasing popularity of digital electronics and network communications, real-time interactive network conferences (or meetings) have become more popular. For example, network conferencing applications now allow people to communicate with each other from remote locations to exchange audio and video in real time. During a network conference, each meeting attendee can transmit video and audio signals to other attendees. A typical conferencing system is configured with a camera that captures an image of a conference attendee and transmits this image to other attendees. Typically, attendee images are displayed on a non-descript background. However, network conferences are now being conducted for all types of events, such as holiday parties, weddings, and other types of events. Thus, it is desirable to have a mechanism to customize how images of the conference attendees are displayed to add context to the meeting and enhance user experience. SUMMARY In various embodiments, system and methods are disclosed for providing scene layouts during a network conference. In an embodiment, a host of a network conference identifies a customizable scene layout to be used to conduct the network conference. For example, the host selects the scene layout from layouts available at a conference server. The scene is distributed to the conference attendees. In an embodiment, the host passes a universal resource locator (URL) to the conference attendees that identifies a location from which the scene can be downloaded. The scene comprises customizable background layers, foreground layers, and video layers as well as other features. The video layers include video areas or regions, such as video boxes. The host assigned the video boxes to the conference attendees. During the conference, each participant displays the scene and each video box of the scene displays an image or live video stream of an attendee assigned to that box. Thus, the scene operates to add context to the meeting and enhance user experience. The host can customize the scene by modifying various aspects of the scene. For example, the host can modify the background, foreground, or video regions. The modifications of the scene by the host are propagated to the attendees. In an embodiment, an attendee can send a request to the host to modify the attendee's video region. For example, the attendee can request to changes the size, shape, location, orientation, features, and/or background of the attendee's video region. The host can authorize or decline the requested changes. In an embodiment, the scene also includes video effects, reactions, accessories images, text areas, and accessory selectors. For example, the video effects can include effects that are applied to the video image of an attendee. The effects can be fixed within the video region of the attendee or pinned to allow the effect to move with the image of the attendee. In an embodiment, a method for providing a scene layout for use by conference participants during a network conference is disclosed. The method includes identifying a conference host and conference attendees from the conference participants, identifying a scene layout selected by the conference host, and distributing the scene layout to the conference participants. The scene layout includes a plurality of video areas. The method also includes assigning selected video areas of the scene layout to selected conference participants, respectively, receiving video streams from the selected conference participants, and displaying the scene layout so that the video streams from the selected conference participants are displayed in their associated video areas, respectively. In an embodiment, a host apparatus is provided for conducting a network conference with conference participants that include the host apparatus and one or more attendee user equipment (UE). The host apparatus comprises a transceiver to communicate with the one or more attendee UE. The host apparatus also comprises a processor that performs functions that include identifying a scene layout that comprises a plurality of video areas, distributing the scene layout to the one or more attendee UE, and assigning selected video