Personal video retrieval and browsing for mobile users

The latest camera-equipped mobile phones and faster cellular networks have increased the interest in mobile multimedia services. But for content consumption, delivery and creation, the limited capabilities of mobile terminals require special attention. This paper introduces the Candela platform, an infrastructure that allows the creation, storage and retrieval of home videos with special consideration of mobile terminals. Candela features a J2ME-based video recording and annotation tool which permits the creation and annotation of home videos on mobile phones. It offers an MPEG-7-based home video database which can be queried in an intelligent and user-oriented manner exploiting users" personal domain ontologies. The platform employs terminal profiling techniques to deliver video retrieval user interfaces that personalize the search results according to the user's preferences and terminal capabilities, facilitating effective retrieval of home videos via various both mobile and fixed terminals. For video playout, Candela features a meta player, a video player augmented by an interactive metadata display which can be used for fast content-based in-video browsing, helping to avoid the consumption and streaming of uninteresting video parts, thus reducing network load. Thereby, Candela forms a comprehensive video management platform for mobile phones fully covering mobile home video management from acquisition to delivery.