Report on the results of the VideoSelector Project.

Overview

"Video Selector" is a program to browse through a database of digital video clips where video clips are described by a set of features. Video Selector adds an interface to select videos by giving a minimum/maximum/desired value to the features.
Each video object in the database is shown as a marker in the coordinate display. The maker's position is set according to the feature values of the two coordinate axes. Clicking on a square highlights it and shows the values of the video in the information text area. Clicking on the square again de-selects the video. The limits for the displayed videos are set by the gauges and check-boxes in the limits panel to the right of the coordinate display. The original minimum and maximum values for each feature are at first the lowest and highest feature values in the database. The gauge thumbs set the values between these limits, but entering a value in the text box can exceed the original limits. When set, the coordinate axis ranges are changed to display the new limits. If the limits are broadened, there is no way to set the coordinate axes back to original range. The features displayed in the coordinate axes can be changed using the choice items next to the axes. The File menu has choices for loading a database file of videos and closing the Video Selector window. The database file is a text file describing the database objects. The format of the text file is specified in a user's manual available upon request.

The bottom row of the interface has three buttons: Export, Reset limits and Close. If Video Selector is run under the Promis GUI, the Export button sends the names of the videos shown on the Video Selector screen to the Promis display area. Also, the last video selected in Video Selector is sent to Promis' MPEG player screen. If Video Selector is run without Promis, the Export button does nothing. The "reset limits'' button resets all the displayed feature limits to the original values, thus showing all the videos. Also, the coordinate axes' features are reset to the original pair. The close button closes the Video Selector screen. The item in the Help menu displays an introduction to Video Selector usage. The program is written in the Java programming language, and needs a java interpreter to run.