User adaptable multimedia presentations for the World Wide Web

We propose a generic solution for user adaptation of synchronized multimedia presentations. We consider adaptation as a transformation problem: the user specifies a predicate that applied to a generic multimedia presentation yields a customized view of the presentation. We specify a means of expressing content descriptions and alternate content in generic multimedia presentations. User adaptation is based on content predicates that a player uses to select alternate content or elements that match content descriptions. Several examples show flexibility and expressing power of the proposed approach. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.