Time shifting of advertisements in digital content delivery services
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A computer-implemented method of allowing a user to control playback of an advertisement, said method comprising:
- inputting, at a processor, a playback option for time-shifting a playback of the advertisement from a first playback time, corresponding to a first time at which the advertisement is located at a first position in a content stream, to a second playback time, corresponding to a second time to which to shift the advertisement;
determining, at the processor, whether time-shifting of the advertisement is allowable, the determining comprising determining whether the user has an amount of credit equal to or greater than an amount of credit required to control playback of the advertisement, wherein the amount of credit required to control playback of the advertisement is based on an assigned value of the advertisement, the assigned value of the advertisement being based at least in part on at least one of information about the user, and a characteristic related to viewing of the advertisement by the user, the characteristic being separate from a duration of the advertisement; and
in response to determining that time-shifting of the advertisement is allowable, using at the processor a data structure to independently access the advertisement and segments of the program in the content stream to generate a modified program content stream comprising the program and the advertisement, wherein the advertisement is located in the modified program content stream at the second playback time.
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Abstract
Advertisements included in a stored digital video program are identified and indexed. A user can time shift the advertisements to play out at a different time position in the program or not play the advertisement at all. A user may incur an advertisement debt for skipping or fast forwarding an advertisement. The advertisement debt can be offset by viewing ads, trading the debt with other users or by paying for the debt in another form.
19 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method of allowing a user to control playback of an advertisement, said method comprising:
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inputting, at a processor, a playback option for time-shifting a playback of the advertisement from a first playback time, corresponding to a first time at which the advertisement is located at a first position in a content stream, to a second playback time, corresponding to a second time to which to shift the advertisement; determining, at the processor, whether time-shifting of the advertisement is allowable, the determining comprising determining whether the user has an amount of credit equal to or greater than an amount of credit required to control playback of the advertisement, wherein the amount of credit required to control playback of the advertisement is based on an assigned value of the advertisement, the assigned value of the advertisement being based at least in part on at least one of information about the user, and a characteristic related to viewing of the advertisement by the user, the characteristic being separate from a duration of the advertisement; and in response to determining that time-shifting of the advertisement is allowable, using at the processor a data structure to independently access the advertisement and segments of the program in the content stream to generate a modified program content stream comprising the program and the advertisement, wherein the advertisement is located in the modified program content stream at the second playback time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A content playback apparatus comprising:
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a memory for storing a content stream; a processor programmed to manage playback of advertisements by; inputting a playback option for time-shifting a playback of the advertisements from original playback times, corresponding to a first times at which the advertisements are located in first positions in the content stream, to second playback times; corresponding to second times to which to shift the advertisements to second positions in the content stream; determining whether time-shifting of the advertisements is allowable, the determining comprising determining whether a user has an amount of credit equal to or greater than an amount of credit required to control playback of the advertisement, wherein the amount of credit required to control playback of the advertisement is based on an assigned value of the advertisement, the assigned value of the advertisement being based at least in part on at least one of information about the user and a characteristic related to viewing of the advertisement by the user, the characteristic being separate from a duration of the advertisement; and in response to determining that time-shifting of the advertisements is allowable, using a data structure to independently access the advertisements and segments of a program included in the content stream to generate a modified program content stream comprising the program and the advertisements, wherein the advertisements are inserted into the modified program content stream at the second playback time. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A content playback apparatus comprising:
a processor programmed to manage playback of stored content comprising static content and a time-shiftable content by; inputting a playback option for time-shifting a playback of the shiftable content from a first playback time corresponding to a first time at which the shiftable content is located at a first position in a content stream to a second playback time corresponding to a second time to which to shift the shiftable content that is different from the first playback time; determining whether time-shifting of the shiftable content is allowable, the determining comprising determining whether a user has an amount of credit equal to or greater than an amount of credit required to control playback of the shiftable content, wherein the amount of credit required to control playback of the shiftable content is based on an assigned value of the shiftable content, the assigned value of the shiftable content being based at least in part on at least one of information about the user and a characteristic related to viewing of the advertisement by the user, the characteristic being separate from a duration of the shiftable content; and in response to determining that time-shifting of the shiftable content is allowable, using a data structure to independently access the shiftable content and the static content to generate a modified program content stream comprising the shiftable content and the static content, with the shiftable content located in the modified program content stream at the second playback time. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
Specification