Dynamic video ad format based on user bitrate and bandwidth

• US 10,356,454 B1
• Filed: 12/15/2015
• Issued: 07/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Lewis, Justin, Schneider, Michael Patrick
• Primary Examiner(s): Bruckart, Benjamin R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Doshi, Akshay
• Application Number:
  US14/970,146
• Time in Patent Office: 1,309 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/238 Interfacing the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. adapting the transmission rate of a video stream to network bandwidth; Processing of multiplex streams hybrid fiber coaxial [HFC] networks for downstream channel allocation for video distribution H04L12/2801; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; real-time communication protocols in data switching networks H04L65/00; scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2401 Monitoring of the client buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2402 Monitoring of the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. bandwidth available traffic monitoring in data switching networks H04L43/00; monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25825 involving client display capabilities, e.g. screen resolution of a mobile phone optimising the visualisation of content during browsing in the Internet G06F16/9577; processing of terminal status or physical abilities in wireless networks H04W8/22; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25833 involving client hardware characteristics, e.g. manufacturer, processing or storage capabilities allocation of resources considering hardware capabilities in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/5044; allocation of resources considering software capabilities in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/5055
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25841 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; arrangements for identifying locations of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/51; location of the user terminal in data switching networks H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26216 involving the channel capacity, e.g. network bandwidth admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; establishing a schedule or organising the servicing of application requests taking into account QoS H04L67/61
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4331 Caching operations, e.g. of an advertisement for later insertion during playback
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44004 involving video buffer management, e.g. video decoder buffer or video display buffer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44209 Monitoring of downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. bandwidth variations of a wireless network arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44227 Monitoring of local network, e.g. connection or bandwidth variations; Detecting new devices in the local network configuring of peripheral devices in general G06F9/4411; monitoring connectivity in data switched networks H04L43/0811
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64738 Monitoring network characteristics, e.g. bandwidth, congestion level data switched network analysis H04L41/14; monitoring functioning in data switched networks H04L43/0817; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02

Abstract

This disclosure generally relates to systems and methods that facilitate employing bandwidth factors to determine, infer, or predict a client device buffer wait time or a client device buffer ratio associated with a video playback on a client device to select an advertisement format for the video and select an advertisement to accompany the video based upon the format.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, from a client device, a request to present a video;

causing the video to be presented on the client device in response to receiving the request, wherein the video is presented at a video playback rate;

determining a plurality of bandwidth factors that are associated with presenting the video on the client device;

receiving a plurality of historical bandwidth factors that include previous measurements of bandwidth at different times;

determining an estimated bandwidth of the client device by combining the plurality of bandwidth factors with the plurality of historical bandwidth factors, wherein each of the plurality of bandwidth factors is assigned a weight;

determining a client device buffer information by combining the video playback rate with the estimated bandwidth and a buffer length;

selecting an advertisement format from a plurality of advertisement formats based on the determined client device buffer information;

in response to selecting the advertisement format, selecting an advertisement from a plurality of advertisements based on the selected advertisement format, wherein the advertisement has the selected advertisement format; and

causing the advertisement to be presented in connection with the video.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the client device buffer information includes a client buffer wait time that is based on the estimated bandwidth, the video playback rate, and the buffer length.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the client device buffer information includes a client device buffer ratio that represents a total buffer wait time for the video over a total time of playback of the video.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the causing the advertisement to be presented comprises instructing the client device to present the advertisement concurrently with presenting the video.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the causing the advertisement to be presented comprises instructing the client device to present the advertisement after the video has begun being presented.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein causing the advertisement to be presented comprises instructing the client device to present the advertisement while at least a portion of the video is being buffered.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein causing the advertisement to be presented comprises instructing the client device to buffer the advertisement concurrently with buffering at least a portion of the video.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving one or more advertisement format restrictions associated with an advertiser, wherein the advertisement format is selected from the plurality of advertisement formats based at least in part on the one or more advertisement format restrictions associated with the advertiser.

9. A system, comprising:

a hardware processor that;

receives, from a client device, a request to present a video;

causes the video to be presented on the client device in response to receiving the request, wherein the video is presented at a video playback rate;

determines a plurality of bandwidth factors that are associated with presenting the video on the client device;

receives a plurality of historical bandwidth factors that include previous measurements of bandwidth at different times;

determines an estimated bandwidth of the client device by combining the plurality of bandwidth factors with the plurality of historical bandwidth factors, wherein each of the plurality of bandwidth factors is assigned a weight;

determines a client device buffer information by combining the video playback rate with the estimated bandwidth and a buffer length;

selects an advertisement format from a plurality of advertisement formats based on the determined client device buffer information;

in response to selecting the advertisement format, selects an advertisement from a plurality of advertisements based on the selected advertisement format, wherein the advertisement has the selected advertisement format; and

causes the advertisement to be presented in connection with the video.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the client device buffer information includes a client buffer wait time that is based on the estimated bandwidth, the video playback rate, and the buffer length.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the client device buffer information includes a client device buffer ratio that represents a total buffer wait time for the video over a total time of playback of the video.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to instruct the client device to present the advertisement concurrently with presenting the video.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to instruct the client device to present the advertisement after the video has begun being presented.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to instruct the client device to present the advertisement while at least a portion of the video is being buffered.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to instruct the client device to buffer the advertisement concurrently with buffering at least a portion of the video.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to receive one or more advertisement format restrictions associated with an advertiser, wherein the advertisement format is selected from the plurality of advertisement formats based at least in part on the one or more advertisement format restrictions associated with the advertiser.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing computer executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method, the method comprising:

receiving, from a client device, a request to present a video;

causing the video to be presented on the client device in response to receiving the request, wherein the video is presented at a video playback rate;

determining a plurality of bandwidth factors that are associated with presenting the video on the client device;

receiving a plurality of historical bandwidth factors that include previous measurements of bandwidth at different times;

determining an estimated bandwidth of the client device by combining the plurality of bandwidth factors with the plurality of historical bandwidth factors, wherein each of the plurality of bandwidth factors is assigned a weight;

determining a client device buffer information by combining the video playback rate with the estimated bandwidth and a buffer length;

selecting an advertisement format from a plurality of advertisement formats based on the determined client device buffer information;

in response to selecting the advertisement format, selecting an advertisement from a plurality of advertisements based on the selected advertisement format, wherein the advertisement has the selected advertisement format; and

causing the advertisement to be presented in connection with the video.