Detection of common media segments

• US 10,375,451 B2
• Filed: 07/15/2016
• Issued: 08/06/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Inscape Data, Inc. (VIZIO, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Inscape Data, Inc. (VIZIO, Inc.)
• Inventors: Neumeier, Zeev, Collette, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Kumar, Pankaj
• Assistant Examiner(s): Riaz, Sahar Aqil
• Application Number:
  US15/211,345
• Publication Number:
  US 20170019719A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,117 Days
• Field of Search: 725 36, 725 48
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23418 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics television picture signal circuitry for scene change detection H04N5/147; filtering for image enhancement G06T5/00; methods or arrangements for recognising scenes G06V20/00; arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25866 Management of end-user data customer care in data networks H04L41/5077
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2625 for delaying content or additional data distribution, e.g. because of an extended sport event
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26283 for associating distribution time parameters to content, e.g. to generate electronic program guide data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/462 Content or additional data management, e.g. creating a master electronic program guide from data received from the Internet and a Head-end, controlling the complexity of a video stream by scaling the resolution or bit-rate based on the client capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8126 involving additional data, e.g. news, sports, stocks, weather forecasts
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments

Abstract

Provided are systems, methods, and computer-program products for identifying a media content stream when the media content stream is playing an unscheduled media segment. A computing device may receive a plurality of media content streams, where at least two of the plurality of media content streams concurrently includes a same unscheduled media segment. The computing device may determine that the media display device is playing the unscheduled media segment by examining the media content available at the current time in each of the plurality of media content streams. The computing device may determine identification information from the media content included in the media content stream. The computing device may determine contextually-related content, which may be disabled while the unscheduled media segment is being played by the media display device. The computing device may display the media content stream and the contextually-related content after the unscheduled media segment has been played.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a computing device, a plurality of media content streams, wherein the plurality of media content streams include media content according to a schedule, and wherein the computing device is configured to identify media content included in a media content stream;

determining identification information for a displayed media content stream of the plurality of media content streams, wherein the identification information identifies the displayed media content stream;

determining contextually-related content corresponding to the displayed media content stream, wherein determining is based upon the identification information;

causing the contextually-related content to be displayed with the displayed media content stream;

generating one or more cues from the displayed media content stream;

generating one or more cues from one or more other media content streams of the plurality of media content streams;

determining that the one or more cues from the displayed media content stream match the one or more cues from the one or more other media content streams, wherein determining that the one or more cues from the displayed media content stream match the one or more cues from the one or more other media content streams indicates that an unscheduled media segment is included in the displayed media content stream of the plurality of media content streams;

causing the contextually-related content being displayed with the displayed media content stream to be removed from display while the unscheduled media segment is being displayed; and

causing the contextually-related content to be displayed with the displayed media content stream after the unscheduled media segment has been displayed.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the contextually-related content is provided to a media display device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the identification information includes detecting a graphic superimposed onto the unscheduled media segment while the unscheduled media segment is being displayed, wherein the graphic provides additional identification information for the displayed media content stream.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein media content used to determine the identification information includes media content included in the displayed media content stream before or after the unscheduled media segment.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the unscheduled media segment has been displayed since a beginning of the unscheduled media segment; and

identifying the displayed media content stream using identification information determined for media content included in the displayed media content stream prior to the unscheduled media segment.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the unscheduled media segment has been displayed since a point after a beginning of the unscheduled media segment; and

identifying the displayed media content stream using identification information for media content included in the displayed media content stream after the unscheduled media segment.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the unscheduled media segment is not included in the schedule.

7. A computing device, comprising:

one or more processors; and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium including instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to;

receive a plurality of media content streams, wherein the plurality of media content streams include media content according to a schedule;

determine identification information for a displayed media content stream of the plurality of media content streams, wherein the identification information identifies the displayed media content stream;

determine contextually-related content corresponding to the displayed media content stream, wherein determining is based upon the identification information;

cause the contextually-related content to be displayed with the displayed media content stream;

generate one or more cues from the displayed media content stream;

generate one or more cues from one or more other media content streams of the plurality of media content streams;

determine that the one or more cues from the displayed media content stream match the one or more cues from the one or more other media content streams, wherein determining that the one or more cues from the displayed media content stream match the one or more cues from the one or more other media content streams indicates that an unscheduled media segment is included in the displayed media content stream of the plurality of media content streams;

cause the contextually-related content being displayed with the displayed media content stream to be removed from display while the unscheduled media segment is being displayed; and

cause the contextually-related content to be displayed with the displayed media content stream after the unscheduled media segment has been displayed.

8. The computing device of claim 7, wherein the instructions for determining the identification information include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

detect a graphic superimposed onto the unscheduled media segment while the unscheduled media segment is being displayed, wherein the graphic provides additional identification information for the displayed media content stream.

9. The computing device of claim 7, wherein media content used to determine the identification information includes media content included in the displayed media content stream before or after the unscheduled media segment.

10. The computing device of claim 7, further comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

determine that the unscheduled media segment has been displayed since a beginning of the unscheduled media segment; and

identify the displayed media content stream using identification information determined for media content included in the displayed media content stream prior to the unscheduled media segment.

11. The computing device of claim 7, further comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

determine that the unscheduled media segment has been displayed since a point after a beginning of the unscheduled media segment; and

identify the displayed media content stream using identification information for media content included in the displayed media content stream after the unscheduled media segment.

12. The computing device of claim 7, wherein identifying that displayed media content is being displayed includes:

obtaining samples of the displayed media content;

generating a cue from the samples; and

matching the cue against a database of cues, wherein the database of cues includes identification information.

13. The computing device of claim 7, wherein identifying that displayed media content is being displayed includes:

using data from the displayed media content, wherein the data is obtained from video data or audio data included in the displayed media content.

14. A computer-program product tangibly embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

receive a plurality of media content streams, wherein the plurality of media content streams include media content according to a schedule;

determine identification information for a displayed media content stream of the plurality of media content streams, wherein the identification information identifies the displayed media content stream;

determine contextually-related content corresponding to the displayed media content stream, wherein determining is based upon the identification information;

cause the contextually-related content to be displayed with the displayed media content stream;

generate one or more cues from the displayed media content stream;

generate one or more cues from one or more other media content streams of the plurality of media content streams;

determine that the one or more cues from the displayed media content stream match the one or more cues from the one or more other media content streams, wherein determining that the one or more cues from the displayed media content stream match the one or more cues from the one or more other media content streams indicates that an unscheduled media segment is included in the displayed media content stream of the plurality of media content streams;

cause the contextually-related content being displayed with the displayed media content stream to be removed from display while the unscheduled media segment is being displayed; and

cause the contextually-related content to be displayed with the displayed media content stream after the unscheduled media segment has been displayed.

15. The computer-program product of claim 14, wherein the contextually-related content is provided to a media display device.

16. The computer-program product of claim 14, wherein the instructions for determining the identification information include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

detect a graphic superimposed onto the unscheduled media segment while the unscheduled media segment is being displayed, wherein the graphic provides additional identification information for the displayed media content stream.

17. The computer-program product of claim 14, wherein media content used to determine the identification information includes media content included in the displayed media content stream before or after the unscheduled media segment.

18. The computer-program product of claim 14, further comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

determine that the unscheduled media segment has been displayed segment since a beginning of the unscheduled media segment; and

identify the displayed media content stream using identification information determined for media content included in the displayed media content stream prior to the unscheduled media segment.

19. The computer-program product of claim 14, further comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

determine that the unscheduled media segment has been displayed since a point after a beginning of the unscheduled media segment; and

identify the displayed media content stream using identification information for media content included in the displayed media content stream after the unscheduled media segment.