Methods and apparatus to measure exposure to streaming media

• US 10,659,841 B2
• Filed: 05/07/2018
• Issued: 05/19/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Besehanic, Jan
• Primary Examiner(s): Chen, Cai Y
• Application Number:
  US15/973,080
• Publication Number:
  US 20180255351A1
• Time in Patent Office: 743 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/46 Extracting features or characteristics from the video content, e.g. video fingerprints, representative shots or key frames
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 2201/02 Recognising information on displays, dials, clocks
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/50 characterised by the use of watermarks
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/31 Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/59 of video recognising characters or patterns in general G06F18/00, G06V20/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• 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 21/44213 Monitoring of end-user related data arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• 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 21/8358 involving watermark protecting executable software by watermarking G06F21/16; image watermarking in general G06T1/0021; watermarks inserted in still images for transmission purposes H04N1/32144; inserting watermarks during video coding H04N19/467

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture to measure exposure to streaming media are disclosed. An example apparatus includes a video retriever to retrieve an image displayed by a media device presenting the streaming media, the media device separate from the video retriever. A metadata extractor is to extract a video watermark from the retrieved image. A metadata converter is to, in response to the extraction of the video watermark, convert the video watermark into text formatted metadata. A transmitter is to transmit the text formatted metadata to a central facility.

Claims

1. An apparatus to measure exposure to streaming media, the apparatus comprising:

a video retriever to retrieve an image displayed by a media device presenting the streaming media, the media device separate from the video retriever;

a metadata extractor to extract a video watermark from a chroma key of the retrieved image;

a metadata converter to, in response to the extraction of the video watermark, convert the video watermark into text formatted metadata; and

a transmitter to transmit the text formatted metadata to a central facility.

2. The apparatus as described in claim 1, wherein:

the media device is a television; and

the video retriever is a camera having a line of sight of a display of the media device.

3. The apparatus as described in claim 1, further including an event listener to trigger the metadata extractor to extract the video watermark from the retrieved image.

4. The apparatus as described in claim 3, wherein the event is triggered by a timer reaching a threshold time limit.

5. The apparatus as described in claim 1, further including an image sensor, and wherein the video retriever retrieves the image of the presented media by capturing an image from the image sensor.

6. A tangible computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to at least:

retrieve, via an image sensor separate from a media device, an image of a video presented by the media device;

extract a video watermark from a chroma key of the retrieved image;

in response to the extraction of the video watermark, convert the video watermark into text formatted metadata; and

transmit the text formatted metadata to a central facility.

7. The tangible computer-readable storage medium as described in claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to capture the image by retrieving a screenshot of a display of the media device.

8. The tangible computer-readable storage medium as described in claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to transmit at least one of a user identifier or a device identifier to the central facility in association with the text formatted metadata.

9. The tangible computer-readable storage medium as described in claim 8, wherein the user identifier is a demographic indicator.

10. The tangible computer-readable storage medium as described in claim 6, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to transmit to the central facility, in association with the text formatted metadata, a timestamp representing a time at which the image was retrieved.

11. A method to measure exposure to streaming media presented by a media device, the method comprising:

retrieving, with a video retriever separate from the media device, an image presented by the media device;

extracting, by executing an instruction with a processor, a video watermark from a chroma key of the retrieved image;

converting, by executing an instruction with the processor and in response to the extraction of the video watermark, the video watermark into text formatted metadata; and

transmitting the text formatted metadata to a central facility.

12. The method as described in claim 11, wherein the retrieving of the image includes retrieving a screenshot of the display of the media device.

13. The method as described in claim 11, further including transmitting at least one of a user identifier or a device identifier to the central facility in association with the text formatted metadata.

14. The method as described in claim 11, wherein the media device is separate from the processor.

15. The method as described in claim 11, further including transmitting to the central facility and in association with the text formatted metadata, a timestamp representing a time at which the image was retrieved.

16. The method as described in claim 11, further including detecting whether an event has occurred, and wherein the extracting of the video watermark and the converting of the video watermark are performed in response to detection of the event.

17. The method as described in claim 16, wherein the event is triggered by inspecting the retrieved image to determine whether the video watermark is present.

18. The method as described in claim 16, wherein the event is triggered by a timer reaching a threshold time limit.