Systems and methods for distribution of entertainment and advertising content

• US 20020124251A1
• Filed: 01/04/2002
• Published: 09/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zarbana Digital Fund LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Ochoa Optics LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Hunter, Charles E., Hebrank, John H., Ballou, Bernard L. Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 8,112,311 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/32
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 10/00 Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission, e.g. quantum computing or single electron logic
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0217 involving input on products or services in exchange for incentives or rewards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0261 based on user location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0271 Personalized advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0275 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0276 Advertisement creation
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 31/00 Arrangements for the associated working of recording or reproducing apparatus with related apparatus with cameras or projectors G03B31/00 ; recording/reproducing of music for electrophonic musical instruments G10H1/0033; automatic arrangements for answering calls or for recording messages for absent subscribers H04M1/64; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with dictation recording and playback systems H04M11/10; connection of TV recorder with other related apparatus, e.g. TV camera or receiver, in which the TV signal is significantly involved H04N, e.g. H04N23/00, H04N5/765; combination of radio or TV with other apparatus, e.g. with vehicles H05K11/00
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/24056 Light transmission layers lying on the light entrance side and being thinner than the substrate, e.g. specially adapted for Blu-ray® discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/254 of protective topcoat layers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/257 of layers having properties involved in recording or reproduction, e.g. optical interference layers or sensitising layers or dielectric layers, which are protecting the recording layers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/258 of reflective layers
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/10 Arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or the distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/27 Arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2541 Rights Management protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10; security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2543 Billing , e.g. for subscription services payment schemes, architectures or protocols G06Q20/00; e-commerce G06Q30/00; arrangements for billing for the use of broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/21
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25866 Management of end-user data customer care in data networks H04L41/5077
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26208 the scheduling operation being performed under constraints
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4135 external recorder interface circuits between an apparatus for recording television signals and a television receiver H04N5/775
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42684 : Client identification by a unique number or address, e.g. serial number, MAC address, socket ID network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming H04L61/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 : Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4405 : involving video stream decryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44204 : Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 : for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/63345 : by transmitting keys key distribution for secret or secure communication H04L9/08; network support of key management H04L63/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 : Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/1675 : Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence pseudo-random number generators in general G06F7/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 : with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A device for generating audiovisual display signals, including a first input terminal receiving content signals representative of an audiovisual event, the signals including insertion points indicating the output of an advertisement, a second input terminal receiving ad signals representative of an advertisement, a first buffer storing the ad signals, and a processor converting the content signals into display signals of the event and converting ad signals stored in the first buffer into display signals of an advertisement upon detection of an insertion point.

Claims

1. A player for generating audiovisual display signals from a pre-recorded medium, comprising:

an optical pickup assembly reading first data recorded on the medium in a first format and for reading second data recorded on the medium in a second;

a drive mechanism producing relative movement between the medium and the optical pickup assembly;

an input circuit receiving a permission signal and for generating an enable signal upon receipt of the permission signal;

a circuit device processing first data read by the optical pickup assembly into display signals and for selectively processing second data read by the optical pickup assembly into display signals only upon receipt of the enable signal; and

an output device supplying the display signals to an output terminal.

2. A device as recited in claim 1 wherein the optical pickup assembly comprises a first optical pickup for reading the first data and a second optical pickup for reading the second data.

3. A device as recited in claim 1 wherein the optical pickup assembly comprises an optical pickup movable to a first distance from the medium for reading the first data and movable to a second distance from the medium when reading the second data.

4. A device for generating audiovisual display signals, comprising:

a first input terminal receiving content signals representative of an audiovisual event, the signals including insertion points indicating the integration of an advertisement;

a second input terminal receiving ad signals representative of an advertisement;

a first buffer storing the ad signals; and

a circuit device converting the content signals into display signals of the event and converting ad signals stored in the first buffer into display signals of an advertisement upon detection of an insertion point.

5. A device as recited in claim 4 comprising a player extracting content signals from a pre-recorded medium and supplying the content signals to the first input terminal.

6. A device as recited in claim 4 comprising a receiver receiving a data stream over a communications channel, extracting content signals from the data stream, and supplying the content signals to the first input terminal.

7. A device as recited in claim 4, comprising;

a customer preference generator generating a customer preference containing characteristics of a device user; and

wherein

the second input terminal comprises a receiver receiving a plurality of sets of ad signals; and

the circuit device converts one of the sets of ad signals into display signals of an advertisement based upon characteristics of the customer preference.

8. A medium for storing digital data for playback on demand, comprising:

a substrate;

a reflective content layer supported by the substrate and containing recorded data; and

an optically transmissive coating having a total transmission at a wavelength of 635 nm of less than the minimum transmission set forth in the standard DVD specification.

9. A medium as recited in claim 8 wherein the substrate is in the form of a disk having a diameter greater than 125 mm and less than 300 mm.

10. A medium as recited in claim 8, wherein the coating has a thickness of less than 300 micrometers.

11. A medium as recited in claim 8, wherein the coating has a transmissivity at 635 nm which is less than the transmissivity of the coating at 400 nm.

16. A player as recited in claim 15, wherein the third security code is derived from the first and second security codes.

17. A player as recited in claim 15, wherein the third security code is derived from data read from the medium.

18. A player as recited in claim 15 wherein digital data is recorded on the medium in the form of digital words and the processor oversamples a predetermined number of first words stored on the medium to obtain a security code from the medium.

20. A method as recited in claim 19, comprising:

distributing a pre-recorded medium containing the entertainment content and storing the medium at the user location.

21. A method as recited in claim 20 comprising:

recording entertainment content on a medium having a hardware security feature such that display of the entertainment content is possible only upon a player device including hardware compatible with the hardware security feature.

22. A method as recited in claim 21 wherein:

the medium comprises a disk having a diameter greater than about 125 mm and less than 300 mm.

23. A method as recited in claim 21 wherein:

the medium comprises a disk having data recorded on a reflective layer and an optically transmissive coating having a total transmission at 635 nm of less than the minimum transmission set forth in the standard DVD specification.

24. A method as recited in claim 19, comprising:

selecting a subset of the transmitted advertisements at the user location based upon the customer preference, and caching the subset at the user location.

25. A method as recited in claim 24, comprising:

selecting at least one of the cached advertisements based upon the customer preference, and

displaying the selected cached advertisements during the insertion points at the user location.

26. A method as recited in claim 19, comprising:

receiving the entertainment content from a source remote from the user location.

27. A method as recited in claim 19, wherein:

selecting a subset of the transmitted advertisements based upon the customer preference comprises selecting a transmitted advertisement based on the customer preference at a plurality of user locations in accordance with a purchase transaction by an advertiser.

28. A method as recited in claim 19, wherein:

selecting a subset of the transmitted advertisements based upon the customer preference comprises selecting a transmitted advertisement based on the customer preference at a plurality of user locations in accordance with a winning bid of an advertiser in an auction.

30. A player as recited in claim 29 wherein the optical pickup assembly comprises a short wavelength laser diode and the control circuit selectively supplies power to the laser diode for a time period less than the time period during which the mechanism rotates the medium.

31. A player as recited in claim 29 wherein the control circuit selectively activates and deactivates the optical pickup assembly for only a portion of a complete rotation of the medium.

12. A player for generating audiovisual display signals from a pre-recorded medium having a reflective content layer and a transmissive coating with a total transmission at 635 nm of less than the minimum transmission set forth in the standard DVD specification, comprising:

an optical pickup assembly for reading data recorded on the medium, the assembly comprising a laser diode having a wavelength of about 635 nm and a photoreceptor;

a drive mechanism for producing relative movement between the medium and the optical pickup assembly;

a circuit device for processing data read by the optical pickup assembly into display signals; and

an output device for supplying the display signals to an output terminal.

13. A player for generating audiovisual display signals from a pre-recorded medium having a reflective content layer and a transmissive coating with a total transmission at 635 nm of less than the minimum transmission set forth in the standard DVD specification, comprising:

an optical pickup assembly for reading data recorded on the medium, the assembly comprising a laser diode having a wavelength of about 635 nm and a photoreceptor;

wherein the output power of the laser diode and the sensitivity of the photoreceptor are sufficient to provide a read-out of the recorded data through a transmissive coating having a total transmission at 635 nm of less than the minimum transmission set forth in the standard DVD specification;

a drive mechanism for producing relative movement between the medium and the optical pickup assembly;

a circuit device for processing data read by the optical pickup assembly into display; and

an output device for supplying the display signals to an output terminal.

14. A medium for storing digital data for playback on demand, comprising:

a substrate;

a reflective content layer supported by the substrate; and

an optically transmissive coating having a thickness of less than the minimum thickness set forth in the standard DVD specification.

15. A player for generating audiovisual display signals from a pre-recorded medium having a reflective content layer and a transmissive coating, comprising:

an optical pickup assembly for reading data recorded on the medium a drive mechanism supporting the medium and producing relative movement between the medium and the optical pickup assembly;

a circuit device for processing data read by the optical pickup assembly and for generating display signals;

a circuit device containing a first security code;

an first input terminal for receiving a second security code from a source other than the medium;

a circuit device for generating a third security code from the first and second codes and for transmitting the third code to a verification server;

a second input terminal for receiving an enable signal from the verification server; and

an output device for supplying the display signals to an output terminal only upon receipt of the enable signal.

19. A method for displaying advertisements at a user location, comprising:

generating a customer preference containing user characteristics;

displaying entertainment content at the user location, the entertainment content including insertion points for display of advertisements;

transmitting a plurality of advertisements to the user location;

selecting a subset of the transmitted advertisements based upon the customer preference; and

displaying at least one of the selected advertisements during at least one of the insertion points.

29. A player for generating audiovisual display signals from a pre-recorded medium having a reflective content layer and a transmissive coating, comprising:

an optical pickup assembly for reading data recorded on the medium;

a drive mechanism for rotating the medium relative to the optical pickup assembly;

a control circuit for operating the drive mechanism and activating the optical assembly to read recorded data at a speed faster than real time;

a buffer for storing data read by the optical assembly;

a circuit device for processing data read by the optical pickup assembly into display signals; and

an output device for supplying the display signals to an output terminal for display in real time.

32. A system for selectively generating display signals representative of advertisements at user locations, comprising:

an ad server for generating digital ad data representing a plurality of advertisements;

a plurality of players each comprising;

a first hardware security feature;

a playback mechanism for generating display signals from at least one recording medium mounted in the player and upon which are recorded digital data representative of entertainment content, the medium including a second hardware security feature permitting playback of the recorded digital data only on players having the first hardware security feature, the digital data including insertion points representing time slots for the display of advertisements;

a circuit device containing a first security code;

at least one customer preference containing user characteristics;

a first input terminal connected to a communications channel for receiving the digital ad data;

a buffer for storing the received digital ad data;

a second input terminal connected to a communications channel for receiving at least one second security code;

an output terminal for transmitting a third security code derived from the first and second security codes;

a third input terminal for receiving an enable signal;

a circuit device for selecting at least one advertisement from the stored digital ad data in accordance with the customer preference, for generating display signals representative of the entertainment content only upon receipt of the enable signal, and for generating display signals representative of the selected advertisement;

a system operator receiving the third security code, transmitting an enable signal to a player when the received third security code has a predetermined relationship with a stored verification code, transmitting advertisements targeted to specific characteristics of the customer preferences to the ad server in accordance with sales transactions with advertisers.