Prevention of advertisement skipping

• US 20060031892A1
• Filed: 07/27/2005
• Published: 02/09/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: General Instrument Corporation (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: BitBand Technologies Ltd. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Cohen, Noam
• Application Number:
  US11/190,764
• Publication Number:
  US 20060031892A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/88
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/262 Content or additional data distribution scheduling, e.g. sending additional data at off-peak times, updating software modules, calculating the carousel transmission frequency, delaying a video stream transmission, generating play-lists scheduling strategies for dispatcher in multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/4881; arrangements for scheduling broadcast services or broadcast-related services H04H60/06; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; establishing a time schedule or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• 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 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A method for delivering digital media includes transmitting a stream of the digital media to be played by a client at a predefined play speed, the stream comprising main content and, in predetermined intervals, differentiated content. In response to a request from the client to pass over a portion of the stream at a speed different from the play speed, the client is permitted to pass over the main content in the portion of the stream at the different speed, but is constrained to play the differentiated content in at least one of the intervals in the portion at the play speed.

Claims

1. A method for delivering digital media, comprising:

transmitting a stream of the digital media to be played by a client at a predefined play speed, the stream comprising main content and, in predetermined intervals, differentiated content;

receiving a request from the client to pass over a portion of the stream at a speed different from the play speed; and

responsively to the request, permitting the client to pass over the main content in the portion of the stream at the different speed, while constraining the client to play the differentiated content in at least one of the intervals in the portion at the play speed.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein transmitting the stream comprises:

providing start tags in the main content indicating start locations of the intervals;

inserting the differentiated content in the at least one of the intervals responsively to the start tags;

adding end tags to the stream to indicate an end location of the at least one of the intervals; and

recording the start and end locations responsively to the start and end tags, for use in responding to the request from the client.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein transmitting the stream comprises removing the start and end tags from the stream before conveying the stream to the client.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein constraining the client comprises, responsively to the request, identifying at least one of the recorded start and end locations in the portion of the stream, and enforcing the play speed between the start and end locations.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein receiving the request comprises receiving a fast forward (FFWD) and a slow motion request, and wherein permitting the client comprises transmitting the main content to the client at the different speed, and constraining the client comprises transmitting the differentiated content in the at least one of the intervals at the play speed.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein receiving the request comprises receiving a random access request to skip the portion of the stream, and wherein constraining the client comprises transmitting the differentiated content in the at least one of the intervals at the play speed before fulfilling the random access request.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein transmitting the stream comprises transmitting a digital video program to the client of a video-on-demand service.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein transmitting the digital video program comprises transmitting a MPEG stream.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the differentiated content comprises one or more advertisements.

10. Apparatus for delivering digital media, comprising:

a memory, which is configured to store digital media, comprising main content and, in predetermined intervals, differentiated content; and

a server, which is coupled to transmit a stream of the digital media to be played by a client at a predefined play speed, and which is adapted, upon receiving a request from the client to pass over a portion of the stream at a speed different from the play speed, to permit the client to pass over the main content in the portion of the stream at the different speed, while constraining the client to play the differentiated content in at least one of the intervals in the portion at the play speed.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the digital content comprises start tags and end tags respectively indicating start locations and end locations of the intervals in the main content, and wherein the server is adapted to record the start and end locations responsively to the start and end tags, for use in responding to the request from the client.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the server is adapted to remove the start and end tags from the stream before conveying the stream to the client.

13. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the server is adapted, in response to the request, to identify at least one of the recorded start and end locations in the portion of the stream responsively to the start and end tags, and to enforce the play speed between the start and end locations.

14. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the request comprises at least one of a fast forward (FFWD) and a slow motion request, and wherein the server is adapted, responsively to the request, to transmit the main content to the client at the different speed, and to transmit the differentiated content in the at least one of the intervals to the client at the play speed.

15. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the request comprises a random access request to skip the portion of the stream, and wherein the server is adapted, responsively to the request, to transmit the differentiated content in the at least one of the intervals at the play speed before fulfilling the random access request.

16. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the digital media comprise a digital video program, and wherein the server is adapted to stream the digital video program to the client on demand.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the stream comprises a MPEG stream.

18. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the differentiated content comprises one or more advertisements.

19. A computer software product, comprising a computer-readable medium in which program instructions are stored, which instructions, when read by a computer, cause the computer to access stored digital media, comprising main content and, in predetermined intervals, differentiated content, and to transmit a stream of the digital media to be played by a client at a predefined play speed, and further cause the computer, upon receiving a request from the client to pass over a portion of the stream at a speed different from the play speed, to permit the client to pass over the main content in the portion of the stream at the different speed, while constraining the client to play the differentiated content in at least one of the intervals in the portion at the play speed.