METHODS AND APPARATUS TO IDENTIFY VIEWING INFORMATION

• US 20070180459A1
• Filed: 12/08/2006
• Published: 08/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nielsen Company (US), LLC
• Original Assignee: Nielsen Company (US), LLC
• Inventors: Ramaswamy, Arun, Smithpeters, Craig
• Application Number:
  US11/608,637
• Publication Number:
  US 20070180459A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/19
• 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 21/25883 being end-user demographical data, e.g. age, family status or address arrangements for identifying locations of users in broadcast systems H04H60/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• 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 21/44222 Analytics of user selections, e.g. selection of programs or purchase activity monitoring of user selections in data processing systems G06F11/34; arrangements for monitoring the user's behaviour or opinions in broadcast systems H04H60/33
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47815 Electronic shopping payment schemes, payment architectures or payment protocols for electronic shopping systems G06Q20/12
• 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 7/088 the inserted signal being digital
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17327 with deferred transmission or handling of upstream communications

Abstract

Methods and apparatus to identify viewing information are disclosed. In an example method, at least one media signal delivered by a content terminal such as a set top box to a media presentation device such as a television is detected. The media signal includes pixel information that is used to generate one or more images on the television. Encoded viewing information generated at a media consumption site is extracted from the pixel information by a metering device, decoded by the metering device, and then transmitted to a data collection facility for processing.

Claims

1. A method to identify viewing information, comprising:

detecting at least one media signal having pixel information to generate one or more images on a media presentation device;

extracting encoded viewing information generated at a media consumption site from the pixel information based on a pixel characteristic; and

identifying viewing information based on the encoded viewing information.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein detecting the at least one media signal comprises detecting a media signal from one of a set top box or an interactive television terminal.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the pixel characteristic comprises at least one of color or intensity.

4. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein extracting the encoded viewing information comprises identifying information associated with one or more pixels.

5. A method as defined in claim 4, wherein the one or more pixels are arranged in at least one of a symmetrical configuration, an asymmetrical configuration, a contiguous configuration, or a non-contiguous configuration.

6. A method as defined in claim 4, wherein the one or more pixels are distributed on a screen of the media presentation device based on video content associated with the at least one media signal.

7. A method as defined in claim 6, wherein the one or more pixels are distributed in a first area of the screen for a first time duration and in a second area of the screen for a second time duration.

8. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the encoded viewing information comprises one or more binary bits.

9. A method as defined in claim 8, wherein each of the one or more binary bits comprises at least one of a first binary value corresponding to a first pixel characteristic and a second binary value corresponding to a second pixel characterisitic.

10. A method as defined in claim 9, wherein the first binary value comprises a binary value of one, and wherein the second binary value comprises a binary value of zero.

11. A method as defined in claim 9, wherein the first pixel characteristic comprises a black pixel color, and wherein the second pixel characteristic comprises a non-black pixel color.

12. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein identifying the viewing information based on the encoded viewing information comprises identifying at least one of a status or an event of a household member, a tuned channel, and a time.

13. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising transmitting the viewing information to a data collection facility.

14. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising encoding the viewing information into the pixel information at the media consumption site to generate the encoded viewing information.

15. An apparatus to identify viewing information comprising:

a detecting device configured to detect at least one media signal having pixel information to generate one or more images on a media presentation device;

an extracting device coupled to the detecting device, the extracting device being configured to extract encoded viewing information generated at a media consumption site from the pixel information based on a pixel characteristic; and

an identifying device coupled to the extracting device, the identifying device being configured to identify viewing information based on the encoded viewing information.

16. An apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the at least one media signal comprises a media signal from at least one of a set top box or an interactive television terminal to a television.

17. An apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the pixel characteristic comprises at least one of color or intensity.

18. An apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the encoded viewing information comprises information associated with one or more pixels.

19. An apparatus as defined in claim 18, wherein the one or more pixels are distributed on a screen of the media presentation device based on video content associated with the at least one media signal.

20. An apparatus as defined in claim 19, wherein the one or more pixels are distributed in a first area of the screen for a first time duration and in a second area of the screen for a second time duration.

21. An apparatus as defined in claim 18, wherein the one or more pixels are arranged in at least one of a symmetrical configuration, an asymmetrical configuration, a contiguous configuration, or a non-contiguous configuration.

22. An apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the encoded viewing information comprises one or more binary bits.

23. An apparatus as defined in claim 22, wherein each of the one or more binary bits comprises at least one of a first binary value corresponding to a first pixel characteristic and a second binary value corresponding to a second pixel characteristic.

24. An apparatus as defined in claim 23, wherein the first binary value comprises a binary value of one, and wherein the second binary value comprises a binary value of zero.

25. An apparatus as defined in claim 23, wherein the first pixel characteristic comprises a black pixel color, and wherein the second pixel characteristic comprises a non-black pixel color.

26. An apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the viewing information comprises at least one of a status or an event of a household member, a tuned channel, or a time.

27. An apparatus as defined in claim 15 further comprising a memory coupled to the identifying device and configured to store the viewing information.

28. An apparatus as defined in claim 15 further comprising a communication interface coupled to the identifying device, the communication interface being configured to transmit the viewing information to a data collection facility.

29. A machine accessible medium storing instructions, which when executed, cause a machine to:

detect at least one media signal having pixel information to generate one or more images on a media presentation device;

extract encoded viewing information generated at a media consumption site from the pixel information based on a pixel characteristic; and

identify viewing information based on the encoded viewing information.

30-83. -83. (canceled)