Method and apparatus for reducing and restoring the effectiveness of a commercial skip system
13 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus is disclosed which reduces or removes the effectiveness of commercial skip systems such as presently found in VCRs, PVRs, etc. which are designed to delete commercials from signal material upon playback of a previously recorded version of the signal material. In an embodiment, the effectiveness of the commercial skip system is reduced or removed by adding a flat field of selected signal level to active line portions of video lines of the signal material. Other embodiments modify the normal fade to black signal indicative of a commercial to provide a fade to non-black signal. In further embodiments, a fade to non-black signal is inserted in an overscan area of the signal picture. Still further embodiments modify audio signals or selected signals in the horizontal blanking interval which may be used in commercial skip systems to detect the presence of commercials. Still other embodiments provide techniques for overcoming the commercial skip system altering effects of the previously mentioned embodiments to at least partially restore the commercial skip system, or to enhance the reliability or effectiveness of an existing commercial skip system which has not been altered.
35 Citations
65 Claims
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1-47. -47. (canceled)
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48. A method of processing a video and audio signal to provide an indication of the presence of a commercial in the video signal so as to allow the possible application of a commercial skip process, the method comprising:
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detecting a higher than normal average audio signal level in the audio signal;
detecting the decreased video level of a fade to black signal in a normal video signal; and
providing the indication of the presence of the commercial in response to the detection of the combined higher than normal average audio signal level and the fade to black signal. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52)
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53-56. -56. (canceled)
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57. Apparatus for processing a video and audio signal to provide an indication of the presence of a commercial in the video signal, whereby a commercial skip system may use the indication of the presence of the commercial to mark and skip the commercial, comprising:
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circuit means receiving the audio signal for detecting a higher than normal average audio signal level in the audio signal in real time;
detector means receiving the video signal for detecting the decreased video level of a video fade to black signal in the video signal in real time; and
logic means responsive to the circuit means and detector means for providing an output signal indicative of the presence of the commercial in the video signal. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64)
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65-85. -85. (canceled)
Specification