ADVERTISEMENT SUPPORTED VIDEO DOWNLOAD

• US 20080256572A1
• Filed: 04/11/2007
• Published: 10/16/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Cable Communications LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Cable Holdings LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Chen, Michael A.
• Granted Patent: US 9,424,587 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/32
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0276 Advertisement creation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/139 Format conversion, e.g. of frame-rate or size
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/57 Motion estimation characterised by a search window with variable size or shape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/59 involving spatial sub-sampling or interpolation, e.g. alteration of picture size or resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2547 Third Party Billing, e.g. billing of advertiser
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4858 for modifying screen layout parameters, e.g. fonts, size of the windows
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4886 for displaying a ticker, e.g. scrolling banner for news, stock exchange, weather data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3226 of identification information or the like, e.g. ID code, index, title, part of an image, reduced-size image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/2628 Alteration of picture size, shape, position or orientation, e.g. zooming, rotation, rolling, perspective, translation

Abstract

System and method for facilitating advertisements within viewed content. The advertisements may be banner advertisements or other advertisement. The advertisements may be included in such a manner that if a user skips or otherwise fast forwards through the advertisements, the user if force to skip through at least a portion of the viewed content.

Claims

1. A method of banner advertisement supported video downloading, the method comprising:

embedding banner advertisement in at least a portion of a number of video frames making up a video requested for downloading, the video frames including images associated with the video such that at least a portion of the video frames include banner advertisements and images, thereby preventing fast forwarding past the banner advertisements without similarly fast forwarding past a corresponding portion of the images.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising selecting the advertisements from a banner advertisement server having banner advertisements associated with a number of advertisers.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising billing the advertisers based on usage of the banner advertisements.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising receiving a video request for the requested video at a video server, the video server being separate from the banner advertisement server, the video server providing information to the banner advertisement server, the banner advertisement server selecting the embedded banner advertisements as function of the information, the video server embedding the selected banner advertisements within the requested video prior to fulfilling the video request.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising the video server translating the video to make room for the banner advertisements within the video frames.

6. The method of claim 6 further comprising the video server translating the video to provide pillar or letter boxes for receipt of the banner advertisements.

7. A method of including advertisements within downloaded video, the method comprising:

receiving a request for a video download;

selecting a banner advertisement for inclusion within the requested video download;

compositing the banner advertisement within the video download for showing during playback of the video; and

transmitting the video download for playback, the video download including the composited banner advertisement.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising compositing the banner advertisement within a portion of at least one frame associated with the video download.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising translating images associated with each of the at least one frames to provide a gap within each of the at least one frames for receiving the banner advertisement.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising translating the images to provide gaps corresponding with a pillar box of the frames.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising translating the images to provide gaps corresponding with a letter box of the frames.

12. The method of claim 7 further comprising compositing the banner advertisements such that fast forwarding past the banner advertisement requires fast forwarding past content of the video download.

13. The method of claim 7 further comprising compositing the selected to interrupt a portion of the video occurring after a beginning and before an end of the video.

14. The method of claim 7 further comprising receiving the banner advertisement from a banner advertisement server, the banner advertisement selected as a function of information included within the video download request.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising billing an advertiser associated with the selected banner advertisement upon the downloading thereof.

16. The method of claim 7 further comprising including a web page link within the banner advertisement, the link suitable for use in accessing a web page of an advertiser associated with the advertisement.

17. The method of claim 7 further comprising limiting a size of the banner advertisement to correspond with only a limited portion of a viewing area used to show the video download.

18. A system for advertisement supported video downloading, the system comprising:

an advertisement server having a number of advertisements; and

a video server in communication with the advertisement server, the video server receiving advertisements from the advertisement server and embedding the received advertisement within at least a portion of a number of video frames making up a video requested for downloading, the video frames including images associated with the video such that at least a portion of the video frames include advertisements and images.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the advertisements are banner advertisements.

20. The system of claim 18 wherein a size of the banner advertisements correspond with a pillar box or letter box of the video frames.