Method and Apparatus for Content Item Signature Matching

• US 20080270373A1
• Filed: 05/23/2005
• Published: 10/30/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Oostveen, Job Cornelis, Barbieri, Mauro
• Application Number:
  US11/569,199
• Publication Number:
  US 20080270373A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/71 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/7328 Query by example, e.g. a complete video frame or video sequence graphical querying G06F16/7335
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23109 by placing content in organized collections, e.g. EPG data repository details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video databases G06F16/739
• 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 21/4627 Rights management associated to the content 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 21/6582 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 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

An apparatus for content item signature matching comprises a database (103) which has signatures for a plurality of content items. A likelihood processor (105) determines a match likelihood indication for the content items where the match likelihood indication is indicative of a likelihood of a match between the content item and an unknown signature. An interface (111) receives a query signature associated with a content item and in response a search processor (113) searches the database (103) for a matching signature to the query signature. The search processor (113) is operable to search the database in response to the match likelihood indication of the plurality of content items. In particular the database (103) may be ordered in order of decreasing probability of a match and the search processor (113) may search the database in this order. Hence, the probability of an early match is increased and the average search time is reduced.

Claims

1. An apparatus for content item signature matching comprising:

a database (103) comprising signatures for a plurality of content items;

means for determining a match likelihood indication (105) for each of the plurality of content items, the match likelihood indication of each content item being indicative of a likelihood of a match between the content item and an unknown signature;

means for receiving (111) a query signature associated with a content item;

search means (113) for searching the database (103) for a matching signature to the query signature; and

wherein the search means (113) is operable to search the database (103) in response to the match likelihood indication of the plurality of content items.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising means for ordering (107) the signatures of the plurality of content items in the database (103) in response to the match likelihood indication;

and wherein the search means (113) is operable to search the database (103) in accordance with the ordering of the signatures of the plurality of content items.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for determining the match likelihood indication (105) is operable to determine the match likelihood indication in response to a previous match count for each signature of at least some of the plurality of content items.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for determining the match likelihood indication (105) is operable to determine the match likelihood indication in response to a database entry time for each signature of the plurality of content items.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for determining the match likelihood indication (105) is operable to determine the match likelihood indication in response to a previous time of matching for each signature of the plurality of content items.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for determining the match likelihood indication (105) is operable to determine the match likelihood indication in response to metadata associated with each of the plurality of content items.

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for determining the match likelihood indication (105) is operable to determine the match likelihood indication in response to context information associated with each of the plurality of content items.

8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for determining the match likelihood indication (105) is operable to determine the match likelihood indication in response to content information associated with each of the plurality of content items.

9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 8 further comprising means for determining the content information by content analysis.

10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the match likelihood indication comprises a plurality of sub-match likelihood indications and the search means (113) is operable to search the database hierarchically in response to the sub-match likelihood indications.

11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the match likelihood indication comprises a plurality of sub-match likelihood indications and the search means (113) is operable to select a sub-match likelihood criterion in response to a characteristic of the query signature.

12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the query signature is a content item fingerprint.

13. An apparatus as claimed in claim 12 wherein the matching signature is a matching fingerprint and the search means (113) is operable to determine a matching fingerprint as a fingerprint having a difference measure relative to the query signature below a predetermined value.

14. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the content item is an audiovisual content item.

15. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the receiving means (111) comprises means for receiving a content item and for determining the content item signature in response to the content item.

16. A method of content item signature matching in a database (103) comprising signatures for a plurality of content items, the method comprising the steps of:

determining a match likelihood indication for each of the plurality of content items, the match likelihood indication of each content item being indicative of a likelihood of a match between the content item and an unknown signature;

receiving a query signature associated with a content item;

searching the database (103) for a matching signature to the query signature in response to the match likelihood indication of the signatures of the plurality of content items.

17. A computer program enabling the carrying out of a method according to claim 16.

18. A record carrier comprising a computer program as claimed in claim 17.