SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND DEVICES FOR SCANNING BROADCASTS

• US 20090205000A1
• Filed: 02/05/2009
• Published: 08/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: StratosAudio, Inc.
• Original Assignee: StratosAudio, Inc.
• Inventors: Christensen, Kelly M., Mock, Thomas Daniel, Hansen, John Phillip
• Granted Patent: US 8,875,188 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/61
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/8023 the game being played by multiple players at a common site, e.g. in an arena, theatre, shopping mall using a large public display
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/10 Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/14 for monitoring programmes
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/22 Arrangements for broadcast of identical information via plural broadcast systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/24 Arrangements for distribution of identical information via broadcast system and non-broadcast system
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/40 characterised in that additional data relating to the broadcast data are available via a different channel than the broadcast channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/37 for identifying segments of broadcast information, e.g. scenes or extracting programme ID
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/64 for providing detail information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/26603 for automatically generating descriptors from content, e.g. when it is not made available by its provider, using content analysis techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2665 Gathering content from different sources, e.g. Internet and satellite
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/278 Content descriptor database or directory service for end-user access details of content or meta data based information retrieval of video data in video databases G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/433 Content storage operation, e.g. storage operation in response to a pause request, caching operations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4343 Extraction or processing of packetized elementary streams [PES]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4345 Extraction or processing of SI, e.g. extracting service information from an MPEG stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8113 comprising music, e.g. song in MP3 format
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/16 Analogue secrecy systems; Analogue subscription systems

Abstract

The various embodiments disclosed herein provide methods, systems, and devices for capturing broadcast streams, analyzing the broadcast streams to obtain information about the media content transmitted in the broadcast streams, obtaining additional information about the media content if available, and assigning a unique event identifier specific to the instance of broadcast of the broadcast stream and/or media segment transmitted in the broadcast stream. In other embodiments, the unique event identifier is broadcasted to broadcast receiving devices. With the unique event identifier, broadcast receiving devices can access the obtained information associated with the media content.

Claims

1. A centralized broadcast scanning system comprising:

a stream scanner module fixed at a specific location, the stream scanner module configured to receive a plurality of broadcast streams from a plurality of broadcast sources, wherein each of the plurality of broadcast streams comprise at least a media content;

a dedicated scanning system module configured to periodically sample a specific broadcast stream from a specific broadcast source and to receive at least one alternate data stream pertaining to the media content in the specific broadcast stream, wherein the alternate data stream is from at least one alternate source;

a stream analysis module configured to process the specific broadcast stream to determine an identification of the media content in the specific broadcast stream, wherein the determination is based at least on the media content and the alternate data stream;

a data mining and reporting system module configured to generate a database entry comprising at least the identification of the media content from the stream analysis module;

a central management module configured to assign the media content a unique event identifier, wherein the unique event identifier is unique to a specific instance of the media content in the specific broadcast stream;

a media storage database module configured to store in the media storage database at least the unique event identifier and the database entry, wherein the unique event identifier is database linked to the database entry; and

a device monitoring module configured to access from a plurality of user devices the specific broadcast stream received by each of the plurality of user devices, to communicate to a specific user device the unique event identifier of each specific instance of the media content in the specific broadcast stream received by the specific user device and to obtain from the specific user device at least one of the unique event identifiers communicated to the specific user device, wherein the unique event identifier obtained is used to obtain the database entry in the storage database.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the secondary data pertaining to the media content in the specific broadcast signal is a broadcaster media event identifier.

2. A distributed broadcast scanning system comprising:

a central management module configured to electronically communicate with a plurality of broadcast receiving devices, wherein each broadcast receiving device comprises at least;

a stream scanner module configured to receive a specific broadcast stream from a broadcast source, wherein the broadcast stream comprises at least a media content and an associated data linked to the media content;

a stream analysis module configured to analyze the specific broadcast stream to determine an identification of the media content in the specific broadcast stream, wherein the determination is based at least in part on the associated data;

a distributed scanning management system module configured to generate a database entry comprising at least the identification of the media content from the stream analysis module and to transmit the database entry to the central management module;

the central management module is further configured to comprise at least;

a management module configured to process the database entry and to assign the media content a unique event identifier, wherein the unique event identifier is unique to a specific instance of the media content in the specific broadcast stream;

a media storage database module configured to store in a media storage database at least the unique event identifier and the database entry, wherein the unique event identifier is database linked to the database entry; and

a device monitoring module configured to transmit the unique identifier to at least one of the plurality of broadcast receiving devices.

3. A method for uniquely identifying media, comprising in no particular order;

obtaining a transmission of a media segment;

analyzing the media segment to identify the content;

assigning a unique identifier that uniquely identifies the specific instance of transmission of the media segment;

storing the unique identifier in a database and at least part of the analyses of the media segment identifying the content of the media segment;

transmitting the unique identifier to a plurality of user devices accessing the media segment; and

obtaining from at least one of the plurality of user device a user interaction with the media segment and at least the unique identifier associated with the specific instance of the transmission of the media segment.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the obtaining of the transmission of the media segment is done over a public broadcast.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the analyzing of the media segment uses waveform analysis.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein at least the unique identifier and the analyzed content of the media segment are associated in the database.

7. A method for uniquely identifying media, comprising in no particular order;

obtaining a data stream associated with a transmission of a media segment;

extracting at least an associated data from the data stream;

analyzing the associated data extracted from the data stream;

assigning a unique identifier that uniquely identifies the specific instance of the transmission of the media segment; and

storing the unique identifier in a database and at least part of the analyses of the associated data extracted from the data stream;

transmitting the unique identifier to a plurality of user devices accessing the media segment; and

obtaining from at least one of the plurality of user device a user interaction with the media segment and at least the unique identifier associated with the specific instance of the transmission of the media segment.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the obtaining of the data stream associated with the transmission of the media segment is done over a public broadcast.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the data stream is multiplexed with the transmission of the media segment.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein at least the unique identifier and the analyzed media segment are associated in the database.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the data stream contains program associated data.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the data stream contains program service data

13. The method of claim 7, wherein relevant metadata associated with the transmission of the media segment is obtained and analyzed.

14. The method of claim 7, wherein the transmission of the media segment associated with the data stream is obtained and analyzed.

15. The method of claim 7, wherein the data stream is independent of the transmission of the media segment.

16. A method for associating a unique identifier specific to a instance of a media segment in a data stream with the media segment in a user device, the method comprising:

obtaining a transmission of the media segment from a broadcast source;

transmitting at least enough data to identify the broadcast source to a broadcast scanning system;

accessing from the broadcast scanning system the data stream associated with the media segment;

extracting from the data stream at least the unique identifier specific to the instance of the media segment;

presenting at least the specific instance of the media segment to a user of the user device;

detecting a user input regarding the specific instance of the media segment; and

transmitting at least the unique identifier specific to the instance of the media segment.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein multiple data streams are identified and accessed.