METHODS FOR TRANSMITTING MULTIMEDIA FILES AND ADVERTISEMENTS

• US 20090240768A1
• Filed: 04/28/2009
• Published: 09/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tamiras Per Pte Ltd LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Media Patents S.L.
• Inventors: FERNANDEZ, Alvaro
• Granted Patent: US 7,962,548 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0272 Period of advertisement exposure
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2387 Stream processing in response to a playback request from an end-user, e.g. for trick-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6437 Real-time Transport Protocol [RTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02

Abstract

The invention is directed to a method of transmitting a file having an advertising portion and a requested portion different from the advertising portion. The method includes receiving a request to transmit the file, via a streaming protocol allowing non-sequential access, transmitting the advertising portion of the file, receiving a request to transmit a portion of the requested portion of the file prior to completing transmitting the advertising portion of the file, completing the transmission of the advertising portion of the file, and transmitting the requested portion of the file.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of transmitting, from a server, digital data comprising an obligatory advertising portion comprising a first type of content and a requested portion comprising a second type of content which is different than the first type of content, the method comprising:

generating or accessing a first digital file in the server comprising the digital data and supplemental digital data;

generating a second digital file as a program component configured to run in the server that reads information from the first digital file, the second digital file comprising at least a portion of the digital data and at least a portion of the supplemental digital data that is sequentially positioned before the requested portion of the digital data; and

transmitting the second digital file.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the server is a streaming server and the first digital file is assigned a streaming session, the second digital file using the same streaming session as the first digital file.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein the supplemental digital data comprises non-obligatory advertising.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein the supplemental digital data comprises one or more display messages.

5. The method according to claim 1 wherein the second digital file is created after receiving a request message to expedite transmission of at least one part of the requested portion of the digital data after transmission of the obligatory advertising portion of the digital data has initiated and prior to completion of the transmission of the obligatory advertising portion.

6. A computer-implemented method of transmitting, from a streaming server, digital data, the method comprising:

generating or accessing in the server the digital data and supplemental digital data;

generating as a program component running in the server that reads information from at least a portion of the digital data and at least a portion of the supplemental digital data a first digital file; and

transmitting from the streaming server at least a portion of the first digital file.

7. The method according to claim 6 wherein the digital data comprises an obligatory advertising portion comprising a first type of content and a requested portion comprising a second type of content which is different than the first type of content.

8. The method according to claim 6 wherein the supplemental information comprises one or more non-obligatory advertising portions.

9. The method according to claim 6 wherein the supplemental information comprises one or more display messages.

10. The method according to claim 6 wherein the supplemental information comprises one or more non-obligatory advertising portions and one or more display messages.

11. The method according to claim 6 wherein the digital data comprises an obligatory advertising portion comprising a first type of content and a requested portion comprising a second type of content which is different than the first type of content and the supplemental information comprises one or more display messages indicating that an obligatory advertising portion cannot be skipped or fast-forwarded.

12. The method according to claim 6 wherein at least a portion of the supplemental digital data is positioned sequentially before at least a portion of the digital data in the first digital file.

13. The method according to claim 12 wherein the digital data comprises an obligatory advertising portion comprising a first type of content and a requested portion comprising a second type of content which is different than the first type of content.

14. The method according to claim 13 wherein the supplemental information comprises one or more non-obligatory advertising portions.

15. The method according to claim 13 wherein the supplemental information comprises one or more display messages.