Personalized Ad Insertion During Start Over Service

• US 20100043022A1
• Filed: 08/15/2008
• Published: 02/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Kaftan, Ilan
• Granted Patent: US 9,032,433 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1089 by adding media; by removing media
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/611 for multicast or broadcast systems for broadcast or conference H04L12/18; arrangements for broadcast or distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/00; arrangements for broadcast applications with a direct linkage to broadcast information or to broadcast space-time H04H60/00; selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS], H04W4/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25883 being end-user demographical data, e.g. age, family status or address arrangements for identifying locations of users in broadcast systems H04H60/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• 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 21/4384 involving operations to reduce the access time, e.g. fast-tuning for reducing channel switching latency
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44016 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for substituting a video clip
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6405 Multicasting data broadcast and multicast in packet switching networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6408 Unicasting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64322 IP
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6437 Real-time Transport Protocol [RTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64784 Data processing by the network data processing in packet switching systems H04L12/56; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10; intermediate storage or scheduling H04L49/90; provisioning of proxy services in data packet switching networks H04L67/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02

Abstract

A method and apparatus is disclosed for inserting targeted/addressable advertisements into video streams delivered to users within the context of a start over service.

Claims

1. A method for delivering targeted advertising to an Internet Protocol television (IPTV) client, comprising:

receiving from a client a start over request for a current multicast stream;

retrieving from a storage device a cached copy of the requested multicast stream;

forwarding the cached copy of the requested multicast stream toward the requesting user;

monitoring the cached copy of the requested multicast stream to detect therein a splice-in point associated with a default advertisement;

providing, in response to said detection, a replacement advertisement within a unicast stream adapted to be received by the client; and

transmitting toward the client a command adapted to cause a channel change mechanism within the client to select the unicast stream for processing at a time contemporaneous with the detected splice-in point.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein delivery of the cached copy of the requested multicast stream to the client is terminated by an access node at a time contemporaneous with a splice-in time.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein delivery of the cached copy of the requested multicast stream to the client is restarted by the access node at a time contemporaneous with a splice-out time.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the replacement advertisement is provided by a storage device associated with an edge router.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the edge router provides the cached copy of the requested multicast stream to the access node.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the edge router provides to the access node either the cached copy of the requested multicast stream or the unicast stream.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the default advertisement is shorter than the replacement advertisement.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the default advertisement is longer than the replacement advertisement.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the cached copy of the requested multicast stream is transmitted as a unicast stream to a requesting client.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the cached copy of the requested multicast stream is transmitted as a multicast stream to each of a plurality of requesting clients.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein different instances of cached copy of the requested multicast stream are transmitted as multicast streams on a periodic basis.

12. Apparatus for use in an Internet protocol television (IPTV) system, comprising:

a server, for storing advertising associated with a client device; and

an edge router, for providing to an access node a multicast stream adapted to be received by the client device and for detecting therein a splice point associated with a default advertisement;

a caching device, for caching the multicast stream;

the access node, in response to receiving from a client a start over request for a current multicast stream, transmitting a cached version of the multicast stream to the requesting client;

the access node, in response to a detection of a splice point detection in the cached version of the current multicast stream, transmitting toward the client device a unicast stream including a replacement advertisement and a command, the command adapted to cause a channel change mechanism within the client device to select the unicast stream for processing at a time contemporaneous with the detected splice-in point.

13. Apparatus for delivering targeted advertising to an Internet Protocol television (IPTV) client, comprising:

receiving from a client a start over request for a current multicast stream;

retrieving from a storage device a cached copy of the requested multicast stream;

forwarding the cached copy of the requested multicast stream toward the requesting user;

monitoring the cached copy of the requested multicast stream to detect therein a splice-in point associated with a default advertisement;

providing, in response to said detection, a replacement advertisement within a unicast stream adapted to be received by the client; and

transmitting toward the client a command adapted to cause a channel change mechanism within the client to select the unicast stream for processing at a time contemporaneous with the detected splice-in point.

14. A computer program product wherein computer instructions, when processed by a computer, adapt the operation of the computer to perform a method for delivering targeted advertising to an Internet Protocol television (IPTV) client, the method comprising:

receiving from a client a start over request for a current multicast stream;

retrieving from a storage device a cached copy of the requested multicast stream;

forwarding the cached copy of the requested multicast stream toward the requesting user;

monitoring the cached copy of the requested multicast stream to detect therein a splice-in point associated with a default advertisement;

providing, in response to said detection, a replacement advertisement within a unicast stream adapted to be received by the client; and

transmitting toward the client a command adapted to cause a channel change mechanism within the client to select the unicast stream for processing at a time contemporaneous with the detected splice-in point.