METHOD OF COLLECTING DATA USING AN EMBEDDED MEDIA PLAYER PAGE

• US 20110055026A1
• Filed: 11/10/2010
• Published: 03/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: AOL Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AOL Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: HAYWARD, Monte Duane
• Application Number:
  US12/943,724
• Publication Number:
  US 20110055026A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.73
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/254 Management at additional data server, e.g. shopping server, rights management server arrangements for maintenance or administration in data networks H04L41/00; network services using third party service providers H04L67/53
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2547 Third Party Billing, e.g. billing of advertiser
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4433 Implementing client middleware, e.g. Multimedia Home Platform [MHP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4438 Window management, e.g. event handling following interaction with the user interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47202 for requesting content on demand, e.g. video on demand
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4858 for modifying screen layout parameters, e.g. fonts, size of the windows
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6125 involving transmission via Internet transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8193 dedicated tools, e.g. video decoder software or IPMP tool
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8543 using a description language, e.g. Multimedia and Hypermedia information coding Expert Group [MHEG], eXtensible Markup Language [XML] information retrieval of semistructured data, the underlying structure being taken into account, e.g. mark-up language structure data G06F16/80
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal

Abstract

A method of collecting data in connection with the retrieval of a media file includes the steps of transmitting to a media device (110) an embedded media player page for playing the media file and transmitting a media file identification message to a log server (104). The media file identification message identifies the media file. The log server (104) records that the media file has been selected for play back by a user in a log associated with the media file.

Claims

1-33. -33. (canceled)

34. A method of collecting data associated with media files, comprising:

receiving, at a log server, a plurality of time stamps transmitted from a media device at a plurality of time intervals while an embedded media player page is open on the media device, the embedded media player page including a media player for playing back a media file;

storing, at the log server, the time stamps in association with a play back of the media file;

determining, using a processor, a length of time the embedded media player page was open on the media device by calculating a difference between a first time stamp and a last time stamp of the plurality of time stamps;

determining whether the embedded media player page was open on the media device until the media file was played through completion by comparing the length of time the embedded media player page was open on the media device and a playing length of the media file;

recording, at the log server, a number of times that the media file has been played back; and

generating popularity data associated with the media file based on the number of times that the media file has been played back and information concerning whether the media file was played through completion for each play back of the media file.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising:

maintaining a plurality of logs respectively associated with a plurality of media files, each log identifying a number of times the corresponding media file was played and whether the corresponding media file was played through completion; and

ranking the media files based the number of times each media file was played and whether the media file was played through completion.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the embedded media player page includes instructions for requesting an advertisement from an advertisement server at predetermined time intervals while the embedded media player page is open, and for displaying the advertisement on the embedded media player page.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the embedded media player page includes instructions for requesting the advertisement using a script file executed by the media device.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein the embedded media player page includes instructions for transmitting the time stamps to the log server at the predetermined time intervals at which the advertisement is requested.

39. The method of claim 34, further comprising:

receiving, at the log server, a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request for an invisible pixel graphics file.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the invisible pixel graphics file is a one-pixel graphical interchange format (GIF) file.

41. The method of claim 34, further comprising:

receiving, at the log server, an Internet protocol (IP) address associated with the media device and a unique identifier associated with the media file.

42. The method of claim 34, further comprising:

storing a database including an index of a plurality of media files;

receiving a search query of the database; and

transmitting a list of media files based on the search query.

43. The method of claim 42, further comprising:

transmitting a ranking of the media files in the list.

44. The method of claim 42, further comprising:

transmitting, to the media device, an Internet Protocol (IP) address of a host that provides the media files.

45. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause a log server to perform the steps of:

receiving a plurality of time stamps transmitted from a media device at a plurality of time intervals while an embedded media player page is open on the media device, the embedded media player page including a media player for playing back a media file;

storing the time stamps in association with a play back of the media file;

determining, using the processor, a length of time the embedded media player page was open on the media device by calculating a difference between a first time stamp and a last time stamp of the plurality of time stamps;

determining whether the embedded media player page was open on the media device until the media file was played through completion by comparing the length of time the embedded media player page was open on the media device and a playing length of the media file;

recording a number of times that the media file has been played back; and

generating popularity data associated with the media file based on the number of times that the media file has been played back and information concerning whether the media file was played through completion for each play back of the media file.

46. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 45, further storing instructions for:

maintaining a plurality of logs respectively associated with a plurality of media files, each log identifying a number of times the corresponding media file was played back and whether the media file was played through completion; and

ranking the media files based the numbers of times the media files were played and whether the media files were played through completion.

47. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 45, wherein the embedded media player page includes instructions for requesting an advertisement from an advertisement server at predetermined time intervals while said embedded media player page is open, and for displaying the advertisement on the embedded media player page.

48. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 45, further storing instructions for receiving a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request for an invisible pixel graphics file.

49. An apparatus for collecting data in association with a media file, the apparatus comprising:

a storage for storing instructions;

a processor for executing the instructions to perform the steps of;

receiving a plurality of time stamps transmitted from a media device at a plurality of time intervals while an embedded media player page is open on the media device, the embedded media player page including a media player for playing back of the media file;

storing the time stamps in association with a play back of the media file;

determining a length of time the embedded media player page was open on the media device by calculating a difference between a first time stamp and a last time stamp of the plurality of time stamps;

determining whether the embedded media player page was open on the media device until the media file was played through completion by comparing the length of time the embedded media player page was open on the media device and a playing length of the media file;

recording a number of times that the media file has been played back; and

generating popularity data associated with the media file based on the number of times that the media file has been played back and information concerning whether the media file was played through completion for each play back of the media file.

50. The apparatus of claim 49, further comprising instructions for:

maintaining a plurality of logs respectively associated with a plurality of media files, each log identifying a number of times the corresponding media file was played and whether the corresponding media file was played through completion; and

ranking the media files based the numbers of times each media file was played and whether the media files were played through completion.

51. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the embedded media player page includes instructions for requesting an advertisement from a server at predetermined time intervals while the embedded media player page is open, and for displaying the advertisement on the embedded media player page.

52. The apparatus of claim 49, further comprising instructions for receiving a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request for an invisible pixel graphics file.