Converged communication server with transaction management

• US 20110119700A1
• Filed: 05/16/2002
• Published: 05/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Hamilton, Chris A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,082,565 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/32
• 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 21/26208 the scheduling operation being performed under constraints
• 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 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02

Abstract

A communications server increases the value of cable and communication services by enabling the integration of packet network content with directed advertising in a managed environment. Such services may include Video On Demand and videoconferencing running on a Converged Communication Platform. Content processing within the server enables the combining of streaming content with different types of ads. Content integration is controlled through software negotiations between subscriber, advertiser, and content provider software agents. The rate, selection, placement, and number of advertisements within a television program or videoconference can also be determined. The ability to custom tailor content and advertisements increases the value of advertising, lowers costs to subscribers, improves the viewing experience, and disburdens transaction participants from the manual tasks that would otherwise be required during transaction setup.

Claims

1. A converged communication server, comprising:

an Application Server having a Transaction Management Application to perform transaction management;

a buffer to store streams of video data packets and advertising data packets;

a Media Server having a software application to perform integration of the streams of video data packets and advertising data packets, and to distribute a stream of integrated video and advertising data packets to a subscriber.

2. The converged communication server according to claim 1, wherein the Transaction Management Application receives a subscriber command message containing a content selection and a subscriber identification from the subscriber.

3. The converged communication server according to claim 1, wherein the Transaction Management Application includes a transaction software agent for each of the subscriber, an advertiser, and a content provider, the transaction software agent for each of the subscriber, the advertiser, and the content provider, transact by exchanging data and processing data.

4. The converged communication server according to claim 3, wherein the transaction software agent for each of the subscriber, the advertiser, and the content provider include data structures and code representing information about the subscriber, the advertiser, and the content provider.

5. The converged communication server according to claim 1, wherein the software application includes a Content Processing Application and a Video Processing Application.

6. The converged communication server according to claim 5, wherein the Content Processing Application and the Video Processing Application process and integrate a stream of audio data packets.

7. The converged communication server according to claim 6, wherein the Content Processing Application and the Video Processing Application are capable of decoding the streams of audio data packets, video data packets, and advertising data packets, mixing decoded audio data packets, decoded video data packets, and decoded advertising data packets, and encoding the stream of integrated audio, video, and advertising data packets.

8. The converged communication server according to claim 7, wherein decoding the streams of video data packets, and advertising data packets includes using a Moving Pictures Experts Group 4 (MPEG4) decoder, and the encoding includes using a MPEG4 encoder.

9. A converged communication server and transaction management system, comprising:

an Application Server having a Transaction Management Application to perform transaction management;

a Media Server having a Content Processing Application and a Video Processing Application to perform processing and integration of streams of video data packets and advertising data packets;

a buffer to store the video data packets and the advertising data packets;

a network to distribute a stream of integrated video and advertising data packets to a Home Media Server, wherein the Home Media Server receives the stream of integrated video and advertising data packets from the Media Server, and plays the stream of integrated video and advertising data packets on an video device.

10. The converged communication server and transaction management system according to claim 9, wherein the Transaction Management Application receives a subscriber command message containing a content selection and a subscriber identification from the Home Media Server.

11. The converged communication server and transaction management system according to claim 9, wherein the Transaction Management Application includes a transaction software agent for each of a subscriber, an advertiser, and a content provider, the transaction software agent for each of the subscriber, the advertiser, and the content provider, transact by exchanging data and processing data.

12. The converged communication server and transaction management system according to claim 11, wherein the transaction software agent for each of the subscriber, the advertiser, and the content provider include data structures and code representing information about the subscriber, the advertiser, and the content provider.

13. The converged communication server and transaction management system according to claim 9, wherein the Content Processing Application and the Video Processing Application process and integrate a stream of audio data packets.

14. The converged communication server and transaction management system according to claim 13, wherein the Content Processing Application and the Video Processing Application are capable of decoding the streams of audio data packets, video data packets, and mixing decoded audio data packets, decoded video data packets, and decoded advertising data packets, and encoding the stream of integrated audio, video, and advertising data packets.

15. The converged communication server and transaction management system according to claim 14, wherein decoding the streams of video data packets, and advertising data packets includes using a Moving Pictures Experts Group 4 (MPEG4) decoder, and the encoding includes using a MPEG4 encoder.

16. A method of converged communication, comprising:

receiving a content selection describing content, and a subscriber identification;

inititiating a transaction session by a Transaction Management Application (TMA), wherein the TMA retrieves a subscriber profile including a subscriber occupation, and a content profile including a content cost and a content length, from a database;

retrieving an array of advertisement profiles from the database for all ads used to sponsor the content for the subscriber occupation;

determining, using the array, a minimum number of ads necessary to offset the content cost;

computing an ad interruption period;

sending a message to a content server to begin streaming the content to a subscriber;

launching a new content processing task;

storing the content in an input queue;

decoding the content from the input queue and storing decoded audio data packets and video data packets in a raw content queue as raw content;

processing and integrating a raw ad content with the raw content, by a Content Processing Application (CPA) and a Video Processing Application (VPA), and distributing a packetized, ad-inserted compressed encoded composite video stream to the subscriber.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the TMA receives a subscriber command message containing the content selection describing the content, and the subscriber identification from a Home Media Server.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein launching the new content processing task includes initializing a current frame number and a current ad count, passing control from the TMA to the CPA, and passing a transaction identification, the array, the ad interruption period, the content identification, and the number of ads from the TMA to the CPA.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the VPA receives the current ad count, the current frame number, the transaction identification, and the raw content from the CPA.

20. The method according to claim 16, wherein each row of the array includes an ad identification, and an ad rate, and the ad identification is ranked in order of the ad rate for each placement to the subscriber with the subscriber occupation.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the ad plays once in order of a diminishing ad rate.

22. The method according to claim 16, wherein the ad interruption period equals integer value(content length/minimum number of ads+0.5)

23. The method according to claim 16, wherein decoding the content and an ad to form the raw content and the raw ad includes using a MPEG4 decoder.

24. The method according to claim 16, wherein the CPA and the VPA integrate the raw content with the raw ad by passing streams of the raw content and the raw ad to a video mixer, the video mixer mixes the raw content and the raw ad video streams to form a composite video stream, the VPA compresses and encodes the composite video stream using an encoder to form an ad inserted compressed encoded composite video stream.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the raw content is passed at a current frame number and the raw ad is passed at the beginning of the raw ad.

26. The method according to claim 20, wherein the ad identification equals an array value, and a current ad count is incremented after each ad is integrated.

27. The method according to claim 16, wherein the processing includes video fading, image recognition, image sizing, image enhancement, reverb, filtering, and spatial processing.

28. The method according to claim 16, wherein the content includes movies and music available through downloaded files via the Internet.

29. The method according to claim 16, wherein video is stored as MPEG4, and audio is stored as MP3.

30. An article comprising:

a storage medium having stored thereon instructions that when executed by a machine result in the following;

receive a content selection describing content, and a subscriber identification;

inititiate a transaction session by a Transaction Management Application (TMA), wherein the TMA retrieves a subscriber profile including a subscriber occupation, and a content profile including a content cost and a content length, from a database;

retrieve an array of advertisement profiles from the database for all ads used to sponsor the content for the subscriber occupation;

determine, using the array, a minimum number of ads necessary to offset the content cost;

compute an ad interruption period;

send a message to a content server to begin streaming the content to a subscriber;

launch a new content processing task;

store the content in an input queue;

decode the content from the input queue and storing decoded audio data packets and video data packets in a raw content queue as raw content;

process and integrating a raw ad content with the raw content, by a Content Processing Application (CPA) and a Video Processing Application (VPA), and distributing a packetized, ad-inserted compressed encoded composite video stream to the subscriber.

31. The article according to claim 30, wherein the TMA receives a subscriber command message containing the content selection describing the content, and the subscriber identification from a Home Media Server.

32. The article according to claim 30, wherein launching the new content processing task includes initializing a current frame number and a current ad count, passing control from the TMA to the CPA, and passing a transaction identification, the array, the ad interruption period, the content identification, and the number of ads from the TMA to the CPA.

33. The article according to claim 32, wherein the VPA receives the current ad count, the current frame number, the transaction identification, and the raw content from the CPA.

34. The article according to claim 30, wherein each row of the array includes an ad identification, and an ad rate, and the ad identification is ranked in order of the ad rate for each placement to the subscriber with the subscriber occupation.

35. The article according to claim 30, wherein the ad plays once in order of a diminishing ad rate.

36. The article according to claim 30, wherein the ad interruption period equals integer value(content length/minimum number of ads+0.5)

37. The article according to claim 30, wherein decoding the content and an ad to form the raw content and the raw ad includes using a MPEG4 decoder.

38. The article according to claim 30, wherein the CPA and the VPA integrate the raw content with the raw ad by passing streams of the raw content and the raw ad to a video mixer, the video mixer mixes the raw content and the raw ad video streams to form a composite video stream, the VPA compresses and encodes the composite video stream using an encoder to form an ad inserted compressed encoded composite video stream.

39. The article according to claim 38, wherein the raw content is passed at a current frame number and the raw ad is passed at the beginning of the raw ad.

40. The article according to claim 34, wherein the ad identification equals an array value, and a current ad count is incremented after each ad is integrated.

41. The article according to claim 30, wherein the processing includes video fading, image recognition, image sizing, image enhancement, reverb, filtering, and spatial processing.

42. The article according to claim 30, wherein the content includes movies and music available through downloaded files via the Internet.

43. The article according to claim 30, wherein video is stored as MPEG4, and audio is stored as MP3.