SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ACTIVELY MANAGING PLAYBACK OF DEMO CONTENT BY DISPLAY DEVICE

• US 20110149159A1
• Filed: 12/21/2009
• Published: 06/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.), Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Candelore, Brant L., Shintani, Peter
• Application Number:
  US12/643,669
• Publication Number:
  US 20110149159A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/563
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41415 involving a public display, viewable by several users in a public space outside their home, e.g. movie theatre, information kiosk
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42203 sound input device, e.g. microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4394 involving operations for analysing the audio stream, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in audio streams arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of audio in broadcast systems H04H60/58
• 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 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02

Abstract

An embodiment of the invention involves a display device and method for actively managing playback of demo content within a partially-assisted or non-assisted commercial environment. The playback of demo content is activated through detection of an audio triggering event in which playback of the streaming advertising content is temporarily halted. According to this embodiment, after the demo content is displayed, playback of the streaming advertising content resumes and cannot be interrupted for a selected period of time that is normally greater and will not be less than the playback time for the demo content. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Claims

1. A method for automatically controlling a display device to display demo content intermittently between segments of streaming advertising content, the method comprising:

receiving advertising content;

displaying the advertising content by the display device;

monitoring for an audio triggering event by the display device, the audio triggering event being an action performed by a customer that causes a distinct audible sound which can be discerned from ambient sounds;

automatically displaying the demo content for a predetermined period of time; and

continuing the display of the streaming advertising content by the display device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the streaming advertising content by the display device is displayed after display of the demo content for a second predetermined period of time even if the audio triggering event is detected during the second predetermined period of time.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the streaming advertising content by the display device is displayed after display of the demo content for the second predetermined period of time being at least equal in time to the first predetermined period of time.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring of the audio triggering event includes capturing the audible sound via a speaker, the audible sound being subsequently digitized and filtered before comparison with a digital audio clip stored within the display device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring of the audio triggering event includes capturing the audible sound via a microphone, the audible sound being subsequently digitized and filtered before comparison with a digital audio clip stored within the display device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring of the audio triggering event includes capturing the audible sound via a speaker, the audible sound being subsequently digitized and filtered before comparison with a digital audio clip stored within a portable storage medium coupled to a connector of the display device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein prior to automatically displaying the demo content for the predetermined period of time, the method further comprises:

repeating to monitor for a second audio triggering event, and upon detecting of the second audio triggering event, the demo content is automatically displayed.

8. A software stored within a memory and executed by a processor implemented within a display device being an electronic device with display capability, to perform the operations of:

monitoring for an audio triggering event during display of a streaming advertising content received from a remote source, the audio triggering event being a distinct audible sound which can be discerned from ambient sounds;

automatically displaying a demo content uploaded in internal memory of the display device for a first predetermined period of time; and

optionally displaying of the streaming advertising content by the display device after the first predetermined period of time has elapsed, the display of the streaming advertising content being for a second predetermined period of time being at least equal in duration to the first predetermined period of time.

9. The software of claim 8, wherein the monitoring of the audio triggering event includes capturing the audible sound via a speaker, the audible sound being subsequently digitized and filtered before comparison with a digital audio clip stored within the display device.

10. The software of claim 8, wherein the monitoring of the audio triggering event includes capturing the audible sound via a microphone, the audible sound being subsequently digitized and filtered before comparison with a digital audio clip stored within the display device.

11. The software of claim 8, wherein the monitoring of the audio triggering event includes capturing the audible sound via a speaker, the audible sound being subsequently digitized and filtered before comparison with a digital audio clip stored within a portable storage medium coupled to a connector of the display device.

12. The software of claim 8, wherein prior to automatically displaying the demo content for the predetermined period of time, the processor executes the software that further performs the operation of repeating to monitor for a second audio triggering event, and upon detecting of the second audio triggering event, the demo content is automatically displayed.

13. An apparatus comprising:

a memory;

an audio input device to capture audio in front of the apparatus;

an analog-to-digital converter coupled to the audio input device, the analog-to-digital convert to convert the audio in an analog form into a digitized audio;

a filtering circuit coupled to the analog-to-digital converter, the filtering circuit to filter the digitized audio;

a processor coupled to the filtering circuit, the processor to compare the filtered, digitized audio to at least one digital audio clip retrieved from the memory, the processor to (i) determine if the filtered, digitized audio matches the at least one digital audio clip thereby signaling that an audio triggering event has been detected, and (ii) render a first type of content for a first time period in lieu of rendering a second type of content that is rendered by the processor at times when the audio triggering event is not detected.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the processor to render the second type of content for a second period of time after the first period of time for rendering the first type of content has elapsed regardless if another audio triggering event is detected during the second period of time.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the processor to render the first type of content after the second period of time has elapsed and the audio triggering event is again detected.

16. A method for configuring a display device to detect an audio triggering event, the method comprising:

entering a display device into a mode that generates and displays on a screen display of the display device a list of available audio triggering events;

selecting one or more audio triggering events;

placing the display device into a selected operational mode that monitors for any selected audio triggering event of the one or more audio triggering events, the selected audio triggering event being an action performed by a customer that causes a distinct audible sound which can be discerned from ambient sounds and automatically displays the demo content for a predetermined period of time upon detecting the selected audio triggering event.