METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR RECOVERING FROM ERRORS ASSOCIATED WITH ADVERTISEMENT STREAMS

• US 20120151520A1
• Filed: 02/21/2012
• Published: 06/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Bassali, Harpal S., Ruffini, Michael P., Lechner, Marcelo D., Stettner, Armando P.
• Granted Patent: US 8,578,406 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4425 Monitoring of client processing errors or hardware failure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02

Abstract

An exemplary method includes switching, by a media content access subsystem, from a program stream to an advertisement stream in response to a switching instruction received by the media content access subsystem, detecting, by the media content access subsystem, a predetermined number of markers included within the advertisement stream, the predetermined number of markers indicative of an error associated with the advertisement stream, and switching, by the media content access subsystem, from the advertisement stream to another media content stream in response to the detecting of the predetermined number of markers. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

switching, by a media content access subsystem, from a program stream to an advertisement stream in response to a switching instruction received by the media content access subsystem;

monitoring, by the media content access subsystem, for a predetermined number of markers included within the advertisement stream as the advertisement stream is received by the media content access subsystem;

switching, by the media content access subsystem, from the advertisement stream to another media content stream if the predetermined number of markers is detected during the monitoring; and

presenting, by the media content access subsystem, an advertisement represented by the advertisement stream if the predetermined number of markers are not detected during the monitoring.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the another media content stream comprises the program stream.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the another media content stream comprises another advertisement stream.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined number of markers is indicative of an error associated with the advertisement stream.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined number of markers comprises at least two markers.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the advertisement stream comprises a plurality of elementary streams, and wherein the predetermined number of markers are included within one of the elementary streams.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the plurality of elementary streams comprises at least a video stream and a data stream, and wherein the predetermined number of markers are included within the data stream.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the plurality of elementary streams comprises at least an audio stream and a data stream, and wherein the predetermined number of markers are included within the data stream.

9. The method of claim 1, tangibly embodied as computer-executable instructions on at least one computer-readable medium.

10. A system comprising:

a media content stream switching facility that switches from a program stream to an advertisement stream in response to a switching instruction; and

an error detection facility communicatively coupled to the media content stream switching facility and that monitors for a predetermined number of markers included within the advertisement stream as the advertisement stream is received by a media content access device; and

a presentation facility communicatively coupled to the media content stream switching facility and configured to control a presentation of content represented by the program stream and content represented by the advertisement stream;

wherein the media content stream switching facility is further configured to switch from the advertisement stream to another media content stream if the predetermined number of markers is detected during the monitoring; and

wherein the presentation facility is further configured to present an advertisement represented by the advertisement stream if the predetermined number of markers are not detected during the monitoring.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the another media content stream comprises the program stream.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the another media content stream comprises another advertisement stream.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the advertisement stream comprises a plurality of elementary streams, and wherein the predetermined number of markers are included within one of the elementary streams.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the plurality of elementary streams comprises at least a video stream and a data stream, and wherein the predetermined number of markers are included within the data stream.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the media content stream switching facility and the error detection facility are implemented on a set-top box.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the predetermined number of markers comprises at least two markers.

17. A system comprising:

an advertisement stream generation facility configured to

generate an advertisement stream with a plurality of markers included therein, the plurality of markers configured to indicate an error associated with the advertisement stream if detected by a media content access subsystem, and

replace at least one of the markers within the advertisement stream with advertisement data; and

a media content stream delivery facility communicatively coupled to the advertisement stream generation facility and configured to provide the advertisement stream to the media content access subsystem.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the advertisement stream comprises a plurality of elementary streams, and wherein the generating comprises including the plurality of markers within one of the elementary streams.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the plurality of elementary streams comprises at least a video stream and a data stream, and wherein the generating comprises including the plurality of markers within the data stream.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the advertisement stream generation facility is implemented by a head-end unit.