SELECTION OF CONTENT FROM A STREAM OF VIDEO OR AUDIO DATA

• US 20130302011A1
• Filed: 02/27/2013
• Published: 11/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Roku, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Gracenote, Inc. (RR Donnelley & Sons Company)
• Inventors: Aarts, Ronaldus M., Nagorski, Igor A., Nesvadba, Jan A.
• Granted Patent: US 9,143,718 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/241
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/467 characterised by the embedded information being invisible, e.g. watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234363 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for clients with a lower screen resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234381 by altering the temporal resolution, e.g. decreasing the frame rate by frame skipping
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2368 Multiplexing of audio and video streams
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2389 Multiplex stream processing, e.g. multiplex stream encrypting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23892 involving embedding information at multiplex stream level, e.g. embedding a watermark at packet level
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2541 Rights Management protecting software against unauthorised usage in a vending or licensing environment G06F21/10; security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4135 external recorder interface circuits between an apparatus for recording television signals and a television receiver H04N5/775
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4341 Demultiplexing of audio and video streams
• 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 21/4383 Accessing a communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4385 Multiplex stream processing, e.g. multiplex stream decrypting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• 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 21/4622 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 21/4667 Processing of monitored end-user data, e.g. trend analysis based on the log file of viewer selections
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8133 specifically related to the content, e.g. biography of the actors in a movie, detailed information about an article seen in a video program
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8549 : Creating video summaries, e.g. movie trailer retrieval in video databases by using presentations in form of a video summary G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/50 : Tuning indicators; Automatic tuning control

Abstract

A main stream contains successive content elements of video and/or audio information that encode video and/or audio information at a first data rate. A computation circuit (144) computes main fingerprints from the successive content elements. A reference stream is received having a second data rate lower than the first data rate. The reference stream defines a sequence of the reference fingerprints. A comparator unit (144) compares the main fingerprints with the reference fingerprints. The main stream is monitored for the presence of inserted content elements between original content elements, where the original content elements have main fingerprints that match successive reference fingerprints and the inserted content elements have main fingerprints that do not match reference fingerprints. Rendering of inserted content elements to be skipped. In an embodiment when more than one content element matches only one is rendered. In another embodiment matching is used to control zapping to or from the main stream. In another embodiment matching is used to control linking of separately received mark-up information such as subtitles to points in the main stream.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a comparator unit arranged to;

receive a main stream and a reference stream, the main stream having a higher data rate than the reference stream and comprising successive content elements and inserted sections intermixed with the successive content elements, the reference stream defining sequential reference fingerprints that correspond to the successive content elements of the main stream but not to the inserted sections in the main stream;

compute a main fingerprint from the successive content elements; and

compare the main fingerprint with a reference fingerprint among the sequential reference fingerprints defined by the reference stream that has a lower data rate than the main stream; and

a control unit arranged to select content elements from the main stream based on whether the main fingerprint matches the reference fingerprint among the sequential reference fingerprints defined by the reference stream that has the lower data rate than the main stream.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control unit is adapted to select the content elements from the main stream if the main fingerprint mismatches the reference fingerprint and to cause a rendering of the content elements to be skipped.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the comparator unit is arranged to detect that multiple instances of the main fingerprint match the reference fingerprint, the control unit being arranged to cause no more than one of the corresponding content elements to be rendered in response to this detection.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a storage device adapted to store the main stream, the control unit being arranged to select content elements for which the main fingerprint matches the reference fingerprint for selective retrieval from the storage device.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a storage device adapted to store the main stream, as well as mark-up information received in the reference stream, the comparator unit being arranged to cause linking information to be stored indicating where the main fingerprint matches linking points in the reference fingerprint.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a channel selection unit arranged to switch to a rendering of a further stream based on the main fingerprint mismatching the reference fingerprint and to switch to a rendering of the main stream based on the main fingerprint matching the reference fingerprint.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an input adapted to receive the main stream and the reference stream from mutually different distribution media.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an input arranged to receive the main stream via a broadcast channel.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a storage device adapted to record the main stream, content elements for which the main fingerprint mismatches the reference fingerprint being discarded from retention in a storage device.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the comparator unit is arranged to compute the reference fingerprint from lower resolution versions of the content elements.

11. A method comprising:

receiving a main stream and a reference stream, the main stream having a higher data rate than the reference stream and comprising successive content elements and inserted sections intermixed with the successive content elements, the reference stream defining sequential reference fingerprints that correspond to the successive content elements of the main stream but not to the inserted sections in the main stream;

computing a main fingerprint from the successive content elements;

comparing the main fingerprint with a reference fingerprint among the sequential reference fingerprints defined by the reference stream that has a lower data rate than the main stream; and

selecting content elements from the main stream based on whether the main fingerprint matches the reference fingerprint among the sequential reference fingerprints defined by the reference stream that has the lower data rate than the main stream.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the content elements are selected from the main stream if the main fingerprint mismatches the reference fingerprint;

and the method further comprises causing a rendering of the content elements to be skipped.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

detecting that multiple instances of the main fingerprint match the reference fingerprint; and

causing no more than one of the corresponding content elements to be rendered in response to this detection.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

storing the main stream; and

selecting content elements for which the main fingerprint matches the reference fingerprint for selective retrieval from the stored main stream.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

storing the main stream, as well as mark-up information received in the reference stream; and

causing linking information to be stored indicating where the main fingerprint matches linking points in the reference fingerprint.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

switching to a rendering of a further stream based on the main fingerprint mismatching the reference fingerprint; and

switching to a rendering of the main stream based on the main fingerprint matching the reference fingerprint.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the receiving of the mainstream and the reference stream is from mutually different distribution media.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the receiving of the main stream is via a broadcast channel.

20. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

recording the main stream, content elements for which the main fingerprint mismatches the reference fingerprint being discarded from retention in a storage device.

13. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising a program of instructions that, when executed by a programmable machine, causes the machine to perform operations comprising:

receiving a main stream and a reference stream, the main stream having a higher data rate than the reference stream and comprising successive content elements and inserted sections intermixed with the successive content elements, the reference stream defining sequential reference fingerprints that correspond to the successive content elements of the main stream but not to the inserted sections in the main stream;

computing a main fingerprint from the successive content elements;

comparing the main fingerprint with a reference fingerprint among the sequential reference fingerprints defined by the reference stream that has a lower data rate than the main stream;

selecting content elements from the main stream based on whether the main fingerprint matches the reference fingerprint among the sequential reference fingerprints defined by the reference stream that has the lower data rate than the main stream.