PLATFORM PLAYBACK DEVICE IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM

• US 20140026159A1
• Filed: 07/18/2012
• Published: 01/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Home Box Office Incorporated (Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Home Box Office Incorporated (Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)
• Inventors: CUTTNER, Craig Davis, MUSSER, Elmer Gehman Jr.
• Application Number:
  US13/551,744
• Publication Number:
  US 20140026159A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/19
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• 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 21/8106 involving special audio data, e.g. different tracks for different languages
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8358 involving watermark protecting executable software by watermarking G06F21/16; image watermarking in general G06T1/0021; watermarks inserted in still images for transmission purposes H04N1/32144; inserting watermarks during video coding H04N19/467

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed herein to a computer program product, comprising a tangible computer-readable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein, the computer-readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method for identifying a platform type of a device, the method including providing a system, wherein the system comprises distinct software modules, and wherein the distinct software modules comprise a secure beacon generator; receiving, by the secure beacon generator, an audio portion of media content from a content playback module; determining, by the secure beacon generator, a platform type of the device; and generating, by the secure beacon generator, a beacon for integrating with a sound wave of the audio portion of the media content, wherein the beacon includes the determined platform type of the device.

Claims

1. A computer program product, comprising a tangible computer-readable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein, the computer-readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method for identifying a platform type of a device, the method comprising:

providing a system, wherein the system comprises distinct software modules, and wherein the distinct software modules comprise a secure beacon generator;

receiving, by the secure beacon generator, an audio portion of media content from a content playback module;

determining, by the secure beacon generator, a platform type of the device; and

generating, by the secure beacon generator, a beacon for integrating with a sound wave of the audio portion of the media content, wherein the beacon includes the determined platform type of the device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein beacon is output through a wireless antenna.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the beacon further includes data that communicates a location of the device when the content playback module is playing the media content on the device, a time of day when the content playback module is playing the media content on the device, and a network that the wireless antenna is connected to when the content playback module is playing the media content on the device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the beacon further includes data that communicates an orientation of the device when the content playback module is playing the media content on the device, whether headphones are connected when the content playback module is playing the media content on the device, whether playback is continuous while the content playback module is playing the media content on the device, whether the content playback module has performed a rewind or fast forward operation while the content playback module is playing the media content on the device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the beacon further includes biometric data that identifies the user of the device in the beacon.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the beacon is output through a speaker.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the secure beacon generator is further configured to detect if and where a content watermark is embedded in the audio portion of the media content.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the beacon communicates the serial number of the device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the secure beacon generator determines the device platform type by accessing the memory of the device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the secure beacon generator is included as a module on the device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the secure beacon generator is separate from the device.

12. A computer program product, comprising a tangible computer-readable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein, the computer-readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method for identifying a platform type of a device, the method comprising:

providing a system, wherein the system comprises distinct software modules, and wherein the distinct software modules comprise a secure beacon generator;

receiving, by the secure beacon generator, an audio portion of media content;

determining, by the secure beacon generator, whether a content watermark is included in audio content;

determining, by the secure beacon generator, a platform type of the device;

generating, by the secure beacon generator, the beacon, wherein the beacon includes data that identifies the platform type of the device;

checking, by the secure beacon generator, if the content watermark is embedded into the audio content at the point in time when the device generates the beacon, if the audio content contains the content watermark;

embedding, by the secure beacon generator, the beacon into the audio content, if the content watermark is not currently embedded into the audio content; and

outputting, by the device, the audio content that includes the embedded beacon through a speaker.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

determining, by the device, whether the device is within range of a beacon receiver, before embedding the beacon into the audio content being played by the content playback module;

storing, by the device, data to be included in the beacon in a memory module until the device is within range of the beacon receiver, if the device is determined not to be within range of the beacon receiver;

outputting, by the device, the beacon once the device is within range of the beacon receiver.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the beacon includes a serial number of the device.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the beacon further includes data that communicates an orientation of the device when the content playback module is playing the media content on the device, whether headphones are connected when the content playback module is playing the media content on the device, whether playback is continuous while the content playback module is playing the media content on the device, whether the content playback module has performed a rewind or fast forward operation while the content playback module is playing the media content on the device.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the beacon further includes biometric data that identifies the user of the device in the beacon.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the beacon detection module determines a serial number of the device.

17. A computer program product, comprising a tangible computer-readable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein, the computer-readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method for identifying a platform type of a device, the method comprising:

providing a system, wherein the system comprises distinct software modules, and wherein the distinct software modules comprise a beacon detection module;

receiving, by the beacon detection module, a beacon generated from a secure beacon generator of a device, wherein the beacon includes data that identifies the platform type of the device that is emitting the audio of the media content;

determining, by the beacon detection module, the platform type of the device; and

generating, by the beacon detection module, a report identifying the platform type of the device that is emitting the audio of the media content.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the beacon detection module receives the beacon through a microphone.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the beacon detection module receives the beacon through a network.