Method and apparatus for monitoring viewing of broadcast data

• US 6,184,918 B1
• Filed: 09/30/1997
• Issued: 02/06/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hanger Solutions, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Williams, Christopher D., Goldschmidt Iki, Jean M., Lane, Kathleen, Shah-Nazaroff, Anthony Alexander
• Primary Examiner(s): Peng, John K.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NATNAEL, PAULOS M
• Application Number:
  US08/939,810
• Time in Patent Office: 1,225 Days
• Field of Search: 348/1, 348/4, 348/5, 348/10, 348/907, 348/7, 348/12, 348/13, 455/2, 455/6.2, 455/6.3, 455/5.1, 455/6.1, 455/4.2
• US Class Current: 725/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/31 Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/32 Arrangements for monitoring conditions of receiving stations, e.g. malfunction or breakdown of receiving stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/37 for identifying segments of broadcast information, e.g. scenes or extracting programme ID
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23614 Multiplexing of additional data and video streams arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information H04H20/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44204 Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8352 involving content or source identification data, e.g. Unique Material Identifier [UMID]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8455 involving pointers to the content, e.g. pointers to the I-frames of the video stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/002 Special television systems not provided for by H04N7/007 - H04N7/18 still pictures via a television channel H04N1/00098
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0887 for the transmission of programme or channel identifying signals

Abstract

A method for monitoring viewing of broadcast data includes detecting a lead tag corresponding to a program in the broadcast data. The broadcast data is monitored for a tail tag corresponding to the program. Whether the program was viewed in its entirety is determined by matching the lead tag with the tail tag.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring viewing of broadcast data, comprising:

detecting a lead tag corresponding to a program in the broadcast data;

monitoring the broadcast data for a tail tag corresponding to the program;

determining whether the program was viewed in its entirety by matching the lead tag with the tail tag; and

generating viewing data relating to the viewing of the program;

wherein generating viewing data relating to the viewing of the program comprises recording whether volume of the program was adjusted.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the lead tag of the program in the broadcast data comprises reading a message encoded in the program.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the lead tag of the program in the broadcast data comprises reading a message encoded in a vertical blanking interval (VBI) of the broadcast data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein generating viewing data relating to the viewing of the program comprises recording a name of the program.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein generating viewing data relating to the viewing of the program comprises recording whether the program was viewed in its entirety.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein generating viewing data relating to the viewing of the program comprises recording a time when the program was viewed.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein generating viewing data corresponding to the viewing of the program comprises recording a broadcast data source of the program;

recording a name of the program;

recording whether the program was viewed in its entirety; and

recording a time when the program was viewed.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting the viewing data to a remote computer system.

9. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon sequences of instructions, the sequences of instructions including instructions which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the steps of:

analyzing broadcast data to monitor said broadcast data for program identification tags corresponding to programs in the broadcast data;

generating, based on the analyzing, program viewing data that includes a name of a first program in the broadcast data and information regarding whether the first program was viewed in its entirety based on the program identification tags; and

recording in a log the program viewing data from the gene rating.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein detecting the program identification tags in the broadcast data comprises reading a message signature encoded in the program.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein detecting the program identification tags in the broadcast data comprises reading a message encoded in a vertical blanking interval (VBI) of the broadcast data.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein generating viewing data relating to the viewing of the program comprises recording a name of the program.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein generating viewing data relating to the viewing of the program comprises recording whether the program was viewed in its entirety.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, further comprising instructions which when executed by the processor causes the processor to perform the step of transmitting the viewing data to a remote computer system.

15. A broadcast data monitor, comprising:

a broadcast data analyzer that monitors broadcast data for program identification tags corresponding to programs in the broadcast data; and

a program reference unit, coupled to the broadcast data analyzer, that generates a log of program viewing data that includes a name of a first program in the broadcast data and information regarding whether the first program was viewed in its entirety based on the program identification tags.

wherein generating viewing data relating to the viewing of the program comprises recording whether volume of the program was adjusted.

16. A broadcast data monitor, comprising:

a broadcast data analyzer that monitors broadcast data for program identification tags corresponding to programs in the broadcast data;

a program reference unit, coupled to the broadcast data analyzer, that generates program viewing data that includes a name of a first program in the broadcast data and information regarding whether the first program was viewed in its entirety based on the program identification tags; and

a log, coupled to the program reference unit, that records the program viewing data generated by the program reference unit.

17. The broadcast data monitor of claim 16, further comprising an external interface, coupled to the log, that transmits the program viewing data to a remote computer system.

18. A broadcast data monitor, comprising:

a broadcast data analyzer that monitors broadcast data for program identification tags corresponding to programs in the broadcast data; and

a program reference unit, coupled to the broadcast data analyzer, that generates program viewing data that includes a name of a first program in the broadcast data and information regarding whether the first program was viewed in its entirety based on the program identification tags;

wherein the program reference unit comprises

a program identification unit that stores names of programs and identification tags corresponding to the programs, and

a source/time reference unit that indicates the time when the first program was viewed and the broadcast data source of the first program.