Portable multi-purpose audience measurement system

• US 7,587,732 B2
• Filed: 04/17/2006
• Issued: 09/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Nelson, Dan, Ramaswamy, Arun, Wright, David Howell, Vilches, Glen
• Primary Examiner(s): Edwards, Jr.; Timothy
• Application Number:
  US11/405,067
• Publication Number:
  US 20070011040A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,240 Days
• Field of Search: 708/224, 708/218, 725/9, 725/14, 725 45- 49, 705/10, 348/552, 455/419, 707 4- 10
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• 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 60/33 Arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/37 for identifying segments of broadcast information, e.g. scenes or extracting programme ID
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/45 for identifying users
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/52 of users
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/58 of audio determination or detection of speech characteristics in general G10L25/00; speech recognition in general G10L15/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2407 Monitoring of transmitted content, e.g. distribution time, number of downloads arrangements for monitoring programmes for broadcast or for distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25883 being end-user demographical data, e.g. age, family status or address arrangements for identifying locations of users in broadcast systems H04H60/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• 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 21/44204 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 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access

Abstract

As disclosed herein, media metering functionality may be imparted to a panelists device that was not previously capable of media metering. According to one example, a method of providing a communication device with media metering functionality includes asking a potential panelist to participate in a survey, receiving an affirmative response from the potential panelist, and providing metering functionality to a portable device of the potential panelist.

Claims

1. A method to provide media metering functionality to a portable device already operational to support other native functionality but not media metering functionality, the method comprising:

obtaining consent from a potential panelist to participate in an audience measurement panel;

initiating a data transfer between a server and the portable device to download media metering software to the portable device based on the consent obtained from the potential panelist; and

executing the media metering software to adapt the portable device to determine whether to sense a media content signal output by a media presentation device separate from the portable device based on an amount of available power for powering the adapted portable device, the adapted portable device to prioritize supporting the other native functionality over sensing the media content signal when evaluating the amount of available power.

2. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the portable device comprises at least one of a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant or a pager.

3. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein obtaining the consent from the potential panelist comprises receiving the consent from the potential panelist using the portable device.

4. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein obtaining the consent from the potential panelist comprises at least one of accessing a website using the portable device or receiving an affirmative response at the portable device to a request to participate in the audience measurement panel.

5. A method as defined in claim 4 wherein the request comprises at least one of placing a first voice call or sending a first text message and wherein receiving the affirmative response comprises at least one of receiving an input command to initiate a second voice call or a second text message from the portable device.

6. A method as defined in claim 4 wherein the request comprises contacting the potential panelist through the portable device.

7. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein initiating the data transfer between the server and the portable device comprises at least one of establishing a wireless connection between the server and the portable device, establishing an Internet connection between the server and the portable device or establishing a connection between the server and the portable device conforming to an extensible data transport protocol.

8. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein downloading the media metering software to the portable device comprises at least one of pushing or pulling the metering software to the portable device.

9. A method as defined in claim 1 further comprising authorizing the server to download the media metering software to the portable device based on the consent obtained from the potential panelist.

10. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the media metering software configures the portable device to at least one of detect code information or determine signature information from the media content signal output by the media presentation device.

11. An article of manufacture storing machine readable instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to:

obtain consent from a potential panelist to participate in an audience measurement panel;

initiate a data transfer between a server and a portable device to download media metering software to the portable device based on the consent obtained from the potential panelist; and

execute the media metering software on the portable device to adapt a microphone input of the portable device to receive an audio signal output by a media presentation device separate from the portable device and to adapt the portable device to perform media metering of the received audio signal, wherein the adapted portable device is to determine whether to perform receiving and media metering of the audio signal output by the media presentation device based on an amount of available power for powering the adapted portable device, the adapted portable device to prioritize supporting preexisting conventional functionality over the receiving and media metering of the audio signal when evaluating the amount of available power.

12. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 11 wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to initiate the data transfer between the server and the portable device by at least one of establishing a wireless connection between the server and the portable device, establishing an Internet connection between the server and the portable device or establishing a connection between the server and the portable device conforming to an extensible data transport protocol.

13. An article of manufacture as defined in claim 11 wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to download the media metering software to the portable device by at least one of pushing or pulling the metering software to the portable device.

14. A system to monitor exposure to media content, the system comprising:

a portable device implementing native functionality other than media metering functionality and configured to receive media metering software to adapt the portable device to automatically switch between operating to detect and process a media content signal output by a media presentation device separate from the portable device and not operating to detect and process the media content signal output by the media presentation device based on an amount of available power for powering the adapted portable device, the adapted portable device to prioritize supporting the other native functionality over detecting and processing the media content signal when evaluating the amount of available power; and

a meter provider configured to authorize a data transfer to send the media metering functionality to the portable device based on consent obtained from the user of the portable device.

15. A system as defined in claim 14 wherein the portable device comprises at least one of a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant or a pager.

16. A system as defined in claim 14 wherein the portable device is configured to receive the media metering software by using the data transfer to at least one of push or pull metering software to the portable device.

17. A system as defined in claim 14 wherein the meter provider is further configured to obtain the consent from the user through the portable device.

18. A system as defined in claim 14 wherein the meter provider is further configured to establish an Internet connection to send the media metering software to the portable device when the meter provider authorizes the data transfer.

19. A system as defined in claim 14 further comprising a network provider configured to establish a wireless connection to send the media metering software to the portable device when the meter provider authorizes the data transfer.

20. A system as defined in claim 14 wherein the media metering software configures the portable device to at least one of detect code information or determine signature information corresponding to the media content output by the media presentation device.