Synchronization and automation in an ITV environment
First Claim
1. A method for synchronizing an interactive television (ITV) event with a content element broadcast by a broadcasting device, the method comprising:
- generating a plurality of synchronization triggers at predetermined intervals;
inserting the plurality of synchronization triggers into a transport medium at the predetermined intervals, each inserted synchronization trigger including a time indicia representing a time of a frame of the content element transporting the synchronization trigger;
transmitting the synchronization triggers in association with the content element, wherein a receiving device is configured to receive the transport medium with the inserted plurality of synchronization triggers, retrieve the time indicia from each of the plurality of synchronization triggers, and synchronizing the receiving device based on the retrieved time indicia, wherein the synchronizing includes locking the receiving device to the time represented by the retrieved time indicia instead of a time indicated by a local time source; and
wherein the receiving device is configured to synchronize the local time source by;
obtaining a first time value recorded by the local time source upon receipt of a first one of the plurality of synchronization triggers,computing a first offset between the first time value and a second time value corresponding to the time indicia in the first one of the plurality of synchronization triggers,applying the first offset to the first time value,obtaining a third time value recorded by the local time source upon receipt of a second one of the plurality of synchronization triggers,applying the first offset to the third time value,determining a fourth time value corresponding to the time indicia in the second one of the plurality of synchronization triggers,identifying a variance between the fourth time value and the third time value with the first offset applied, andcomputing a second offset based on the first offset and the identified variance, wherein the second offset is an average of the first offset and the identified variance.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A synchronization mechanism embeds synchronization triggers into a television signal or stream at regular intervals. The triggers include an accurate representation of the time in which the triggers were embedded. A receiving device decodes the triggers and synchronizes its internal timer based on the triggers. In this regard, the receiving device obtains a reference time from the internal timer and computes an offset between the reference time and the trigger time. The computed offset is then applied to the reference time. With the receipt of each new trigger, the application compares the trigger time to a new reference time with the most recently computed offset value applied. If there is any variance between these two values, the application creates a new smoothed offset.
26 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method for synchronizing an interactive television (ITV) event with a content element broadcast by a broadcasting device, the method comprising:
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generating a plurality of synchronization triggers at predetermined intervals; inserting the plurality of synchronization triggers into a transport medium at the predetermined intervals, each inserted synchronization trigger including a time indicia representing a time of a frame of the content element transporting the synchronization trigger; transmitting the synchronization triggers in association with the content element, wherein a receiving device is configured to receive the transport medium with the inserted plurality of synchronization triggers, retrieve the time indicia from each of the plurality of synchronization triggers, and synchronizing the receiving device based on the retrieved time indicia, wherein the synchronizing includes locking the receiving device to the time represented by the retrieved time indicia instead of a time indicated by a local time source; and wherein the receiving device is configured to synchronize the local time source by; obtaining a first time value recorded by the local time source upon receipt of a first one of the plurality of synchronization triggers, computing a first offset between the first time value and a second time value corresponding to the time indicia in the first one of the plurality of synchronization triggers, applying the first offset to the first time value, obtaining a third time value recorded by the local time source upon receipt of a second one of the plurality of synchronization triggers, applying the first offset to the third time value, determining a fourth time value corresponding to the time indicia in the second one of the plurality of synchronization triggers, identifying a variance between the fourth time value and the third time value with the first offset applied, and computing a second offset based on the first offset and the identified variance, wherein the second offset is an average of the first offset and the identified variance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for synchronizing an interactive television (ITV) event with a content element broadcast by a broadcasting device, the system comprising:
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a broadcast or headend system generating a plurality of synchronization triggers at predetermined intervals; an encoder coupled to the broadcast or headend system for inserting the plurality of synchronization triggers into a transport medium; a transmitter coupled to the encoder for transmitting the synchronization triggers in association with the content element, wherein a receiving device is configured to receive the transport medium with the inserted plurality of synchronization triggers, retrieve time indicia from each of the plurality of synchronization triggers, the time indicia representing a time of a frame of the content element transporting the synchronization trigger, and synchronizing the receiving device based on the retrieved time indicia, wherein the synchronizing includes locking the receiving device to the time represented by the retrieved time indicia instead of a time indicated by a local time source; and wherein the receiving device is configured to synchronize the local time source by; obtaining a first time value recorded by the local time source upon receipt of a first one of the plurality of synchronization triggers, computing a first offset between the first time value and a second time value corresponding to the time indicia in the first one of the plurality of synchronization triggers, applying the first offset to the first time value, obtaining a third time value recorded by the local time source upon receipt of a second one of the plurality of synchronization triggers, applying the first offset to the third time value, determining a fourth time value corresponding to the time indicia in the second one of the plurality of synchronization triggers, identifying a variance between the fourth time value and the third time value with the first offset applied, and computing a second offset based on the first offset and the identified variance, wherein the second offset is an average of the first offset and the identified variance. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification