Methods for transmitting multimedia files and advertisements

• US 8,028,064 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2009
• Issued: 09/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tamiras Per Pte Ltd LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Media Patents S.L.
• Inventors: Fernandez, Alvaro
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Quang N.
• Application Number:
  US12/431,563
• Publication Number:
  US 20090240828A1
• Time in Patent Office: 882 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/217, 709/219, 709/229, 709/231, 709/224, 709/246, 725/88, 725/34, 725/25, 386/68
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0272 Period of advertisement exposure
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/53 using third party service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2387 Stream processing in response to a playback request from an end-user, e.g. for trick-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6437 Real-time Transport Protocol [RTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6587 Control parameters, e.g. trick play commands, viewpoint selection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02

Abstract

The invention is directed to a method of transmitting a file having an advertising portion and a requested portion different from the advertising portion. The method includes receiving a request to transmit the file, via a streaming protocol allowing non-sequential access, transmitting the advertising portion of the file, receiving a request to transmit a portion of the requested portion of the file prior to completing transmitting the advertising portion of the file, completing the transmission of the advertising portion of the file, and transmitting the requested portion of the file.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of transmitting, from a server to a multimedia player, digital data comprising one or more obligatory advertising portions comprising a first type of content and one or more requested portions comprising a second type of content which is different than the first type of content, the method comprising:

receiving a first request from the multimedia player to transmit the digital data;

generating or accessing a first digital file in the server comprising the digital data and supplemental digital data;

initiating transmission of one or more obligatory advertising portions of the digital data;

receiving a second request from the multimedia player to expedite transmission of at least one part of the requested portion of the digital data after initiating transmission of an obligatory advertising portion of the digital data and prior to completion of the transmission of the obligatory advertising portion of the digital data, such that a first part of the obligatory advertising portion is transmitted prior to receiving the second request, and a second part of the obligatory advertising portion is untransmitted prior to receiving the second request; and

terminating transmission of the first digital file after receiving the second request and generating a second digital file and transmitting the second digital file to the multimedia player, the second digital file comprising at least a portion of the digital data and at least a portion of the supplemental digital data that is sequentially positioned before the requested portion of the digital data.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the second digital file is created as a program component running in the server that reads information from the first digital file.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein the server is a streaming server and the first digital file is assigned a streaming session, the second digital file using the same streaming session as the first digital file.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein the second request is receivable via a streaming protocol.

5. The method according to claim 4 wherein the streaming protocol is based on the Real Time Streaming Protocol.

6. The method according to claim 1 wherein transmitting the first digital file from the server is performed via Real-time Transport Protocol.

7. The method according to claim 1 wherein the supplemental digital data comprises non-obligatory advertising.

8. The method according to claim 1 wherein the supplemental digital data comprises on or more display messages.

9. The method according to claim 1 wherein the second request is a skip, fast forward or similar type message.

10. The method according to claim 1 wherein, upon receiving a subsequent request from the multimedia player to expedite transmission of at least one part of a requested portion of the digital data after initiating transmission of the obligatory advertising portion of the digital data and prior to completion of the transmission of the obligatory advertising portion of the digital data, the server terminates the transmission of the digital data to the multimedia player.