Methods for transmitting multimedia files and advertisements

• US 8,255,527 B2
• Filed: 11/20/2009
• Issued: 08/28/2012
• 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: Fernández, Alvaro
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Quang N.
• Application Number:
  US12/623,138
• Publication Number:
  US 20100076827A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,012 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/217, 709/219, 709/229, 709/231, 725/34, 725/88, 725/68, 705/14, 705/50
• 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 method comprising:

storing in a storage medium of a streaming server an obligatory advertisement comprising a first video stream and a first audio stream, transmitting the first video stream and the first audio stream to a multimedia player so that the obligatory advertisement is played in the multimedia player in conjunction with non-advertising content to be sponsored by the obligatory advertisement, the streaming server determining if less than all of the first video stream and/or first audio stream has been transmitted to the multimedia player, and transmitting to the multimedia player a message indicating that playing of all the obligatory advertisement is required upon determining that less than all of the first video stream and/or first audio stream has been transmitted to the multimedia player; and

storing in the storage medium of the streaming server another advertisement comprising a second video stream and a second audio stream and transmitting the second video stream and the second audio stream to the multimedia player in a manner that the second video stream and the second audio stream are played in the multimedia player in conjunction with the non-advertising content and the obligatory advertisement.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the streaming server transmits the message to the multimedia player using the Real Time Streaming Protocol and transmits the advertisement to the multimedia player via Real-time Transport Protocol packets.

3. A streaming server having a storage device that stores an obligatory advertisement comprising a first video stream and a first audio stream, the streaming server storing executable instructions executed by a computer processor to cause the streaming server to perform:

transmitting the first video stream and the first audio stream to a multimedia player so that the obligatory advertisement is played in the multimedia player in conjunction with non-advertising content to be sponsored by the obligatory advertisement;

determining if less than all of the first video stream and/or first audio stream has been transmitted to the multimedia player; and

transmitting to the multimedia player a message indicating that playing of all the obligatory advertisement is required upon determining that less than all of the first video stream and/or first audio stream has been transmitted to the multimedia player;

wherein the storage device also stores another advertisement comprising a second video stream and a second audio stream, and the streaming server further transmitting the second video stream and the second audio stream to the multimedia player in a manner that the second video stream and the second audio stream are played in the multimedia player in conjunction with the non-advertising content and the obligatory advertisement.

4. The streaming server according to claim 3 wherein the streaming server transmits the message to the multimedia player using the Real Time Streaming Protocol and transmits the obligatory advertisement to the multimedia player via Real-time Transport Protocol packets.