Measurement of video quality at customer premises

• US 8,424,049 B2
• Filed: 08/25/2006
• Issued: 04/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Laboratories Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Skelly, Paul Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Ingvoldstad, Bennett
• Application Number:
  US11/510,361
• Publication Number:
  US 20080066113A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,426 Days
• Field of Search: 725/135, 348/192, 348/193
• US Class Current: 725/107
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 17/004 for digital television systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 17/04 for receivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/24 Monitoring of processes or resources, e.g. monitoring of server load, available bandwidth, upstream requests monitoring of server performance or load G06F11/34; arrangements for observation, testing or troubleshooting for broadcast or for distribution combined with broadcast H04H20/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2402 Monitoring of the downstream path of the transmission network, e.g. bandwidth available traffic monitoring in data switching networks H04L43/00; monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44209 Monitoring of downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. bandwidth variations of a wireless network arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/658 Transmission by the client directed to the server
• 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

Abstract

A video signal is provided to a set top box. An instruction to record a specified portion of the video signal, thereby creating a video sample, is provided to the set top box. The video sample is received from the set top box. Reference video corresponding to the video sample is obtained. A comparison of the video sample and the reference video is performed.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

providing a video signal to a set top box, the video signal being provided by a head end and including a plurality of channels;

providing an instruction to the set top box to record a specified portion of the video signal to create a video sample, the specified portion of the video signal being specified by the instruction at least in part by a particular channel of the video signal during a specified time period;

receiving the video sample from the set top box;

obtaining a reference video corresponding to the video sample, the reference video being obtained from the head end; and

comparing the video sample to the reference video.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a report that includes a result of the comparison.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing a result of the comparison in a data warehouse.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the video sample is received via an internet protocol (IP) network.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising converting the video signal from a first format to a second format in the set top box.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising specifying the specified portion of the video signal from a remote computer.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising correlating a result of the comparison with a metric associated with a network used to provide the video signal.

8. A system, comprising:

a data warehouse that stores a reference video corresponding to a specified portion of a video signal, the video signal being provided by a head end and including a plurality of channels; and

a computer that is connected to a network and the data warehouse and that comprises a computer readable medium tangibly embodying computer executable instructions for;

providing an instruction to a set top box via the network to record the specified portion of the video signal to create a video sample, the specified portion of the video signal being specified by the instruction at least in part by a particular channel of the video signal during a specified time period;

requesting the video sample from the set top box via the network;

requesting the reference video from the data warehouse, the data warehouse obtaining the reference video from the head end; and

comparing the video sample to the reference video.

9. The system of claim 8, the computer executable instructions further comprising instructions for generating a report that includes a result of the comparison.

10. The system of claim 8, the computer executable instructions further comprising instructions for storing a result of the comparison in a data warehouse.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the network is an internet protocol (IP) network.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the set top box includes a converter for converting the video signal from a first format to a second format in the set top box.

13. The system of claim 8, the computer executable instructions further comprising instructions for specifying, at the remote computer, the specified portion of the video signal.

14. The system of claim 8, the computer executable instructions further comprising instructions for correlating a result of the comparison with a metric associated with a second network used for providing the video signal.

15. A method, comprising:

receiving a video signal in a set top box, the video signal being provided by a head end and including a plurality of channels, the set top box being located at a customer premises;

receiving, in the set top box, an instruction to record a specified portion of the video signal to create a video sample, the specified portion of the video signal being specified by the instruction at least in part by a particular channel of the video signal during a specified time period;

providing the video sample from the set top box to a remote computer via a network;

obtaining, at the remote computer, a reference video corresponding to the video sample, the reference video being obtained from the head end; and

measuring a quality of the video signal at the customer premises by comparing the video sample to the reference video.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

performing, at the remote computer, the comparison of the video sample and the reference video.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising generating a report that includes a result of the comparison.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising storing a result of the comparison in a data warehouse.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising correlating a result of the comparison with a metric associated with a second network used for providing the video signal.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the network is an internet protocol (IP) network.

21. The method of claim 15, further comprising converting the video signal from a first format to a second format in the set top box.

22. The method of claim 15, further comprising specifying, at the remote computer, the specified portion of the video signal.

23. A method, comprising:

providing, from a remote computer via a first network, a video signal to a set top box, the video signal being provided by a head end and including a plurality of channels;

receiving the video signal in the set top box;

providing, to the set top box, from the remote computer via a second network, an instruction to record a specified portion of the video signal, the specified portion of the video signal being specified by the instruction at least in part by a particular channel of the video signal during a specified time period;

receiving, in the set top box, the instruction to record the specified portion of the video signal;

creating a video sample in the set top box in response to the instruction to record the specified portion of the video signal;

providing the video sample from the set top box to the remote computer via the first network;

receiving, from the set top box, the video sample in the remote computer;

obtaining in the remote computer a reference video corresponding to the video sample, the reference video being obtained from the head end; and

comparing the video sample to the reference video in the remote computer.