Methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture to perform audio watermark decoding

• US 8,676,570 B2
• Filed: 04/26/2010
• Issued: 03/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Nelson, Daniel J., Srinivasan, Venugopal, Peiffer, John C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Godbold, Douglas
• Application Number:
  US12/767,422
• Publication Number:
  US 20110264455A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,422 Days
• Field of Search: 704200-201, 704500-504
• US Class Current: 704/201
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/018 Audio watermarking, i.e. embedding inaudible data in the audio signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/14 for monitoring programmes
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/50 characterised by the use of watermarks
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/31 Arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services
• 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 21/23892 involving embedding information at multiplex stream level, e.g. embedding a watermark at packet level
• 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

Abstract

Example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture to perform audio watermark decoding are disclosed. A disclosed example method includes receiving an audio signal including an audience measurement code embedded therein using a first plurality of frequency components, sampling the audio signal, transforming the sampled audio signal into a first frequency domain representation, determining whether the code is detectable in the first plurality of frequency components of the first frequency domain representation, and when the code is not detected in the first plurality of frequency components, examining a second plurality of frequency components of a second frequency domain representation to determine whether the code is detected, the second plurality of frequency components being offset from the first plurality of frequency components by a first offset, the first offset corresponding to a sampling frequency mismatch.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving an audio signal including an audience measurement code embedded therein using a first plurality of frequency components;

sampling the audio signal;

transforming the sampled audio signal into a first frequency domain representation;

determining whether the code is detected in the first plurality of frequency components of the first frequency domain representation;

when the code is not detected in the first plurality of frequency components, examining a second plurality of frequency components of a second frequency domain representation of the sampled audio signal to determine whether the code is detected, the second plurality of frequency components being offset from the first plurality of frequency components by a first offset, the first offset corresponding to a first sampling frequency mismatch; and

when the code is not detected in the second plurality of frequency components, examining a third plurality of frequency components of a third frequency domain representation of the sampled audio signal to determine whether the code is detected, the third plurality of frequency components being offset from the first plurality of frequency components by a second offset different than the first offset, the second offset corresponding to a second sampling frequency mismatch.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the second frequency domain representation comprises the first frequency domain representation.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising selecting each of the second plurality of frequency components to be adjacent to a corresponding one of the first plurality of frequency components.

4. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising selecting a first of the second plurality of frequency components to have a narrower bandwidth than a first of the first plurality of frequency components.

5. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising adjusting a frequency associated with the sampling of the audio signal to select the second plurality of frequency components.

6. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising selecting a parameter used in transforming the sampled audio signal into the second frequency domain representation based on the first offset.

7. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising selecting the first offset from a list of offsets.

8. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising adding the first offset to a list of offsets when the code is detected in the second plurality of frequency components.

9. An apparatus comprising:

an audio input interface to receive an audio signal including an audience measurement code embedded therein using a first plurality of frequency components;

a sampler to sample the audio signal;

a time-to-frequency domain converter to transform the sampled audio signal into a first frequency domain representation; and

a frequency domain decoder to determine whether the code is detected in the first plurality of frequency components of the first frequency domain representation, and when the code is not detected in the first plurality of frequency components, examine a second plurality of frequency components of a second frequency domain representation of the sampled audio signal to determine whether the code is detected, the second plurality of frequency components being offset from the first plurality of frequency components by a first offset, the first offset corresponding to a first sampling frequency mismatch, and when the code is not detected in the second plurality of frequency components, the frequency domain decoder to examine a third plurality of frequency components of a third frequency domain representation of the sampled audio signal to determine whether the code is detected, the third plurality of frequency components being offset from the first plurality of frequency components by a second offset different than the first offset, the second offset corresponding to a second sampling frequency mismatch.

10. An apparatus as defined in claim 9, further comprising an offset compensator to select the first offset from a list of offsets.

11. An apparatus as defined in claim 9, further comprising an offset compensator to add the first offset to a list of offsets when the code is detected in the second plurality of frequency components.

12. An apparatus as defined in claim 9, further comprising an offset compensator to select a parameter used in transforming the sampled audio signal into the second frequency domain representation based on the first offset.

13. An apparatus as defined in claim 9, further comprising an offset compensator to select the second plurality of frequency components to be adjacent to a corresponding one of the first plurality of frequency components.

14. An apparatus as defined in claim 9, further comprising an offset compensator to configure a first of the second plurality of frequency components to have a narrower bandwidth than a first of the first plurality of frequency components.

15. A storage device or storage disc storing machine-readable instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to at least:

receive an audio signal including an audience measurement code embedded therein using a first plurality of frequency components;

sample the audio signal;

transform the sampled audio signal into a first frequency domain representation;

determine whether the code is detected in the first plurality of frequency components of the first frequency domain representation; and

when the code is not detected in the first plurality of frequency components, examine a second plurality of frequency components of a second frequency domain representation of the sampled audio signal to determine whether the code is detected, the second plurality of frequency components being offset from the first plurality of frequency components by a first offset, the first offset corresponding to a first sampling frequency mismatch; and

when the code is not detected in the second plurality of frequency components, examine a third plurality of frequency components of a third frequency domain representation of the sampled audio signal to determine whether the code is detected, the third plurality of frequency components being offset from the first plurality of frequency components by a second offset different than the first offset, the second offset corresponding to a second sampling frequency mismatch.

16. A storage device or storage disc as defined in claim 15, wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to select each of the second plurality of frequency components to be adjacent to a corresponding one of the first plurality of frequency components.

17. A storage device or storage disc as defined in claim 15, wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to select a first of the second plurality of frequency components to have a narrower bandwidth than a first of the first plurality of frequency components.

18. A storage device or storage disc as defined in claim 15, wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to adjust a frequency associated with the sampling of the audio signal to select the second plurality of frequency components.

19. A storage device or storage disc as defined in claim 15, wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to select a parameter used in transforming the sampled audio signal into the second frequency domain representation based on the first offset.

20. A storage device or storage disc as defined in claim 15, wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to select the first offset from a list of offsets.

21. A storage device or storage disc as defined in claim 15, wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to add the first offset to a list of offsets when the code is detected in the second plurality of frequency components.