Methods and transmitting multimedia files and advertisements

• US 8,676,885 B2
• Filed: 08/22/2012
• Issued: 03/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tamiras Per Pte Ltd LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Zaron Remote LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Fernndez, Alvaro
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Quang N
• Application Number:
  US13/592,237
• Publication Number:
  US 20120323651A1
• Time in Patent Office: 573 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/217, 709/219, 709/224, 709/231, 709/246, 370/509
• US Class Current: 709/203
• 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. An apparatus comprising:

a server computing device configured to;

communicate with a multimedia player of a user device;

transmit at least a portion of a digital file comprising advertising content and requested content;

receive a play request subsequent to transmission of a first advertisement portion that attempts to skip a second advertisement portion of the digital file; and

in response to receipt of the play request,

send a signal to the multimedia player, the signal instructing the multimedia player to process the play request,

conduct a virtual skip to displace the second advertisement portion and the requested content relative to their locations in the digital file, and

complete transmission of the second advertisement portion prior to transmitting the requested portion such that the multimedia player plays the second advertisement portion despite receiving the instructing signal to process the play request to skip the second advertisement portion of the digital file.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the server computing device is configured to conduct the virtual skip by creating a virtual file based on a combination of the requested content and the advertising content wherein the requested content and the advertising content are displaced relative to the digital file.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the virtual skip places the second advertising portion at a point corresponding to the play request while appearing to advance the transmission to the requested portion.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the server computing device is configured to use RTSP and RTP protocols to transmit the virtual file that plays the second advertisement portion in response to a request to skip the second advertising portion of the digital file.

5. A method comprising:

transmitting at least a portion of a digital file comprising advertising content and requested content to a multimedia player;

receiving, by a streaming server computing device, a play request subsequent to transmission of a first advertisement portion that attempts to skip a second advertisement portion of the digital file; and

in response to receipt of the play request,

sending a signal to the multimedia player, the signal instructing the multimedia player to process the play request,

conducting a virtual skip to displace the second advertisement portion and requested content relative to their locations in the digital file, and

completing transmission of the second advertisement portion prior to transmitting the requested portion such that the multimedia player plays the second advertisement portion despite receiving the instructing signal to process the play request to skip the second advertisement portion of the digital file.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the streaming server computing device conducting the virtual skip by placing the second advertising portion in the transmission at a point corresponding to the play request while appearing to advance the transmission to the requested portion.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the streaming server computing device uses RTSP and RTP protocols to transmit a virtual file that plays the second advertisement portion in response to a request to skip the second advertising portion of the digital file.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon that in response to execution of the instructions cause one or more computing devices comprising a streaming server computing device to perform operations comprising:

transmitting at least a portion of a digital file comprising advertising content and requested content to a multimedia player;

receiving, by the streaming server computing device, a play request subsequent to a transmission of a first advertisement portion that attempts to skip a second advertisement portion of the digital file; and

in response to receipt of the play request,

sending a signal to the multimedia player, the signal instructing the multimedia player to process the play request,

conducting a virtual skip that displaces the second advertisement portion and the requested content relative to their locations in the digital file, and

completing transmission of the second advertisement portion prior to transmitting the requested portion such that the multimedia player plays the second advertisement potion despite receiving the instructing signal to process the play request to skip the second advertisement portion of the digital file.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8 further comprising instructions stored on the computer readable medium that in response to execution cause the streaming server computing device to conduct the virtual skip by placing the second advertising portion in the transmission at a point corresponding to the play request while appearing to advance the transmission to the requested portion.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 9 further comprising instructions stored on the computer readable medium that in response to execution cause the streaming server computing device to use RTSP and RTP protocols to transmit a virtual file that plays the second advertisement in response to a request to skip the advertising portion of the digital file.