Image content and advertisement data providing method, system, and apparatus

• US 8,707,353 B2
• Filed: 09/16/2011
• Issued: 04/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Nakagawa, Susumu
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheleheda, James R
• Application Number:
  US13/234,873
• Publication Number:
  US 20120005027A1
• Time in Patent Office: 949 Days
• Field of Search: 725/32, 725/34, 725/46, 725/35, 705/14.66, 705/14.49
• US Class Current: 725/35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/60 Network streaming of media packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23424 involving splicing one content stream with another content stream, e.g. for inserting or substituting an advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2668 Creating a channel for a dedicated end-user group, e.g. insertion of targeted commercials based on end-user profiles information retrieval from the Internet by querying with filtering and personalisation G06F16/9535; arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast H04H20/10; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; adaptation of message content in packet-switching networks H04L51/063
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/441 Acquiring end-user identification , e.g. using personal code sent by the remote control or by inserting a card
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/472 End-user interface for requesting content, additional data or services; End-user interface for interacting with content, e.g. for content reservation or setting reminders, for requesting event notification, for manipulating displayed content end-user interfaces for retrieving video data from a database G06F16/739; network services for supporting unicast streaming H04L65/612
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8352 involving content or source identification data, e.g. Unique Material Identifier [UMID]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

To provide an image content providing method capable of promoting advertisement effect by dynamically inserting an advertisement image to a distributed image content, an image content reproducing apparatus requests an image content providing apparatus to distribute the image content. Then, the image content is distributed to the image content reproducing apparatus and a viewer can utilize the image content. At this occasion, the image content providing apparatus distributes the image content, detects an advertisement inserting position and requests an advertisement image providing apparatus to distribute an advertisement image. Then, the advertisement image providing apparatus selects the advertisement image to be inserted to the image content and transmits thereof to the image content providing apparatus. Thereafter, the image content providing apparatus inserts the advertisement image to a position of the image content for inserting the advertisement and distributes thereof to the image content reproducing apparatus.

Claims

1. A contents streaming and advertisement data providing server comprising:

a content providing apparatus storing content data and including

a content database storing the content data and predetermined condition for inserting advertisement data,

a communication unit configured to

(a) request a user profile to a terminal and

(b) receive the user profile and a user designation of user desired content data; and

a controller configured to

(a) acquire, from the content database, the desired content data and the predetermined condition related thereto,

(b) send the user profile and the predetermined condition to an advertisement server which selects advertisement data,

(c) receive the advertisement data from a database of the advertisement server which selected the advertisement data based on the user profile and the predetermined condition, and

(d) control the communication unit to

(1) stream the desired content data from the content providing apparatus to the terminal,

(2) suspend the streaming of the desired content data when the content providing apparatus determines the predetermined condition is satisfied,

(3) start the streaming of the extracted advertisement data by the content providing apparatus to the terminal instead of the transmission of the desired content data, and

(4) restart the streaming of the desired content data by the content providing apparatus to the terminal after the streaming of the extracted advertisement data is finished.

2. The contents streaming and advertisement data providing server according to the claim 1, wherein the controller extracts the advertisement data based on attribute information of the desired content data in additional to the received user profile.

3. The contents streaming and advertisement data providing server according to the claim 1, wherein the controller counts the number of streaming of the advertisement data to the terminal.

4. The contents streaming and advertisement data providing server according to the claim 1, wherein the user profile includes at least one of gender, age, occupation, and resident area of the user.

5. The contents streaming and advertisement data providing server according to the claim 1, wherein the controller inserts streaming of other advertisement data at least one of at the beginning and the ending of the advertisement data.

6. The contents streaming and advertisement data providing server according to the claim 1, wherein the advertisement data includes at least one of title, category, and amount of time.

7. The contents streaming and advertisement data providing server according to the claim 1,

wherein the desired content data includes information indicating insertion point of the advertisement data in the desired content data, and

wherein the controller suspends the streaming of the desired content data when the streaming of the desired content data reaches the insertion point.

8. A contents streaming and advertisement data providing method comprising the steps of:

requesting, by a content providing apparatus storing content data, a user profile to a terminal and receiving the user profile and a user designation of user desired content data;

acquire, from a content database, the desired content data and a predetermined condition related thereto;

sending the user profile and the predetermined condition to an advertisement server which selects advertisement data;

receiving the advertisement data from a database of the advertisement server which selected the advertisement data based on the received user profile and the predetermined condition for inserting the advertisement data;

streaming the desired content data by the content providing apparatus to the terminal;

suspending the streaming of the desired content data when the content providing apparatus determines the predetermined condition is satisfied;

starting the streaming of the extracted advertisement data by the content providing apparatus to the terminal instead of the transmission of the desired content data; and

restarting the streaming of the desired content data by the content providing apparatus to the terminal after the streaming of the extracted advertisement data is finished.

9. The contents streaming and advertisement data providing method according to the claim 8, further comprising the step of extracting the advertisement data based on attribute information of the desired content data in additional to the received user profile.

10. The contents streaming and advertisement data providing method according to the claim 8, further comprising the step of counting the number of streaming of the advertisement data to the terminal.

11. The contents streaming and advertisement data providing method according to the claim 8, wherein the user profile including at least one of gender, age, occupation, and resident area of the user.

12. The contents streaming and advertisement data providing method according to the claim 8, further comprising the step of inserting streaming of other advertisement data at least one of at a beginning and an ending of the advertisement data.

13. The contents streaming and advertisement data providing method according to claim 8, wherein the advertisement data includes at least one of title, category, and amount of time.

14. The contents streaming and advertisement data providing method according to the claim 8,

wherein the desired content data including information indicating insertion point of the advertisement data in the desired content data, and

further comprising the step of suspending the streaming of the desired content data when the streaming of the desired content data reaches the insertion point.