Media engagement factors

• US 9,003,457 B2
• Filed: 08/22/2013
• Issued: 04/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Cable Television Laboratories Incorporated
• Inventors: Mul, Jean-Francois
• Primary Examiner(s): Lin, Jason K
• Application Number:
  US13/973,572
• Publication Number:
  US 20140059576A1
• Time in Patent Office: 593 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 725/81
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/00 2D [Two Dimensional] image generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/206 Drawing of charts or graphs
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/80 Creating or modifying a manually drawn or painted image using a manual input device, e.g. mouse, light pen, direction keys on keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/006 Mixed reality object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2223 being a public access point, e.g. for downloading to or uploading from clients arrangements specially adapted to plural spots in a confined site in broadcast systems H04H20/63
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• 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 21/44218 Detecting physical presence or behaviour of the user, e.g. using sensors to detect if the user is leaving the room or changes his face expression during a TV program methods or arrangements for recognising human body or animal bodies or body parts G06V40/10; methods or arrangements for acquiring or recognising human faces, facial parts, facial sketches, facial expressions G06V40/16; methods or arrangements for recognising movements or behaviour G06V40/20; arrangements for identifying users in broadcast systems H04H60/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/18 Network planning tools
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements

Abstract

The generation of engagement factors sufficient to represent user engagement, attention, recognition, interest and/or responsiveness to media being shown or otherwise access through an output device is contemplated. The engagement factors may be values or other representations sufficient to facilitate categorizing viewer activities during playback of particular portions of the media.

Claims

1. A method for determining engagement factors for a viewer accessing media being interfaced through an output device, the method comprising:

determining a set-top box (STB) having;

i) an interface configured to receive scrambled television signals from a service provider;

ii) a tuner configured to descramble the received television signals for display on the output device;

determining second screen device within audio range of the output device, the second screen device being operable to augment a program being played on the output device;

generating engagement factors sufficient for representing viewer engagement during playback of the program on the output device, the program being included within the scrambled television signals and being descrambled with the tuner for display on the output device, including generating one or more of the engagement factors as a function of gestures made by the viewer during playback of the program in response to events executing on the second screen device, including assigning each gesture a timestamp associated within a corresponding event executing on the second screen device proximate thereto;

comparing a first audio sample with at least a plurality of second audio samples, the first audio sample being of audio as emitted from the output device as a result of interfacing content from the service provider, the first audio sample being sampled with the second screen device, the plurality of second audio samples being of audio as emitted from the service provider to the tuner;

identifying a matched audio sample as a one of the second plurality of audio samples most closely matching the first audio sample;

determining a timing difference between the first audio sample and the matched audio sample;

synchronizing events executing on the second screen device based on the timing difference;

comparing a third audio sample of audio as emitted from the output device interfacing the content from the service provider with one or more of a plurality of fourth audio samples of audio as emitted from the service provider to the tuner, the third audio sample being sampled by the second screen device after the first audio sample is compared with the plurality of second audio samples, the plurality of fourth audio samples audio samples being recorded prior to the third audio sample;

identify an additional matched audio sample, the additional matched audio sample being the one of the plurality of fourth audio samples most closely matching with the third audio sample;

determining an additional timing difference between the third audio sample and the additional matched audio sample; and

re-synchronizing events executing on the second screen device based on the additional timing difference.

2. A system comprising:

a set-top box (STB) having;

i) an interface configured to receive scrambled television signals from a service provider;

ii) a tuner configured to descramble the received television signals for display on a television;

a second screen device within audio range of the television, the second screen device being operable to augment the program being played on the television, the second screen device including an engagement controller configured to generate engagement factors sufficient for representing viewer engagement during playback of the program on the television, the program being included within the scrambled television signals and being descrambled with the tuner for display on the television, the engagement controller generating one or more of the engagement factors as a function of gestures made by the viewer during playback of the program in response to events executing on the second screen device, including assigning each gesture a timestamp associated within a corresponding event executing on the second screen device proximate thereto, wherein the engagement controller is configured for;

i) comparing a first audio sample with at least a plurality of second audio samples, the first audio sample being of audio as emitted from the television as a result of interfacing content streamed from the service provider, the first audio sample being sampled with the second screen devices, the plurality of second audio samples being of audio as emitted from the service provider to the tuner;

ii) identifying a matched audio sample as a one of the second plurality of audio samples most closely matching the first audio sample;

iii) determining a timing difference between the first audio sample and the matched audio sample;

iv) synchronizing events executing on a device based on the timing difference;

v) comparing a third audio sample of audio as emitted from the television interfacing the content streamed from the service provider with one or more of a plurality of fourth audio samples of audio as emitted from the service provider to the tuner, the third audio sample being sampled by the second screen device after the first audio sample is compared with the plurality of second audio samples, the plurality of fourth audio samples audio samples being recorded prior to the third audio sample;

vi) identify an additional matched audio sample, the additional matched audio sample being the one of the plurality of fourth audio samples most closely matching with the third audio sample;

vii) determining an additional timing difference between the third audio sample and the additional matched audio sample; and

viii) re-synchronizing events executing on the second screen device based on the additional timing difference.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the engagement controller is configured for:

assigning first, second and third gestures respectively first, second and third values; and

calculating a first engagement factor of the one or more determined engagement factors for a first key moment of the determined key moments, including calculating the first engagement factor as a function of the first, second and third values.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the engagement controller is configured for determining the first engagement factor to be equal to:

the first value in the event the first gesture is made proximate to the first key moment in the absence of the second and third gestures being made;

the second value in the event the second gesture is made proximate to the first key moment in the absence of the first and third gestures being made; and

the first value in the event the third gesture is made proximate to the first key moment in the absence of the first and second gestures being made.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the engagement controller is configured for:

determining one or more actions, if any, made by the viewer proximate in time to occurrence of the non-key moments; and

adjusting the first engagement value relative to the first, second and third values as function of actions made proximate to the first key moment.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the engagement controller is configured for increasing the first engagement value when a first action of the determined actions is made proximate to the first key moment and decreasing the first engagement value when a second action of the determined actions is made proximate to the first key moment.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the engagement controller is configured for determining the key and non-key moments as a function of a key moments list, the key moments list identifying key and non-key moments relative to temporal offsets defined from a beginning of the media, each key and non-key moment being identified relative to a different one of the temporal offsets.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the engagement controller is configured for identifying the key moments as a function of social media inputs, the social media inputs measuring engagement of additional users viewing the media, the social media inputs being determined while the media is being played simultaneously to multiple viewers, the multiple viewers generating the social media inputs.

10. The medium system of claim 2 wherein the engagement controller is configured for:

determining a plurality of key moments for the program;

determining a plurality of non-key moments for the program, the non-key moments spanning portions of the program other than the key moments; and

determining the engagement factors for the key moments and not the non-key moments, thereby limiting the engagement factors to representing viewer engagement during the key moments.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the engagement controller is configured to identify at least one of the key moments to correspond with an advertisement shown during the program, the corresponding engagement factor representing viewer engagement during the corresponding advertisement.

12. The system of claim 2 wherein the engagement controller is configured for:

determining a plurality of key moments for the program, including at least a first key moment and a second key moment, each key moment spanning a particular portion of the program, a summation of all the key moments spanning less than 75% of an entire running length of the program; and

determining the engagement factors to include at least a first engagement factor and a second engagement factor, the first engagement factor representing viewer engagement during the first key moment and the second engagement factor representing viewer engagement during the second key moment.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the engagement controller is configured for:

determining the first engagement factor by initially determining a first engagement value and thereafter adjusting the first engagement value by a weighed value, resulting in a second engagement value, the first engagement factor being determined as the second engagement value.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the engagement controller is configured for:

determining the weighted value such that the second engagement value is greater than the first engagement value when a first gesture occurring proximate to the first key moment is of a first type, the first gesture being one of the determined gestures; and

determining the weighted value such that the second engagement value is less than the first engagement value when the first gesture is of a second type.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the engagement controller is configured for:

determining the first gesture to be of the first or second type depending on when the first gesture is made.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the engagement controller is configured for determining the first gesture to be of the first type when made during a first two minutes of the program and to be of the second type when the same first gesture is made after the first two minutes of the program.

17. The system of claim 2 wherein the engagement controller is configured for determining the one or more gestures based at least in part on viewer originating commands electronically detected by the STB.

18. The system of claim 2 wherein the engagement controller is configured to determine the gestures as a function of:

commands electronically received from a remote control on the second screen device, the remote control being operable to facilitate navigation of an electronic programming guide (EPG) operable to select programs for viewing.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having non-transitory instructions, operable with a processor, to facilitate generating engagement factors for a viewer watching a program, the non-transitory computer-readable medium including non-transitory instructions sufficient for:

determining a gateway having;

i) an interface configured to receive scrambled television signals from a service provider;

ii) a tuner configured to descramble the received television signals for display on the output device;

determining second screen device within audio range of the output device, the second screen device being operable to augment a program being played on the output device;

generating engagement factors sufficient for representing viewer engagement during playback of the program on the output device, the program being included within the scrambled television signals and being descrambled with the tuner for display on the output device, including generating one or more of the engagement factors as a function of gestures made by the viewer during playback of the program in response to events executing on the second screen device, including assigning each gesture a timestamp associated within a corresponding event executing on the second screen device proximate thereto;

comparing a first audio sample with at least a plurality of second audio samples, the first audio sample being of audio as emitted from the output device as a result of interfacing content from the service provider, the first audio sample being sampled with the second screen device, the plurality of second audio samples being of audio as emitted from the service provider to the tuner;

identifying a matched audio sample as a one of the second plurality of audio samples most closely matching the first audio sample;

determining a timing difference between the first audio sample and the matched audio sample;

synchronizing events executing on the second screen device based on the timing difference;

comparing a third audio sample of audio as emitted from the output device interfacing the content from the service provider with one or more of a plurality of fourth audio samples of audio as emitted from the service provider to the tuner, the third audio sample being sampled by the second screen device after the first audio sample is compared with the plurality of second audio samples, the plurality of fourth audio samples audio samples being recorded prior to the third audio sample;

identify an additional matched audio sample, the additional matched audio sample being the one of the plurality of fourth audio samples most closely matching with the third audio sample;

determining an additional timing difference between the third audio sample and the additional matched audio sample; and

re-synchronizing events executing on the second screen device based on the additional timing difference.