Methods and apparatus for audio watermarking

• US 9,117,442 B2
• Filed: 12/07/2012
• Issued: 08/25/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: McMillan, Francis Gavin, Kilian, Istvan Stephen Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Pullias, Jesse
• Application Number:
  US13/708,266
• Publication Number:
  US 20130103172A1
• Time in Patent Office: 991 Days
• Field of Search: 704/E19.009, 704/226, 704/227, 704/243, 713/176, 386/260, 381/58
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/018 Audio watermarking, i.e. embedding inaudible data in the audio signal

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for audio watermarking a substantially silent media content presentation are disclosed. An example method to audio watermark a media content presentation disclosed herein comprises obtaining a watermarked noise signal comprising a watermark and a noise signal having energy substantially concentrated in an audible frequency band, the watermarked noise signal attenuated to be substantially inaudible without combining with a separate audio signal, associating the watermarked noise signal with a substantially silent content component of the media content presentation, the media content presentation comprising one or more media content components, and outputting the watermarked noise signal during presentation of the substantially silent content component.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

obtaining, with a processor, a watermarked noise signal including a watermark and a first noise signal having energy substantially concentrated in an audible frequency band, the watermarked noise signal being associated with a first operating state of a device;

attenuating, with the processor and based on an ambient noise level sensed in an environment in which the device is operating, the watermarked noise signal to be substantially inaudible when the watermarked noise signal is not combined with a separate audio signal; and

outputting the watermarked noise signal in response to determining that the device is in the first operating state.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first operating state corresponds to an operating state in which an audio output of the device is substantially inaudible.

3. A method as defined in claim 2, wherein the first operating state corresponds to an audio mute state.

4. A method as defined in claim 2, wherein the first operating state corresponds to a low volume state in which the device has been configured to output audio having a volume below a threshold.

5. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the watermark is a signal having frequencies modulated to convey digital information identifying the first operating state.

6. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first noise signal is filtered with a bandpass filter having a passband corresponding to the audible frequency band.

7. A method as defined in claim 1, further including:

scaling the watermark based on a power of the first noise signal; and

embedding the scaled watermark in the first noise signal to generate the watermarked noise signal.

8. A method as defined in claim 1, further including modulating the first noise signal based on the watermark to generate the watermarked noise signal.

9. A method as defined in claim 1, further including sensing the ambient noise level with a sensor.

10. A tangible computer readable storage device or storage disk including computer readable instructions which, when executed, cause a second device to at least:

obtain a watermarked noise signal including a watermark and a first noise signal having energy substantially concentrated in an audible frequency band, the watermarked noise signal being associated with a first operating state of the second device;

attenuate, based on an ambient noise level sensed in an environment in which the second device is operating, the watermarked noise signal to be substantially inaudible when the watermarked noise signal is not combined with a separate audio signal; and

output the watermarked noise signal in response to determining that the second device is in the first operating state.

11. A storage device or storage disk as defined in claim 10, wherein the first operating state corresponds to an operating state in which an audio output of the second device is substantially inaudible.

12. A storage device or storage disk as defined in claim 11, wherein the first operating state corresponds to at least one of (1) an audio mute state, or (2) a low volume state in which the second device has been configured to output audio having a volume below a threshold.

13. A storage device or storage disk as defined in claim 10, wherein the watermark is a signal having frequencies modulated to convey digital information identifying the first operating state.

14. A storage device or storage disk as defined in claim 10, wherein the first noise signal is filtered with a bandpass filter having a passband corresponding to the audible frequency band.

15. A storage device or storage disk as defined in claim 10, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the second device to sense the ambient noise level with a sensor.

16. A storage device or storage disk as defined in claim 10, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the second device to:

scale the watermark based on a power of the first noise signal; and

embed the scaled watermark in the first noise signal to generate the watermarked noise signal.

17. A storage device or storage disk as defined in claim 10, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the second device to modulate the first noise signal based on the watermark to generate the watermarked noise signal.

18. A device comprising:

a watermark processor to;

obtain a watermarked noise signal including a watermark and a first noise signal having energy substantially concentrated in an audible frequency band, the watermarked noise signal being associated with a first operating state of the device;

attenuate, based on an ambient noise level sensed in an environment in which the device is operating, the watermarked noise signal to be substantially inaudible without combining the watermarked noise signal with a separate audio signal; and

an audio processor to output the watermarked noise signal in response to determining that the device is in the first operating state.

19. A device as defined in claim 18, wherein the first operating state corresponds to an operating state in which an audio output of the device is substantially inaudible.

20. A device as defined in claim 19, wherein the first operating state corresponds to at least one of (1) an audio mute state, or (2) a low volume state in which the device has been configured to output audio having a volume below a threshold.

21. A device as defined in claim 18, wherein the watermark is a signal having frequencies modulated to convey digital information identifying the first operating state.

22. A device as defined in claim 18, wherein the first noise signal is filtered with a bandpass filter having a passband corresponding to the audible frequency band.

23. A device as defined in claim 18, further including a sensor to sense the ambient noise level.

24. A device as defined in claim 18, wherein the watermark processor is further to:

scale the watermark based on a power of the first noise signal; and

embed the scaled watermark in the first noise signal to generate the watermarked noise signal.

25. A device as defined in claim 18, wherein the watermark processor is further to modulate the first noise signal based on the watermark to generate the watermarked noise signal.