Methods and apparatus to verify presentation of media content
First Claim
1. An apparatus for use with a set-top box (STB) and a media presentation device, comprising:
- an audio input interface to receive a first audio signal associated with a program selected by a user via the STB;
a microphone to receive a free-field radiating second audio signal output by at least one of the media presentation device or an audio system associated with the media presentation device;
a finite impulse response filter having adaptive coefficients to delay and to attenuate the first audio signal to form an estimate of the second audio signal;
a comparator to compare the second audio signal to the estimate of the second audio signal to form an output;
a privacy protector to facilitate burst mode operation of the comparator by periodically disabling the microphone and the comparator; and
an output interface to provide a value indicative of whether the program selected by the user via the STB is presented at the media presentation device based on the output.
10 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Example methods and apparatus to verify presentation of media content are disclosed. A disclosed example apparatus for use with a set-top box (STB) and a media presentation device includes an audio input interface to receive a first audio signal associated with a program selected by a user via the STB, a microphone to receive a free-field radiating second audio signal output by at least one of the media presentation device or an audio system associated with the media presentation device, a comparator to compare the second audio signal to the first audio signal to form an output, and an output interface to provide a value indicative of whether the program selected by the user via the STB is presented at the media presentation device.
415 Citations
25 Claims
-
1. An apparatus for use with a set-top box (STB) and a media presentation device, comprising:
-
an audio input interface to receive a first audio signal associated with a program selected by a user via the STB; a microphone to receive a free-field radiating second audio signal output by at least one of the media presentation device or an audio system associated with the media presentation device; a finite impulse response filter having adaptive coefficients to delay and to attenuate the first audio signal to form an estimate of the second audio signal; a comparator to compare the second audio signal to the estimate of the second audio signal to form an output; a privacy protector to facilitate burst mode operation of the comparator by periodically disabling the microphone and the comparator; and an output interface to provide a value indicative of whether the program selected by the user via the STB is presented at the media presentation device based on the output. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. An apparatus for use with a set-top box (STB) and a media presentation device comprising:
-
an audio input interface to receive a first audio signal associated with a program selected by a user via the STB; a microphone to receive a free-field radiating second audio signal output by at least one of the media presentation device or an audio system associated with the media presentation device; a comparator to compare the second audio signal to the first audio signal to form an output; an output interface to provide a value indicative of whether the program selected by the user via the STB is presented at the media presentation device based on the output; and a privacy protector including a timer to facilitate burst mode operation of the comparator by periodically disabling the microphone and the comparator.
-
-
15. A method to verify presentation at a media presentation device of media selected at a tuning device, comprising:
-
enabling a microphone to obtain a free-field radiating first audio signal output by the media presentation device; implementing a privacy protocol by facilitating burst mode operation of the microphone, the burst mode operation to periodically disable the obtaining of the first audio signal; applying a filter to a second audio signal associated with the media received at the tuning device to form an estimate of the first audio signal by delaying and attenuating the second audio signal; comparing the first audio signal to the estimate of the first audio signal to form an output representative of whether the estimate of the first audio signal is present in the first audio signal; and providing a value indicative of whether the media received by the tuning device was presented at the media presentation device based on the output. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. A method to verify presentation at a media presentation device of media selected at a tuning device, the method comprising:
-
receiving a first audio signal associated with the media received at the tuning device; receiving a free-field radiating second audio signal output by the media presentation device; implementing a privacy protocol by; discontinuing the receiving of the second audio signal; initializing a timer; and restarting the receiving of the second audio signal when the timer expires; comparing the second audio signal to an estimate of the second audio signal to form an output representative of whether the estimate of the second audio signal is present in the second audio signal; and providing a value indicative of whether the media received by the tuning device was presented at the media presentation device based on the output. - View Dependent Claims (20)
-
-
21. A tangible machine-readable storage device or storage disc comprising instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to at least:
-
obtain, via a transducer, free-field radiating first audio signals output by a media presentation device; implement a privacy protocol by facilitating burst mode operation of the transducer, the burst mode operation to periodically disable the transducer from obtaining the first audio signals; apply a filter to a second audio signal associated with media received at a tuning device to form an estimate of the first audio signal, the filter to delay and to attenuate the second audio signal; compare the first audio signal to the estimate of the first audio signal to form an output representative of whether the estimate of the first audio signal is present in the second first audio signal; and provide a value indicative of whether the media received by the tuning device was presented at the media presentation device based on the output. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
-
-
25. An apparatus for use with a set-top box and a media presentation device comprising:
-
a transducer to receive a free-field radiating first audio signal output by the media presentation device; a filter having adaptive weights to receive a second audio signal associated with a program selected by a user from an audio output line of the set-top box, and to process the second audio signal to generate a delayed and attenuated third audio signal; a difference detector to subtract the third audio signal from the first audio signal to form a residual signal; a privacy protector including a timer to facilitate burst mode operation by periodically disabling the transducer from receiving the first audio signal; and a comparator to form a value indicative of whether the program selected by the user via the set-top box is presented at the media presentation device based on the residual signal.
-
Specification