Monitoring streaming media content

• US 9,210,208 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2011
• Issued: 12/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nielsen Company (US) LLC (RR Donnelley & Sons Company)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Ramaswamy, Arun, Besehanic, Jan
• Primary Examiner(s): Moise, Emmanuel L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chang, Julian
• Application Number:
  US13/341,646
• Publication Number:
  US 20130007298A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,439 Days
• Field of Search: 705 57- 58, 725/9, 725/14, 725/20, 709/231, 709/346
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/06 Generation of reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/61 for supporting one-way streaming services, e.g. Internet radio
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32101 Display, printing, storage or transmission of additional information, e.g. ID code, date and time or title
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/46 Embedding additional information in the video signal during the compression process H04N19/517, H04N19/68, H04N19/70 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2353 specifically adapted to content descriptors, e.g. coding, compressing or processing of metadata
• 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 21/8126 involving additional data, e.g. news, sports, stocks, weather forecasts
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8358 involving watermark protecting executable software by watermarking G06F21/16; image watermarking in general G06T1/0021; watermarks inserted in still images for transmission purposes H04N1/32144; inserting watermarks during video coding H04N19/467

Abstract

Methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture to monitor streaming media content are disclosed. An example method disclosed herein to monitor streaming media content comprises extracting metering data having a first format from media content to be provided to a content presentation device via a transport stream, the extracted metering data identifying at least one of the media content or a source of the media content, the extracted metering data not being decodable by a meter associated with the content presentation device, transcoding the extracted metering data to form transcoded metering data having a second format decodable by the meter associated with the content presentation device, and encoding the transcoded metering data into a metadata channel to send the transcoded metering data to the content presentation device, the metadata channel being associated with the transport stream.

Claims

1. A method to monitor streaming media, the method comprising:

extracting, using a processor, metering data having a first format from media to be provided to a media presentation device via a transport stream, the extracted metering data identifying at least one of the media or a source of the media, the extracted metering data not being decodable by a meter associated with the media presentation device;

transcoding the extracted metering data, using the processor, to form transcoded metering data having a second format decodable by the meter associated with the media presentation device; and

encoding the transcoded metering data, using the processor, into an external metadata channel including a file to be sent to the media presentation device separately from and prior to communication of the transport stream to the media presentation device to provide the transcoded metering data to the media presentation device, the external metadata channel being associated with the transport stream.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, further including sending the file encoded with the transcoded metering data to the media presentation device to permit the meter to decode the metering data, which would not have been decodable by the meter without transcoding the metering data from the first format to the second format.

3. A method as defined in claim 1, further including sending the file encoded with the transcoded metering data to the media presentation device to permit the meter to identify at least one of the media or the source of the media without the meter having access to the media.

4. A method as defined in claim 1, further including delaying communication of the transport stream providing the media to the media presentation device to permit the file encoded with the transcoded metering data to be sent to the media presentation device prior to the transport stream being communicated to the media presentation device.

5. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the file corresponds to an M3U file, transcoding the extracted metering data to form the transcoded metering data having the second format includes transcoding the extracted metering data to form text data corresponding to the metering data, and encoding the transcoded metering data into the external metadata channel includes inserting the text data into the M3U file implementing the external metadata channel.

6. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein extracting the metering data having the first format from the media includes extracting watermark data from the media, and transcoding the extracted metering data to form the transcoded metering data having the second format includes transcoding the extracted watermark data to form text data for inclusion in an M3U file.

7. A method as defined in claim 1, further including sending secondary data to the media presentation device, the secondary data being selected based on the transcoded metering data monitored at the media presentation device.

8. A tangible machine readable medium comprising machine readable instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to at least:

extract metering data having a first format from media to be provided to a media presentation device via a transport stream, the extracted metering data identifying at least one of the media or a source of the media, the extracted metering data not being decodable by a meter associated with the media presentation device;

transcode the extracted metering data to form transcoded metering data having a second format decodable by the meter associated with the media presentation device; and

encode the transcoded metering data into an external metadata channel including a file to be sent to the media presentation device separately from and prior to communication of the transport stream to the media presentation device to provide the transcoded metering data to the media presentation device, the external metadata channel being associated with the transport stream.

9. A tangible machine readable medium as defined in claim 8, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to send the file encoded with the transcoded metering data to the media presentation device to permit the meter to decode the metering data, which would not have been decodable by the meter without transcoding the metering data from the first format to the second format.

10. A tangible machine readable medium as defined in claim 8, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to send the file encoded with the transcoded metering data to the media presentation device to permit the meter to identify at least one of the media or the source of the media without the meter having access to the media.

11. A tangible machine readable medium as defined in claim 8, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to delay communication of the transport stream providing the media to the media presentation device to permit the file encoded with the transcoded metering data to be sent to the media presentation device prior to the transport stream being communicated to the media presentation device.

12. A tangible machine readable medium as defined in claim 8, wherein the file corresponds to an M3U file, to transcode the extracted metering data to form the transcoded metering data having the second format, the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to transcode the extracted metering data to form text data corresponding to the metering data, and to encode the transcoded metering data into the external metadata channel, the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to insert the text data into the M3U file implementing the external metadata channel.

13. A tangible machine readable medium as defined in claim 8, wherein to extract the metering data having the first format from the media, the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to extract watermark data from the media, and to transcode the extracted metering data to form the transcoded metering data having the second format, the machine readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to transcode the extracted watermark data to form text data for inclusion in an M3U file.

14. A tangible machine readable medium as defined in claim 8, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to send secondary data to the media presentation device, the secondary data being selected based on the transcoded metering data monitored at the media presentation device.

15. A meter to monitor media, the meter comprising:

an extractor to extract metering data having a first format from media to be provided to a media presentation device via a transport stream, the extracted metering data identifying at least one of the media or a source of the media, the extracted metering data not being decodable by a meter associated with the media presentation device;

a transcoder to transcode the extracted metering data to form transcoded metering data having a second format decodable by the meter associated with the media presentation device; and

an encoder to encode the transcoded metering data into an external metadata channel including a file to be sent to the media presentation device separately from and prior to communication of the transport stream to the media presentation device to provide the transcoded metering data to the media presentation device, the external metadata channel being associated with the transport stream, at least one of the extractor, the transcoder or the encoder being implemented by hardware.

16. A meter as defined in claim 15, wherein the encoder is further to send the file encoded with the transcoded metering data to the media presentation device to permit the meter to decode the metering data, which would not have been decodable by the meter without transcoding the metering data from the first format to the second format.

17. A meter as defined in claim 15, wherein the encoder is further to send the file encoded with the transcoded metering data to the media presentation device to permit the meter to identify at least one of the media or the source of the media without the meter having access to the media.

18. A meter as defined in claim 15, wherein the encoder is further to delay communication of the transport stream providing the media to the media presentation device to permit the file encoded with the transcoded metering data to be sent to the media presentation device prior to the transport stream being communicated to the media presentation device.

19. A meter as defined in claim 15, wherein the file corresponds to an M3U file, the transcoder is to transcode the extracted metering data to form the transcoded metering data having the second format by transcoding the extracted metering data to form text data corresponding to the metering data, and the encoder is to encode the transcoded metering data into the external metadata channel by inserting the text data into the M3U file implementing the external metadata channel.

20. A meter as defined in claim 15 wherein the extractor is to extract the metering data having the first format from the media by extracting watermark data from the media, and the transcoder is to transcode the extracted metering data to form the transcoded metering data having the second format by transcoding the extracted watermark data to form text data for inclusion in an M3U file.