Methods and apparatus to generate and use content-aware watermarks

• US 9,514,503 B2
• Filed: 05/25/2015
• Issued: 12/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Ramaswamy, Arun, Luff, Robert A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Colucci, Michael
• Application Number:
  US14/720,940
• Publication Number:
  US 20150254797A1
• Time in Patent Office: 561 Days
• Field of Search: 725/34, 725/32, 725/110, 715/723, 715/203, 713/176, 713/153, 709/217, 707/769, 705/55, 705/14.14, 705/14.1, 704/273, 704/270, 704/211, 704/205, 382/100
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0021 Image watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/31 using in-band signals, e.g. subsonic or cue signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/50 characterised by the use of watermarks
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/37 for identifying segments of broadcast information, e.g. scenes or extracting programme ID
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/48 for recognising items expressed in broadcast information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/58 of audio determination or detection of speech characteristics in general G10L25/00; speech recognition in general G10L15/00

Abstract

Methods and apparatus to generate and use content-aware watermarks are disclosed herein. An example disclosed method includes detecting a watermark in a first media composition, the watermark encoded with a word present in an audio track of the first media composition, the word audible during playback of the audio track. The example method also includes retrieving the word from the watermark. The example method also includes determining whether the word retrieved from the watermark matches a keyword, and presenting a second media composition when the word matches the keyword.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting, by executing an instruction with a processor, a watermark in a first media composition, the watermark encoded with a word present in an audio track of the first media composition, the word being audible during playback of the audio track;

retrieving, by executing an instruction with the processor, the word from the watermark;

determining, by executing an instruction with the processor, whether the word retrieved from the watermark matches a keyword; and

presenting, by executing an instruction with the processor, a second media composition when the word matches the keyword.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the keyword is provided by a media provider prior to broadcast of the first media composition.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein an audience of the first media composition is targeted based on the keyword.

4. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the watermark is a first watermark of a first media segment of the first media composition, and the method further includes, in response to determining that the keyword is not present in the first watermark of the first media segment:

selecting a second media segment of the first media composition;

detecting a second watermark in the second media segment of the first media composition; and

determining whether the keyword is present in the second watermark.

5. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the retrieving of the word from the watermark includes:

determining that the watermark includes an encoded word; and

decoding the encoded word.

6. The method as defined in claim 5, wherein the encoded word is a compressed word.

7. The method as defined in claim 5, wherein the encoded word is a character-bit encoded word.

8. An apparatus comprising:

a watermark detector to detect a watermark in a first media composition;

a data extractor to retrieve a word from the watermark, the word being present in an audio track of the second media composition, the word being audible during playback of the audio track; and

a server to;

determine whether the word retrieved from the watermark matches a keyword associated with a second media composition; and

present the second media composition when the word matches the keyword,

at least one of the watermark detector, the data extractor and the server implemented by a processor.

9. The apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein the server is provided the keyword prior to a broadcast of the first media composition.

10. The apparatus as defined in claim 9, wherein the keyword is selected based on a target audience of the second media composition.

11. The apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein the watermark is a first watermark of a first media segment of the first media composition, and:

the watermark detector is to detect a second watermark in a second media segment of the first media composition; and

the server is to determine whether the keyword is present in the second watermark.

12. The apparatus as defined in claim 8, further including a decoder to decode the word from the watermark.

13. The apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein the word is a compressed word.

14. The apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein the word is a character-bit encoded word.

15. A tangible machine accessible storage device or storage disk comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to at least:

detect a watermark in a first media composition;

retrieve a word from the watermark, the word being present in an audio track of the first media composition, the word to be audible during playback of the audio track;

determine whether the word retrieved from the watermark matches a keyword of a second media composition; and

present the second media composition when the word matches the keyword.

16. The tangible machine accessible storage device or storage disk as defined in claim 15, wherein the instructions further cause the machine to store the keyword prior to broadcast of the first media composition.

17. The tangible machine accessible storage device or storage disk as defined in claim 16, wherein an audience of the first media composition is targeted based on the keyword.

18. The tangible machine accessible storage device or storage disk as defined in claim 15, wherein the watermark is a first watermark of a first media segment of the first media composition, and the instructions further cause the machine to:

select a second media segment of the first media composition when the keyword is not present in the first watermark of the first media segment;

detect a second watermark in the second media segment; and

determine whether the keyword is present in the second watermark.

19. The tangible machine accessible storage device or storage disk as defined in claim 15, wherein the instructions cause the machine to retrieve the word from the watermark by decoding the word.

20. The tangible machine accessible storage device or storage disk as defined in claim 19, wherein the word is at least one of a compressed word or a character-bit encoded word.