Media synchronisation system

• US 9,792,921 B2
• Filed: 10/27/2016
• Issued: 10/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intrasonics SARL
• Original Assignee: Intrasonics SARL
• Inventors: Haywood, Peter, Reynolds, Michael Raymond, Kelly, Peter John, Cvejic, Nedeljko, Barrott, David John, Starkie, Stephen
• Primary Examiner(s): Augustin, Marcellus
• Application Number:
  US15/336,501
• Publication Number:
  US 20170047073A1
• Time in Patent Office: 355 Days
• Field of Search: 704 3- 7, 704203-277, 704500-504
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/018 Audio watermarking, i.e. embedding inaudible data in the audio signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/18 Arrangements for synchronising broadcast or distribution via plural systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23892 involving embedding information at multiplex stream level, e.g. embedding a watermark at packet level
• 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 21/42203 sound input device, e.g. microphone
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4394 involving operations for analysing the audio stream, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in audio streams arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of audio in broadcast systems H04H60/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8106 involving special audio data, e.g. different tracks for different languages
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8547 involving timestamps for synchronizing content

Abstract

A communications system distributes code word pairs within the audio of a television or radio program or the like. Each pair of code words includes an ID code word that is the same for a given program and a synchronization code word that is unique within the program. A portable user device is able to synchronize itself to the program using the embedded synchronization code words.

Claims

1. A method of embedding code words into an audio signal, the method comprising:

receiving pairs of code words, each pair of code words comprising an ID code word and a synchronisation code word, wherein the ID code words of all of the pairs for a given audio signal are the same and wherein each synchronization code word for the audio signal is unique;

encoding the code words of each pair of code words separately to form encoded code word signals;

receiving an audio signal; and

combining the encoded code word signals with different portions of the received audio signal to form a modified audio signal that carries the pairs of code words distributed within the audio signal.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the pairs of code words are continuously encoded within the audio signal.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the audio signal comprises one or more break points and wherein one or more additional synchronisation code words are encoded into the audio signal after a break point.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the encoding step generates timing information associated with at least the synchronisation code word that identifies a point in time where the code word is encoded within the audio signal.

5. A non-transitory computer program product comprising computer implementable instructions for causing a programmable computer device to perform all the method steps of claim 1.

6. A method of synchronising a device with an audio signal having encoded pairs of code words embedded separately therein, each pair of code words including an ID code word and a synchronisation code word, the method comprising:

receiving the audio signal with the encoded pairs of code words, wherein the ID code words of all of the pairs for a given audio signal are the same and wherein each synchronization code word for the audio signal is unique; and

synchronising the device with the audio signal by detecting;

i) an ID code word and a synchronisation code word from one pair of code words;

or ii) an ID code word from one pair of code words and a synchronisation code word from another pair of code words.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising storing action information that defines one or more actions that the device should take at defined times during the reception of the audio signal.

8. The method according to claim 6, comprising using a first decoding technique to decode the encoded code words in the received audio signal before synchronisation and using a second decoding technique to decode the encoded code words after synchronisation.

9. The method according to claim 6, comprising using a first decoding technique to decode the encoded code words in the received audio signal and using a second decoding technique to decode the encoded code words in the event that an expected code word is not detected.

10. A non-transitory computer program product comprising computer implementable instructions for causing a programmable computer device to perform all the method steps of claim 6.

11. An apparatus for embedding code words within an audio signal, the apparatus comprising:

an encoder configured to receive pairs of code words, each pair of code words comprising an ID code word and a synchronisation code word, wherein the ID code words of all of the pairs for a given audio signal are the same and wherein each synchronization code word for the audio signal is unique, the encoder being and configured to encode the code words of each pair of code words separately to form encoded code word signals; and

a combiner configured to combine the encoded code word signals with different portions of the received audio signal to form a modified audio signal that carries the pairs of code words distributed within the audio signal.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the pairs of code words are continuously encoded within the audio signal.

13. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the audio signal comprises one or more break points and wherein the combiner is arranged to combine the signals so that one or more additional synchronisation code words are encoded into the audio signal after a break point.

14. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the encoder is arranged to generate timing information associated with at least the synchronisation code words, which timing information identifies the timing within the audio signal where the code word is encoded.

15. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the code words are encoded within the audio signal using one or more of spread spectrum encoding, echo modulation and critical band encoding so that the code words are unobtrusive to a user listening to the audio.

16. An apparatus for synchronising a device with an audio signal having encoded pairs of code words embedded separately therein, each pair of code words including an ID code word and a synchronisation code word, the method comprising:

a receiver configured to receive the audio signal with the encoded pairs of code words wherein the ID code words of all of the pairs for a given audio signal are the same and wherein each synchronization code word for the audio signal is unique; and

a synchronisation controller configured to synchronise the device with the received audio signal by detecting;

i) an ID code word and a synchronisation code word from one pair of code words;

or ii) an ID code word from one pair of code words and a synchronisation code word from another pair of code words.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising storage that stores action information that defines one or more actions that the device should take at defined times during the reception of the audio signal.

18. The apparatus according to claim 16, comprising a code word extracting module that uses a first decoding technique to decode the encoded code words in the received audio signal before synchronisation and that uses a second decoding technique to decode the encoded code words after synchronisation.

19. The apparatus according to claim 16, comprising a code word extracting module that uses a first decoding technique to decode the encoded code words in the received audio signal and that uses a second decoding technique to decode the encoded code words in the event that an expected code word is not detected.

20. The apparatus according to claim 16, comprising a microphone for receiving an acoustic signal and wherein the receiver is configured to receive an audio signal obtained from the microphone.