Methods for identifying video segments and displaying contextually targeted content on a connected television

• US 9,906,834 B2
• Filed: 11/24/2014
• Issued: 02/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Inscape Data, Inc. (VIZIO, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Inscape Data, Inc. (VIZIO, Inc.)
• Inventors: Neumeier, Zeev, Liberty, Edo
• Primary Examiner(s): RABOVIANSKI, JIVKA A
• Application Number:
  US14/551,933
• Publication Number:
  US 20150082331A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,191 Days
• Field of Search: 725 60, 725 90
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23418 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics television picture signal circuitry for scene change detection H04N5/147; filtering for image enhancement G06T5/00; methods or arrangements for recognising scenes G06V20/00; arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• 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 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44204 Monitoring of content usage, e.g. the number of times a movie has been viewed, copied or the amount which has been watched monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; protecting generic digital content where the protection is independent of the precise nature of the content G06F21/10; arrangements for monitoring the use made of the broadcast services in broadcast systems H04H60/31
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/462 Content or additional data management, e.g. creating a master electronic program guide from data received from the Internet and a Head-end, controlling the complexity of a video stream by scaling the resolution or bit-rate based on the client capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4667 Processing of monitored end-user data, e.g. trend analysis based on the log file of viewer selections
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8126 involving additional data, e.g. news, sports, stocks, weather forecasts

Abstract

Systems and methods for identifying which video segment is being displayed on a screen of a television system. The video segment is identified by deriving date from the television signals, the derived data being indicative of the video segment being displayed on file screen. This feature can be used to extract a viewer'"'"'s reaction (such as changing the channel) to a specific video segment (such as an advertisement) and reporting the extracted information as metrics. The systems and methods may further provide contextually targeted content to the television system. The contextual targeting is based on not only identification of the video segment being displayed, hut also a determination concerning the playing time or offset time of the particular portion of the video segment being currently displayed.

Claims

1. A computing device comprising:

one or more processors; and

a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium containing instructions which when executed on the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including;

receive a pixel cue point, wherein the pixel cue point represents a frame of a video segment, wherein the received pixel cue point includes a set of pixel values corresponding to the frame of the video segment, and wherein the frame of the video segment is being presented by a media system;

obtain a probability for an identified video segment, wherein the probability indicates a likelihood that the identified video segment is being presented by the media system;

match one or more stored pixel cue points to the received pixel cue point, wherein a stored pixel cue point includes a set of pixel values associated with a frame of the identified video segment, and wherein matching includes comparing the set of pixel values corresponding to the frame with the set of pixel values corresponding to the identified video segment;

update the probability for the identified video segment when a stored pixel cue point associated with a frame of the identified video segment is matched with the received pixel cue point;

compare the probability for the identified video segment to a probability threshold;

determine the identified video segment is being presented by the media system when the probability is above the probability threshold; and

cause the media system to present additional content with the video segment being presented by the media system, wherein the additional content is contextually related to the identified video segment.

2. The computing device of claim 1, further comprising instructions which when executed on the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including:

receive an additional pixel cue point, wherein the received additional pixel cue point includes a set of pixel values corresponding to an additional frame in the video segment, and wherein the additional frame is being presented by the media system; and

update the probability when the received additional pixel cue point is matched to one or more additional stored pixel cue points, wherein an additional stored pixel cue point includes a set of pixel values corresponding to the identified video segment.

3. The computing device of claim 1, further comprising instructions which when executed on the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including:

discount the probability for time.

4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the received pixel cue point includes an average value of a patch of pixel data, wherein the patch of pixel data includes an array of pixel values extracted from the frame of the video segment.

5. The computing device of claim 1, further comprising instructions which when executed on the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including:

determine content associated with the identified video segment;

retrieve the content from a database; and

transmit the retrieved content, wherein the retrieved content is addressed to the media system.

6. The computing device of claim 1, wherein updating the probability for the identified video segment uses the probability before the update.

18. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the additional content is stored remote from the media system.

19. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the identified segment includes a plurality of frames.

7. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a pixel cue point, wherein the pixel cue point represents a frame of a video segment, wherein the received pixel cue point includes a set of pixel values corresponding to the frame of the video segment, and wherein the frame of the video segment is being presented by a media system;

obtaining a probability for an identified video segment, wherein the probability indicates a likelihood that the identified video segment is being presented by the media system;

matching one or more stored pixel cue points to the received pixel cue point, wherein a stored pixel cue point includes a set of pixel values associated with a frame of the identified video segment, and wherein matching includes comparing the set of pixel values corresponding to the frame with the set of pixel values corresponding to the identified video segment;

updating the probability for the identified video segment when a stored pixel cue point associated with a frame of the identified video segment is matched with the received pixel cue point;

comparing the probability for the identified video segment to a probability threshold;

determining the identified video segment is being presented by the media system when the probability is above the probability threshold; and

causing the media system to present additional content with the video segment being presented by the media system, wherein the additional content is contextually related to the identified video segment.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving an additional pixel cue point, wherein the received additional pixel cue point includes a set of pixel values corresponding to an additional frame in the video segment, and wherein the additional frame is being presented by the media system; and

updating the probability when the received additional pixel cue point is matched to one or more additional stored pixel cue points, wherein an additional stored pixel cue point includes a set of pixel values corresponding to the identified video segment.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising:

discounting the probability for time.

10. The computing device of claim 7, wherein the received pixel cue point includes an average value of a patch of pixel data, wherein the patch of pixel data includes an array of pixel values extracted from the frame of the video segment.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising:

determining the additional content;

retrieving the additional content from a database; and

transmitting the retrieved content, wherein the retrieved content is addressed to the media system.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein updating the probability for the identified video segment uses the probability before the update.

13. A computer-program product tangibly embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of a computing device, including instructions configured to cause one or more data processors to:

receive a pixel cue point, wherein the pixel cue point represents a frame of a video segment, wherein the received pixel cue point includes a set of pixel values corresponding to the frame of the video segment, and wherein the frame of the video segment is being presented by a media system;

obtain a probability for an identified video segment, wherein the probability indicates a likelihood that the identified video segment is being presented by the media system;

match one or more stored pixel cue points to the received pixel cue point, wherein a stored pixel cue point includes a set of pixel values associated with a frame of the identified video segment, and wherein matching includes comparing the set of pixel values corresponding to the frame with the set of pixel values corresponding to the identified video segment;

update the probability for the identified video segment when a stored pixel cue point associated with a frame of the identified video segment is matched with the received pixel cue point;

compare the probability for the identified video segment to a probability threshold;

determine the identified video segment is being presented by the media system when the probability is above the probability threshold; and

cause the media system to present additional content with the video segment being presented by the media system, wherein the additional content is contextually related to the identified video segment.

14. The computer-program product of claim 13, instructions configured to cause one or more data processors to:

receive an additional pixel cue point, wherein the received additional pixel cue point includes a set of pixel values corresponding to an additional frame in the video segment, and wherein the additional frame is being presented by the media system; and

update the probability when the received additional pixel cue point is matched to one or more additional stored pixel cue points, wherein an additional stored pixel cue point includes a set of pixel values corresponding to the identified video segment.

15. The computer-program product of claim 13, instructions configured to cause one or more data processors to:

discount the probability for time.

16. The computer-program product of claim 13, wherein the received pixel cue point includes an average value of a patch of pixel data, wherein the patch of pixel data includes an array of pixel values extracted from the frame of the video segment.

17. The computer-program product of claim 13, further comprising instructions which when executed on the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including:

determine content associated with the identified video segment;

retrieve the content from a database; and

transmit the retrieved content, wherein the retrieved content is addressed to the media system.