Video segment targeting using remotely issued instructions and localized state and behavior information

• US 20030079226A1
• Filed: 10/19/2001
• Published: 04/24/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Barrett, Peter T.
• Application Number:
  US10/001,298
• Publication Number:
  US 20030079226A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4113 PC
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/435 Processing of additional data, e.g. decrypting of additional data, reconstructing software from modules extracted from the transport stream
• 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 21/44224 Monitoring of user activity on external systems, e.g. Internet browsing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4424 Monitoring of the internal components or processes of the client device, e.g. CPU or memory load, processing speed, timer, counter or percentage of the hard disk space used error monitoring in general G06F11/30; arrangements for monitoring conditions of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/32; diagnosis, testing or measuring for television receivers H04N17/04
• 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 21/454 Content or additional data filtering, e.g. blocking advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/458 Scheduling content for creating a personalised stream, e.g. by combining a locally stored advertisement with an incoming stream; Updating operations, e.g. for OS modules ; time-related management operations arrangements for replacing or switching information during the broadcast or during the distribution H04H20/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6332 directed to client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/654 Transmission by server directed to the client
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6543 for forcing some client operations, e.g. recording remote booting in general G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/163 by receiver means only

Abstract

Video advertisement targeting based on local information accessible to the video receiver. This local information includes local state and user behavior characteristics that are relevant to the targeting of the video advertisements. A video receiver monitors and stores state and user behavior characteristic associated with the video receiver. In addition to the core content such a television program or a Web page sought by the viewer, the video receiver receives a number of video advertisements as well as targeting instructions from the video stream. The video receiver processes these instructions to select a relevant video advertisement based on the locally stored characteristics. Then, the video receiver displays the selected video segment.

Claims

1. In a video receiver that is coupled to a display device, the video receiver configured to receive a stream that includes a plurality of video segments, a method of the video receiver targeting the plurality of video segments based on local information accessible to the video receiver and based on remotely issued instructions, the method comprising the following:

monitoring state and user behavior characteristics associated with the video receiver;

locally storing the characteristics;

receiving a plurality of video segment from the stream;

receiving executable instructions from the stream, the executable instructions configured to cause the video receiver to select a video segment from among the plurality of video segments based on the locally stored characteristics when the executable instructions are processed by a processor;

processing the executable instructions to cause the video receiver to select the video segment; and

causing the video segment to be displayed on the display device.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein:

processing the executable instructions to cause the video receiver to select the video segment comprises processing the executable instructions to cause the video receiver to select a video advertisement; and

causing the video segment to be displayed on the display device comprises causing the video advertisement to be displayed on the display device.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein:

causing the video segment to be displayed on the display device comprises causing the video segment to be displayed on the display device in a window.

4. A method in accordance with claim 3, further comprising:

displaying material outside of the window.

5. A method in accordance with claim 4, wherein:

displaying material outside of the window comprises displaying television programming outside of the window.

6. A method in accordance with claim 4, wherein:

displaying material outside of the window comprises displaying network resources outside of the window.

7. A method in accordance with claim 4, wherein:

displaying material outside of the window comprises displaying Web content outside of the window.

8. A method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

causing a still picture to be displayed on the display device when the video segment is not being displayed on the display device.

9. A method in accordance with claim 8, further comprising:

receiving the still picture from the stream.

10. A method in accordance with claim 8, wherein:

causing a still picture to be displayed on the display device in the window when the video segment is not being displayed on the display device comprises causing a banner advertisement to be displayed on the display device in the window when the video segment is not being displayed on the display device.

11. A method in accordance with claim 8, wherein the executable instructions are first executable instructions, the method further comprising:

receiving second executable instructions from the video stream, the second executable instructions configured to cause the video receiver to select the still picture from among a plurality of still pictures based on the locally stored characteristics when the second executable instructions are processed by a processor; and

processing the second executable instructions to cause the video receiver to select the still picture.

12. A method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

caching the plurality of video segments as they are received.

13. A method in accordance with claim 12, further comprising:

releasing the cache memory associate with a particular video segment if the video receiver determines that the particular video segment is not to be displayed.

14. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein causing the video segment to be displayed on the display device comprises:

causing the video segment to be displayed as the video segment is being received from the video segment, wherein the executable instructions contain a trigger that coordinates the start of display of the video segment with the time that the video segment is received by the video receiver.

15. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein receiving a plurality of video segment from the video stream comprises:

receiving the plurality of video segments from a plurality of video streams; and

switching display between the plurality of video streams based on the executable instructions.

16. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the video stream is a unidirectional video stream.

17. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the locally stored characteristics includes channel subscription information.

18. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the locally stored characteristics include historical information about channels tuned to.

19. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the locally stored information includes historical information about pay per view purchases.

20. A method in accordance with claim 19, wherein the historical information about pay per view purchases includes the identification of the last pay per view purchase.

21. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the locally stored information includes historical information about advertisements displayed.

22. A method in accordance with claim 21, wherein the historical information about advertisements displayed comprises an identifier identifying at least some of the advertisements previously displayed.

23. A method in accordance with claim 22, wherein the historical information about advertisements displayed comprises a time that the corresponding advertisement was last displayed.

24. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein video receiver locally stores the characteristics without revealing the characteristics outside of the video receiver.

25. A computer program product for use in a video receiver that is coupled to a display device, the video receiver configured to receive a video stream that includes a plurality of video segments, the computer program product for implementing a method of the video receiver targeting the plurality of video segments based on local information accessible to the video receiver and based on remotely issued instructions, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for performing the following:

monitoring state and user behavior characteristics associated with the video receiver;

causing the characteristics to be locally stored;

detecting the receipt of a plurality of video segment from the video stream;

processing instructions received from the video stream, the instructions configured to cause the video receiver to select a video segment from among the plurality of video segments based on the locally stored characteristics when the executable instructions are processed by a processor; and

causing the video segment to be displayed on the display device.

26. A computer program product in accordance with claim 25, wherein the computer-readable medium is one or more physical storage media.

27. A computer program product in accordance with claim 25, wherein the computer-readable medium further has stored thereon computer-executable instructions for performing the following:

selecting a video segment from among the plurality of video segments based on the locally stored characteristics.