Method and related system for high efficiency advertising detection

• US 7,646,818 B2
• Filed: 11/01/2004
• Issued: 01/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: VIA Technologies Incorporated (VIA Technologies)
• Original Assignee: VIA Technologies Incorporated (VIA Technologies)
• Inventors: Chiu, Andy
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo; Tung
• Assistant Examiner(s): HOLDER, ANNER N
• Application Number:
  US10/904,266
• Publication Number:
  US 20060020961A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,898 Days
• Field of Search: 375/240, 348/700
• US Class Current: 375/240.25
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/147 Scene change detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording

Abstract

In the video signals provided by broadcasting media, advertising sections are inserted between normal programs, thus causing interruption. An end portion of the normal program will be repeated before an advertising section ends. The invention determines the continuity of two adjacent frames, to search for frame discontinuity to find out if there is a frame similar to a next given frame. If a similar frame is found to have an advertising frame, an advertisement is detected.

Claims

1. A method for detecting an advertisement in a video signal, the method comprising:

performing a difference comparing step between characteristics of sequential frames of the video signals to set relative differential indicators, wherein if the difference between the frame and the prior frame is more than a threshold difference, the frame becomes a reference frame;

searching for a target frame with the same relative differential indicator within a plurality of frames prior to the reference frame, wherein the reference frame is not consecutive to the target frame; and

performing a similarity comparison step between characteristics of a frame prior to the target frame and the reference frame to determine the location of an advertisement section.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the advertisement section begins from the target frame to the frame prior to the reference frame.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing the characteristic of every frame prior to the reference frame.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

performing a search for a plurality of target frames; and

performing the similarity comparing step to determine a similarity between characteristics of the plurality of target frames and the characteristic of the reference frame.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein if the similarity is more than a threshold similarity, one frame of the plurality of target frames is chosen with the highest similarity and predicts the location of a series of frames in the advertisement section from the frame with highest similarity to the frame prior to the reference frame.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the frame prior to the target frame is the same as the reference frame.

6. A signal processing system capable of detecting an advertisement in a video signal, the signal processing system comprising:

a difference comparing module for performing a difference comparing step to determine a difference between a frame and a prior frame of the video signal in order to set a relative differential indicators, wherein if the difference between the frame and the prior frame is more than a threshold difference, the frame becomes a reference frame;

a searching module coupled to the difference comparing module, for searching a target frame with the same relative differential indicator within a plurality of frames prior to the reference frame, wherein the reference frame is not consecutive to the target frame; and

a similarity comparing module coupled to the searching module, for performing a similarity comparison step between characteristics of a frame prior to the target frame and the reference frame to determine the location of an advertisement section.

7. The signal processing system of claim 6, wherein the similarity comparing module causes the searching module to search for a plurality of target frames and performs a similarity comparing step to determine a similarity between characteristics of the plurality of target frames and the reference frame.

8. The signal processing system of claim 6, further comprising:

a buffer module for receiving the video signal.

9. The signal processing system of claim 6, wherein the difference comparing module and the search module carry out different firmware instructions upon execution of a processing device.

10. The signal processing system of claim 6, wherein the system can be placed in either a recording device or a multi-media computer.

11. The signal processing system of claim 10, wherein the system can be placed in a video tape recording device, compact disc recording device, hard disk recording device, or multi-media computer that uses a hard disk or a compact disc to store video signals.

12. The signal processing system of claim 6, further comprising:

a temporary storage system for providing memory resources to the signal processing system and for storing each frame corresponding characteristic of each frame prior to an opposition flag and each reference frame.

18. The signal processing system of claim 6, wherein the frame prior to the target frame is the same as the reference frame.

13. A recording system capable of filtering advertisements in a video signal, the recording system comprising:

a video decoder unit for decoding video signals and re-arranging filtered advertisements;

a video frame buffer unit for storing decoded video signals and transferring decoded video signals to a display control unit;

an advertisement system for detecting advertisements according to a predetermined formula and opposition flags of each decoded video signal frame;

an advertisement filtering system for forwarding video signals based on advertisements filtered by the advertisement detecting system to the video decoder unit for code arrangement;

a difference comparing module for performing a difference comparing step to determine a difference between a frame and a prior frame of the video signal in order to set relative differential indicators and a reference frame;

a searching module coupled to the difference comparing module, for searching a target frame with the same differential indicator within a plurality of frames prior to the reference frame, wherein the reference frame is not consecutive to the target frame; and

a similarity comparing module coupled to the searching module, for performing a similarity comparison step between characteristics of a frame prior to the target frame and the reference frame to determine the location of an advertisement section.

14. The recording system of claim 13, wherein the similarity comparing module causes the searching module to search a plurality of target frames and performs a similarity comparing step to determine a similarity between characteristics of the plurality of target frames and a characteristic of the reference frame.

15. The recording system of claim 13, further comprising:

a temporary storage system for storing each frame corresponding characteristic of each frame prior to an opposition flag and each reference frame.

16. The recording system of claim 13, further comprising:

a video input module for receiving the video signal and transferring the video signal to the video decoder unit.

19. The recording system of claim 13, wherein the frame prior to the target frame is the same as the reference frame.