Media content finger print system

• US 8,510,769 B2
• Filed: 12/04/2009
• Issued: 08/13/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TiVo Solutions Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Original Assignee: TiVo Inc. (Adeia Inc.)
• Inventors: Gharaat, Amir H., Barton, James M., Patel, Mukesh K.
• Primary Examiner(s): HARVEY, DAVID E
• Application Number:
  US12/631,783
• Publication Number:
  US 20110064385A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,348 Days
• Field of Search: 386/239, 386/240, 725/19, 725/21
• US Class Current: 725/19
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/41 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1454 involving copying of the display data of a local workstation or window to a remote workstation or window so that an actual copy of the data is displayed simultaneously on two or more displays, e.g. teledisplay
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0244 Optimization
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0255 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/322 used signal is digitally coded
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4938 comprising a voice browser which renders and interprets, e.g. VoiceXML
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/422 Input-only peripherals , i.e. input devices connected to specially adapted client devices, e.g. global positioning system [GPS] input devices also receiving signals from specially adapted client devices H04N21/4104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42201 biosensors, e.g. heat sensor for presence detection, EEG sensors or any limb activity sensors worn by the user input arrangements for interaction with the human body based on nervous system activity detection G06F3/015
• 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 21/4415 using biometric characteristics of the user, e.g. by voice recognition or fingerprint scanning cryptography using biological data H04L9/3231; authentication in networks using biometric H04L63/0861
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/442 Monitoring of processes or resources, e.g. detecting the failure of a recording device, monitoring the downstream bandwidth, the number of times a movie has been viewed, the storage space available from the internal hard disk arrangements for monitoring broadcast services or broadcast-related services H04H60/29; arrangements for identifying or recognising characteristics with a direct linkage to broadcast information H04H60/35; monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; monitoring in wireless networks H04W24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8358 involving watermark protecting executable software by watermarking G06F21/16; image watermarking in general G06T1/0021; watermarks inserted in still images for transmission purposes H04N1/32144; inserting watermarks during video coding H04N19/467
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/79 Processing of colour television signals in connection with recording

Abstract

A media device meeting an idleness criteria may be detected. In response to detecting an idleness criteria, media content may be sent to the media device. The media device may be configured to receive a particular content stream or streams accessible via the internet comprising the media content. The media device may derive a fingerprint from the media content and send the fingerprint to a fingerprint database, along with additional data pertaining to the media (such as title, synopsis, closed caption text, etc.). Detecting that a media device meets an idleness criteria may involve receiving a signal from the media device, the media device completing a duration of time without receiving a user command at the media device, or determining that the media content has resource availability for deriving a fingerprint.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

detecting, by a media device, that the media device meets an idleness criteria;

responsive to detecting that the media device meets the idleness criteria, deriving, by the media device, a fingerprint from a particular media content, the particular media content including a value indicating to the media device that a fingerprint is to be derived from the particular media content;

sending to a server, by the media device, the fingerprint derived from the particular media content.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the detecting that the media device meets an idleness criteria comprises sending a signal to the server indicating that the media device meets the idleness criteria.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the detecting that the media device meets an idleness criteria comprises determining that the media device has not received a user command for a particular duration of time.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the detecting that the media device meets the idleness criteria comprises determining that the media device has resource availability for deriving the fingerprint.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the detecting that the media device meets the idleness criteria comprises configuring the media device to obtain the particular media content.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising sending, by the media device, a plurality of fingerprints derived by the media devices to be stored in a fingerprint database.

7. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a set of instructions, which when executed by a processor, cause performance of steps comprising:

detecting, by a media device, that the media device meets an idleness criteria;

responsive to detecting that the media device meets the idleness criteria, deriving, by the media device, a fingerprint from a particular media content, the particular media content including a value indicating to the media device that a fingerprint is to be derived from the particular media content;

sending to a server, by the media device, the fingerprint derived from the particular media content.

8. The non-transitory computer readable medium as recited in claim 7, wherein the detecting that the media device meets an idleness criteria comprises sending a signal to the server indicating that the media device meets the idleness criteria.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium as recited in claim 7, wherein the detecting that the media device meets an idleness criteria comprises determining that the media device has not received a user command for a particular duration of time.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium as recited in claim 7, wherein the detecting that the media device meets the idleness criteria comprises determining that the media device has resource availability for deriving the fingerprint.

11. The non-transitory computer readable medium as recited in claim 7, wherein the detecting that the media device meets the idleness criteria comprises configuring the media device to obtain the particular media content.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium as recited in claim 7, further comprising sending, by the media device, a plurality of fingerprints derived by the media device to be stored in a fingerprint database.

13. An apparatus, comprising:

a media device;

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that causes the media device to detect that the media device meets an idleness criteria;

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that causes, responsive to the media device detecting that the media device meets the idleness criteria, the media device deriving a fingerprint from a particular media content, the particular media content including a value indicating to the media device that a fingerprint is to be derived from the particular media content;

the media device sending, to a server, the fingerprint derived from the particular media content.

14. The apparatus as recited in claim 13, wherein the media device detecting that the media device meets an idleness criteria comprises sending a signal to the server indicating that the media device meets the idleness criteria.

15. The apparatus as recited in claim 13, wherein the media device detecting that the media device meets an idleness criteria comprises determining that the media device has not received a user command for a particular duration of time.

16. The apparatus as recited in claim 13, wherein the media device detecting that the media device meets the idleness criteria comprises determining that the media device has resource availability for deriving the fingerprint.

17. The apparatus as recited in claim 13, wherein the media device detecting that the media device meets the idleness criteria comprises configuring the media device to obtain the particular media content.

18. The apparatus as recited in claim 13, further comprising:

a subsystem, implemented at least partially in hardware, that causes the media device to send a plurality of fingerprints derived by the media devices to be stored in a fingerprint database.